The drivers of turnover intentions in early childhood education: the role of organisational factors and job demands–resources profiles

Abstract

Attracting and retaining early childhood education professionals is a critical global challenge. The purpose of the current study was to determine the organisational factors which shape early childhood education professionals’ job demands, job resources and turnover intentions. Based on the survey data obtained from 810 early childhood education professionals, the following four profiles were identified by latent profile analysis of the professionals’ job demands and resources: strained but supported, thriving, stable and equipped and at-risk profiles. The results indicate that contextual and organisational factors–like the municipality’s urbanity, a positive organisational climate and an enabling bureaucracy–play an important role in balancing or misbalancing the professionals’ job demands and resources. These findings provide essential insights into the interplay between organisational-level determinants and individual-level job demands and resources for future research. Implications for supporting retention will be discussed.