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Poster #89 - Why did my Teacher go? Understanding early childhood teacher retention

Sat, March 23, 9:45 to 11:00am, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

Early childcare teacher retention and turnover is a vital issue with limited research. Turnover in early childcare programs disrupts the attachment relationship between teachers and children, which negatively impacts all domains of children’s subsequent development (Whitebook et al. 2016). Previous empirical literature has found that teachers are more likely to leave in low-income urban areas or in private schools and are more likely to remain if they have children (Totenhagen et al. 2016). In this poster, we examined what factors lead to teacher turnover intention in a sample of low SES early childcare programs, specifically intrinsic motivation, type of institution, and having a child. Turnover intentions were determined by whether or not the teachers have sought to acquire a new job. Policy reform at community level will be discussed.
The sample consists of 210 early childhood educators from low SES. Data is currently available for 85 participants. Participants range 21 to 63 years old (M = 39.7); 99% were female; 38% obtained an Associate’s degree, 32% had a Master’s degree; 70.7% have children, and 52% of those children were between the ages of 0-18 years old; 56% were married; and 59.5 % work in the public sector. Currently, findings are shared from survey data only; however, qualitative interviews will be coded for common themes (Creswell, 2013).
When asked if the teachers were planning on staying in the childcare field, 94% responded yes, and 70% said they were not planning on acquiring an additional job. However, 45% reported that their individual income is below the poverty line (less than 25,000) and 82.7% believe their income is not enough to make ends meet. Nonetheless, when provided an opportunity to rank top choices to work with children, over 50% report it was their personal calling. Overall, 77.8% were categorized as intrinsically motivated to work in the childcare field.
A chi-square was performed to examine the relationship between turnover intentions and type of institution, X2(1, N = 85) = 3.743, p > .05. Working at a public institution is likely to impact if one searches for another job. Additionally, a chi-square was performed to examine the relationship between turnover intentions and having a child, X2(1, N = 85) = 3.680, p > .05. If the teachers had children, then they were less likely to search for another job. These results are consistent with previous findings from Totenhagen et al. (2016), which stated that working in a publicly funded center and having children is associated with teacher retention.
Our findings provide insight into why teachers remain in the field, regardless of personal and financial factors. Results infer that retention is primarily associated with intrinsic motivation, such as teachers’ commitment to children it’s their personal calling. Consistent with the current literature, turnover intentions were found higher in private institutions, rather than public, as well as with teachers who did not have children. The present study provides a solid foundation from which researchers can further explore elements regarding retention and turnover intention of early childhood educators.

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