ERIC Number: EJ1368651
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1053-1890
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3319
Why Are They Leaving? Understanding Associations between Early Childhood Program Policies and Teacher Turnover Rates
Hur, Eun Hye; Ardeleanu, Katherine; Satchell, Tonya W.; Jeon, Lieny
Child & Youth Care Forum, v52 n2 p417-440 Apr 2023
Background: Early childhood teachers play a key role in creating positive teacher-child relationships, which are shown to promote child outcomes. However, turnover rates of early childhood teachers are strikingly high, which may compromise the quality of teacher-child relationships. Lack of early childhood education program policies (i.e., wage, benefits, and teacher support) may contribute to such high turnover rates. Objective: This study examined whether the availability of early childhood program policies is related to program-level lead and assistant teacher turnover rates. We hypothesized that turnover rates would be higher in programs that do not offer these policies. Methods: Participants were 354 early childhood providers working in center-based programs. Data came from the Year 3 Child Care provider Survey, part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. Independent t-tests were used to compare the program-level lead and assistant teacher turnover rates in programs that do versus do not provide wage, benefits, and teacher support policies. Results: Results showed that teacher turnover rates were generally higher in programs where policies were not available. While lead teachers' turnover rates were significantly higher in programs where only a few wage and benefit policies were not available, assistant teachers' turnover rates were significantly higher in programs that did not offer many more wage and benefit policies and some teacher support policies. Conclusions: Providing wage, benefit, and teacher support policies in the early childhood programs may help programs retain teachers. Further examination of the availability and usability of early childhood education program policies and how they may motivate teachers to stay or leave the program is needed.
Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Teachers, Educational Policy, Faculty Mobility, Wages, Teacher Employment Benefits, Child Care Centers, Teacher Persistence
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01HD036916; R01HD039135; R01HD040421