Effects of Childcare Teachers’ Attachment History on the Quality of Interaction: A Moderating Role of Motivation for Selecting a Job

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine the associations among childcare teachers’ attachment history, motivation for selecting a job, and quality of interaction. Additionally, this study aims at identifying the moderating role of the childcare teachers’ motivation for job selection on the quality of interaction. Methods The study recruited 802 childcare teachers in charge of infants aged 0-2 using a nationally representative quota sample method. Childcare teachers were requested to fill in questionnaires of their own attachment history, motivation for selecting their job, and interaction quality. Correlation analyses and hierarchical regression analyses were employed to test the relationships between the key variables of our interest, and the interactive effect of motivation for selecting a job. Results Our main findings reported that childcare teachers’ active motivation and passive motivation played a moderating role in the effect of childcare teachers’ attachment history on the quality of interaction. Specifically, teachers who have more active motivation showed a higher quality of interaction than those who did not, and teachers who have more passive motivation demonstrated a low quality of interaction than those who did not. Conclusion Childcare teachers’ motivation for selecting a job is an important factor for understanding teachers’ competency. Teachers’ positive and voluntary motivation to their job should be considered when training teachers. Keywords: childcare teachers’ attachment history, motivation for selecting a job, quality of infantteacher interaction