Influential others: Infant/toddler teachers’ perspectives on entry into and retention in the infant/toddler workforce

ABSTRACT

This qualitative descriptive study was designed to answer the following questions:

1. How do infant/toddler teachers (ITTs) enter the infant/toddler workforce?

2. What motivates teachers to work in the infant/toddler workforce?

3. What recruitment strategies are identified by experienced ITTs?

4. What retention strategies are identified by experienced ITTs?

Ten experienced ITTs participated in sixty-minute interviews. Their responses reveal five themes that point to the influences of others – including faculty, supervisors, coworkers, and infants themselves – in supporting teachers’ entries into and tenure in the infant/toddler workforce. Implications and directions for future research on the influences of others in the infant/toddler (I/T) workforce are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Infant toddler workforce
• retention
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the dedicated teachers who shared their perspectives on the challenges of recruitment and retention of infant/toddler teachers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This was not a funded study.