Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/when-directors-leave/5016008/
The negative consequences of high teaching staff turnover in child care centers is well-documented and widely understood (Whitebook & Bellm, 1999). High turnover among teaching staff influences the quality of care that programs provide and affects children’s social-emotional and language development. In the most recent large-scale studies of child care, higher turnover rates among staff were linked to lower-quality services (Phillips, Mekos, Scarr, McCartney, & Abbott-Shim, 2000; Helburn, 1995; Kontos, Howes, Shinn, & Galinsky, 1995; Whitebook, Howes, & Phillips, 1990). High turnover also hampers centers’ efforts to improve and sustain center quality, and in some cases, remain in business (Whitebook, Sakai, & Howes, 1997).Less well understood is the relationship between director and teacher instability. Does teacher turnover fuel director turnover? When directors leave, how does their departure impact staff stability and other aspects of program quality? Policymakers and researchers have focused attention on the significant role that directors play in building and sustaining high-quality child care programs, but there has been limited focus on director turnover and its implications for programs. This article summarizes findings from the longitudinal study, Then and Now: Changes in Child Care Staffing, 1994-2000, and addresses the following issues:
• the extent to which centers undergo changes in administrative ...