Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Stephen Butler

Abstract

Job satisfaction of early childhood teachers in military programs and satisfaction changes as teachers deal with challenging behaviors in the workplace was the focus of this study. The goal of The National Association for the Education of Young Children is to ensure quality programming that promotes positive child development experiences. Child development experiences are impacted by teaching staff, partnerships, administration, and the children's' environment. This case study examined the specific environment and behaviors that military childcare providers experience at a small military installation and explored how working with children with challenging behaviors impacts the job satisfaction of early childhood teachers. Herzberg's 2-factor theory provided the conceptual framework on how satisfaction and dissatisfaction can exist in the same environment. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and observations of the work environment with 11 participants ranging from 23 to 56 years of age at the military installation. The participants were selected for being part of the military community and early childhood teachers at the study site. Data were open coded and thematically analyzed. Findings indicated that the teachers at this site have a dual perception of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the workplace that stems from experiences with coworker relationships, dealing with policy and procedure changes, and adjusting to the varying behaviors of children. The implications for social change include providing research findings on early childhood teacher satisfaction to the study site so that administrators can develop a plan to improve military early childhood care provider job satisfaction, which may improve the quality of the environment of the military child.

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