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.

摘要

这项定性描述性研究旨在回答以下问题：

1. 婴幼儿教师 (ITT) 如何进入婴幼儿劳动力队伍？

2. 是什么促使教师在婴幼儿劳动力中工作？

3. 经验丰富的 ITT 确定了哪些招聘策略？

4. 经验丰富的 ITT 确定了哪些保留策略？

十位经验丰富的 ITT 参加了 60 分钟的采访。他们的回答揭示了五个主题，这些主题指向了其他人——包括教师、主管、同事和婴儿本身——在支持教师进入婴幼儿劳动力队伍和任职期间的影响。讨论了对婴儿/幼儿 (I/T) 劳动力中其他人的影响的未来研究的意义和方向。