Peer-reviewed article
Early Childhood Professional Well-Being as a Predictor of the Risk of Turnover in Child Care: A Matter of Quality
Mary Benson McMullen, Melissa S. C. Lee, Kate I. McCormick, Jieun Choi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how the well-being of early childhood care workers relates to whether they leave their jobs. Researchers surveyed 281 teachers and administrators and found that well-being has three main components: supportive work environments, good relationships with colleagues, and having a say in decisions. Staff with higher well-being scores were less likely to consider leaving, which matters because high turnover disrupts children's care and relationships.
Key points
- Approximately 27% of early childhood professionals leave their positions annually
- Three factors predict professional well-being: supportive structures and climate, collegial relationships among staff, and professional autonomy with decision-making participation
- Overall well-being levels significantly predict risk of turnover using regression analysis
- Staff turnover disrupts continuity of care and important relationship bonds with children and families
- Professionals considering leaving may be distracted and less able to provide mindful, appropriate care
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional correlational study, so it shows associations between well-being and turnover risk but cannot determine causation. The study does not follow workers over time to measure actual turnover or observe changes in care quality.
Abstract
Annually, approximately 27% of early childhood care and education professionals turnover, or leave their positions or the field, which may negatively impact quality in two ways. First, continuity is disrupted when teachers leave, severing important relationship bonds among teachers, children, and families. Second, professionals who are considering leaving may be unhappy and distracted, which may impact their capacity to care mindfully and appropriately for young children. This quantitative study examined the relationship of Early Childhood Professional Well-being (ECPW) to “risk of turnover” (perceived job dissatisfaction and consideration of leaving one’s position and/or the field) using the Early Childhood Professional Well-being Questionnaire (ECPW-Q) with a sample of 281 caregivers/teachers and administrators of child-care programs. Three factors of well-being were identified through factor analysis: Supportive Structures – environment and climate; Collegial Relationships – between/among adults; and Professional Beliefs & Values – autonomy, choices, participation in decision-making. Regression results show average ECPW predictive of risk of turnover, with Path Analysis showing specific relationships among variables. Implications for further analyses are considered along with practices and policies that decrease the risk of turnover and increase well-being to support professionals’ capacity to care optimally and appropriately in their work with young children and families.