A Study of the Relationship Between Teacher Turnover and Early Childhood Learning Outcomes in Literacy

Early childhood programs are designed to provide children and families with stability and quality of education. Yet, the high turnover of early childhood teachers is problematic to children's learning. The purpose of this quantitative causal comparative study was to investigate teacher turnover and early childhood learning outcomes in literacy using the Get It, Got It, Go! (G3) assessment tool. Literacy outcomes data collected from 126 children, three to five years old, in two Head Start programs were used to compare the results from children in classrooms without any teacher turnover with those from classrooms with one or more incidents of teacher turnover. The assessment was implemented twice per year. Data was analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) database. Data related to teacher turnover was collected from the Human Resources Department. The study found that there were no significant differences in early childhood learning outcome in literacy between classrooms without any teacher turnover and those with one or more incidents of teacher turnover. Based on these findings, three recommendations were made for school leaders to work with parents on impacting intentional teaching for the benefit of the preschool children.