By a Thread : How Child Care Centers Hold on to Teachers, How Teachers Build Lasting Careers

by Whitebook, Marcy; Sakai, Laura

• ISBN13: 9780880993012
• ISBN10: 0880993014
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: W E Upjohn Inst for

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Part I Staff Departures and Center Quality
1 An Overview of the U.S. Child Care Industry	1	(10)
A Growing Demand	1	(1)
A Growing Industry	2	(2)
An Expanding and Diverse Workforce	4	(3)
An Imperfect Market	7	(4)
2 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow	11	(22)
The Consequences of high turnover for Child Care Centers	13	(2)
A Profile of Centers in Our Sample	15	(3)
The Dimensions of Job Turnover in Child Care Centers	18	(3)
Center Characteristics Associated with High Turnover	21	(6)
Changes in Professional Preparation of Teaching and Administrative Staff, 1994-2000	27	(2)
Summary	29	(2)
Notes	31	(2)
3 The Role of Staffing in Improving and Sustaining Center Quality	33	(14)
Improving Center Quality	34	(4)
Achieving High-Quality Ratings	38	(1)
Barriers to Improving Quality: Baseline Quality and Staff Stability	39	(1)
Sustaining Quality: The Role of Teaching Staff Background and Stability	40	(3)
Summary	43	(2)
Notes	45	(2)
4 Turnover and the Quality of Child Care Services	47	(10)
Turnover As a Challenge to Achieving and Maintaining High-Quality Care	47	(2)
Turnover Begets Turnover	49	(1)
A Shortage of Qualified Staff	50	(2)
The Role of Wages	52	(1)
Summary	53	(4)
Part II The Experience of Child Care Employment
5 Who Leaves? Who Stays? Who Joins?	57	(16)
Workforce Characteristics	59	(5)
Professional and Demographic Characteristics of Leavers and Stayers	64	(1)
Characteristics of Newcomers	65	(2)
Where Do Directors and Teachers Go When They Leave?	67	(2)
Summary	69	(2)
Notes	71	(2)
6 Work and Family Issues as Factors in Career Decisions	73	(10)
Profiles of Individual Career Decisions	73	(7)
Summary	80	(3)
7 Rewards and Stresses of Child Care Work	83	(18)
The Rewards of Working with Young Children	83	(3)
Colleagues as a Source of Support or Stress	86	(4)
Cultural and Linguistic Diversity as a Reward or Stress	90	(3)
Invisibility of Professional Skills	93	(4)
Teachers and Directors as Advocates for Professional Recognition	97	(1)
Summary	98	(3)
8 Conclusions and Recommendations	101	(10)
Conclusions	101	(6)
Recommendations	107	(4)
Appendix: Study Design	111	(20)
References	131	(10)
Index	141	(4)
About the Institute	145