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Why would you work in childcare? Exploring the experiences that influence motivation and turnover amongst the early childhood workforce
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Why would you work in childcare? Exploring the experiences that influence motivation and turnover amongst the early childhood workforce

Prudence M Millear and K Thorpe
Proceedings of the 10th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference, pp.220-221
European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP) Conference, 10th (Zurich, Switzerland, 11-Apr-2012–13-Apr-2012)
2012
url
http://www.eaohp.org/uploads/1/1/0/2/11022736/eaohp2012_book_of_proceedings_2012.pdfView
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Abstract

Psychology
The provision of quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) services allows the economic benefits of parental employment to be matched by social and developmental benefits for children. However, quality relies on motivated and enthusiastic employees but there is limited research on the factors that would contribute to motivation. In Australia, work in long day care centres (LDCs) is characterised by poor pay, low job status and high rates of staff turnover, whilst community kindergarten teachers are paid less than teachers in schools, increasing turnover and reluctance for new teaching graduates to enter the sector. Parents take stability of staff as a sign of quality for ECEC, equating long service with high quality care. The current research used interviews with staff currently working in community kindergartens and LDCs to understand their motivations for working in ECEC and the demands that these women experience.The employees were highly motivated by giving children the best start to life and gained satisfaction from their contribution to children's growth and development. Turnover of staff was more likely where demands on the staff overwhelmed these motivations. Genuine caring was stifled by time demands (e.g. documenting each child's progress), organizational constraints, and where effort was not considered to be adequately rewarded or appreciated by employers or parents. Many reported the dilemma of balancing their personal commitment to quality practices against the need for their ECEC service to remain financially viable. Time at work could also be internally generated, with a number of women reporting that they seldom turned off from their work, and were often working out of hours, either thinking about or completing unfinished work tasks. Supportive husbands and partners did not object to this intrusion of work into the family domain, although there were some reports of exasperation when the focus was always on the children in their care, rather than the woman's own family. The women enjoyed their work and felt that they made a valuable contribution to their communities by giving 'their' children the best possible start to their education. For the most part, they had traded their own financial position for the benefits that could be given for children, but this could not be sustained as the women grew older and looked toward retirement. Retaining staff in ECEC requires appropriate remuneration and acknowledgement of the social good that their work provides, to gain the balance between quality care and financial constraints.

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