Retention of Staff in the Early Childhood Education Workforce

Abstract

What incentives can the administrators of early childhood education facilities offer their staff in order to retain them? In light of research identifying low staff turnover as a key component of high quality early childhood education, the answer to this question has ramifications beyond human-resources management. This paper presents the results of a statewide survey of early childhood educators, which indicate that both personal factors (age and experience) and the availability of benefits are associated with intent to remain in the field. The applicability of these findings to employment policies in the field of early childhood education are discussed.