Parenthood, Family-Friendly Benefits, and Educators’ Careers: An Exploratory Analysis Using Nationally Representative Data

• In Event: Is Teaching Family-Friendly? Work-Family Dynamics and Teachers’ Careers

Abstract

Objective
Having a child is associated with teachers’ decisions to leave the profession (Stinebrickner, 1998; Brummet et al., 2024). Nationally representative survey data show that teachers most commonly cite “personal reasons”—including pregnancy and childcare— as their reason for leaving (Podolsky et al., 2016; Taie & Lewis, 2023). Two-thirds of leavers report that their ability to balance work and family has improved (Taie & Lewis, 2023). This exploratory study studies the prevalence of family-friendly benefits in the education sector and the extent to which parenting demands interact with teacher turnover.

Framework
Teachers–the vast majority of whom are female–experience high levels of work-family conflict (WFC). WFC refers the zero-sum pressures that employees feel when balancing work and family demands (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985) and often results in lower job satisfaction and higher employee turnover (Beutell & Wittig-Berman, 1999; Bragger et al., 2005; Kelly et al., 2008). As a result, employers may attempt to mitigate WFC by providing “family-friendly” benefits such as paid family leave, flexible working conditions, and high-quality childcare support (Butts et al., 2013; Kelly et al., 2008).

Method
We analyze rich, longitudinal data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), a nationally representative sample of people born between 1980 and 1984. Participants are surveyed at least biennially on topics that include employment history, fertility and childrearing, and household structures. We identify 529 individuals who worked as teachers between the years 2000 and 2021 to answer the following questions:
• RQ1: To what extent do teachers have access to family-friendly benefits? (e.g., paid or unpaid family leave, a flexible work schedule, company provided/subsidized childcare, paid sick or personal leave)
• RQ2: To what extent does becoming a parent influence teachers’ workplace satisfaction and attrition/retention in the first five years of parenthood?
• RQ3: How do these outcomes vary across teachers’ (a) access to family-friendly benefits; (b) family-structures; (c) time of year of birth; (d) proximity to extended family; (e) childcare arrangements and cost; and (f) personal characteristics?
We first describe the percent of teachers in the sample who have access to any or all family-friendly benefits (RQ1). We then run a series of regression models to understand the relationships between parenting, family-friendly benefits and supports, and family structures and teachers’ job satisfaction and turnover (RQ2&3).

Preliminary Results
We find that less than half of teachers in our sample have access to family-friendly benefits such as paid family leave, flexible schedules, or childcare benefits. Fifty-five percent of teachers in our sample become parents (through birth or adoption) during the time of the study. Amongst those that are parents, 24% leave the classroom in the year following a birth or adoption event.

Significance
Parenting demands and supports may drive teacher satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover. We find high teacher turnover among parents, many of whom are mid-career teachers. Districts seeking to retain more experienced teachers in the face of ongoing teacher shortages may benefit from understanding how and in what circumstances family-friendly benefits support teacher satisfaction and retention.

Authors

• Anna Moyer, University of Alabama

• Laura K. Rogers, University of Virginia