Factors associated with preschool workers’ willingness to continue working

Abstract

In industrialized countries, the turnover rate of preschool workers is extremely high and now represents a social problem. Consequently, it has become important to promote stable early care and educational environments for this population. Several factors related to working environments are known to affect turnover intention; however, the specific factors related to turnover intention among preschool workers have not yet been identified. Considering this, the objective of the present study was to determine factors associated with preschool workers’ willingness to continue working.The participants of this study were 1137 preschool workers based in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the participants’ data, with willingness to continue working for 5 years or more set as the dependent variable.Analysis of the results for all subjects clearly showed that male sex, older age, good mental health, high number of social supports, and good work engagement have a positive effect on willingness to continue working. Further, stratifying the participants in terms of age revealed that for preschool workers under 39 years, male sex, good mental health, high number of social supports, and good work engagement act positively in regard to willingness to continue working. Meanwhile, for those over 40 years, it was found that permanent employment and good work engagement act positively in this regard. Thus, work engagement was the only common factor between preschool workers under 39 and over 40.The findings of this cross-sectional study demonstrate that the factors associated with willingness to continue working among preschool workers differ between younger and older professionals. These findings underline the importance of considering age categories when attempting to maximize such professionals’ willingness to continue working.

Early Childhood Teachers’ Self-efficacy and Professional Support Predict Work Engagement

“…Work engagement represents a positive work-related outcome that has implications for teachers’ retention and well-being (Burić & Macuka, 2018 ; Pepe et al, 2019 ; Tayama et al, 2018 ) and therefore warrants further investigation. Findings suggest that supporting early childhood teachers to have what they need to do their job effectively and feel that they can make meaningful difference in young children’s lives may help teachers to engage in their work with passion, dedication, and positive energy.…”

“…Work engagement is positively associated with employees’ well-being (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004 ) as well as other outcomes for employees, clients, and organizations (Shimazu & Schaufeli, 2008 ). Although very few studies have examined work engagement among preschool teachers (Nislin et al, 2016 ; Tayama et al, 2018 ), patterns of evidence emerge by triangulating these studies with investigations of work engagement among teachers in elementary (Burić & Macuka, 2018 ; Pepe et al, 2019 ), secondary (Abos et al, 2018 ; Arora & Dhiman, 2018 ), and special education settings (Minghui et al 2018 ). Work engagement is emerging as a predictor of intent to continue working in the field (Tayama et al, 2018 ) as well as job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior (Arora & Dhiman, 2018 ).…”

“…Although very few studies have examined work engagement among preschool teachers (Nislin et al, 2016 ; Tayama et al, 2018 ), patterns of evidence emerge by triangulating these studies with investigations of work engagement among teachers in elementary (Burić & Macuka, 2018 ; Pepe et al, 2019 ), secondary (Abos et al, 2018 ; Arora & Dhiman, 2018 ), and special education settings (Minghui et al 2018 ). Work engagement is emerging as a predictor of intent to continue working in the field (Tayama et al, 2018 ) as well as job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior (Arora & Dhiman, 2018 ). Of particular note, in a study of over 1000 preschool teachers in Japan, work engagement was the only factor predicting intent to continue working in both younger (under 39 years) and older (over 40 years) teachers (Tayama et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Work engagement is emerging as a predictor of intent to continue working in the field (Tayama et al, 2018 ) as well as job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior (Arora & Dhiman, 2018 ). Of particular note, in a study of over 1000 preschool teachers in Japan, work engagement was the only factor predicting intent to continue working in both younger (under 39 years) and older (over 40 years) teachers (Tayama et al, 2018 ). Beyond commitment and retention-related outcomes, work engagement is also associated with teachers’ emotional health and well-being (Burić & Macuka, 2018 ; Pepe et al, 2019 ).…”

“…This body of evidence shows that teachers who believe that they can effectively support children’s learning and development report engaging in their work with a more positive motivational state characterized by dedication, vigor, and absorption. Given that self-efficacy also predicts teachers’ commitment to teaching (Kilgallon et al, 2008 ; Klassen & Chiu, 2011 ; Klassen et al, 2013 ), and that work engagement predicts intent to continue working as a preschool teacher (Tayama et al, 2018 ), self-efficacy may emerge as a particularly important personal resource that supports teachers to continue working with enthusiasm and dedication to their work with young children.…”