The purpose of this study is to observe if there are differences in job satisfaction according to the general characteristics of child-care providers at home based child-care centers and their work environments, and in sub-components of job satisfacti...
The purpose of this study is to observe if there are differences in job satisfaction according to the general characteristics of child-care providers at home based child-care centers and their work environments, and in sub-components of job satisfaction such as relationships with co-workers and directors, promotion opportunities, work environment, welfare, pay, and overall work. These research objectives derived the following research questions.
[Research question 1] What are the work environments of child-care providers at home based child-care centers?
[Research question 2] Are there any differences in job satisfaction according to the general characteristics of child-care providers at home based child-care centers (age, marital status, education, teaching certificate status, and work experience)?
[Research question 3] Are there any differences in job satisfaction according to the work environments of child-care providers at home based child-care centers (evaluation certification status, workplace, number of classes, number of children and child-care providers, average monthly pay, benefits, days of leave, off duty on Saturdays, work hours, job training, children’s age, and class size)?
[Research question 4] What are the problems and solutions that child-care providers at home based child-care centers perceive?
To examine the research questions, 295 child-care providers at home based child-care centers in Kimpo city were given a questionnaire survey. Excluding one with insufficient responses, 294 of them were analyzed for the study. The collected data was analyzed utilizing SPSS 12.0 program into frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Schéffe test.
The major research findings can be summarized as follows:
First, regarding the work environments of child-care providers at home based child-care centers, over half of the centers acquired evaluation certification. The neighborhoods of the centers surveyed were typically composed of apartment complexes. The most common number of classes was four. The number of children attending ranged from 11 to 15. Average monthly pay ranged from 1.0 to 1.2 million won and the highest earning type of pay was benefits for full attendance. Annual leave was most often 4-6 days. Work on Saturdays once a month and 9 hours a day on average were the most frequent responses. The frequency of attendance at conferences or seminars other than professional development or career advancement sessions was twice a year. Most children in class were 1 year olds and the most prevalent class size was 4-6.
Secondly, according to the general characteristics of child-care providers at home based child-care centers, overall job satisfaction level was high, and child-care work was relatively satisfactory. As for the sub-components, satisfaction with relationships with co-workersand directors were high, while satisfaction with pay was the lowest. Job satisfaction by age exhibited significant differences in all the sub components except for the relationships with directors, and the age 26-30 group expressed the highest satisfaction. In job satisfaction depending on marital status, single subjects had higher satisfaction than married ones only in relation to promotion opportunities. Education did not make a significant difference in job satisfaction. Regarding the methods used to acquire a teaching certificate, majoring in a related field at a 4 year college showed a lower level of job satisfaction than attending a child-care provider education center only because of pay issues. According to the types of teaching certificates, grade 1 kindergarten teachers showed lower satisfaction than grade 1 child-care providers only in promotion opportunities and pay. The subjects with over 10 years of teaching experience displayed low satisfaction only in pay. Work experience at the current child-care centers did not make a difference in job satisfaction.
Thirdly, according to the work environments of child-care providers at home based child-care centers, child-care providers at certified child-care centers responded with higher job satisfaction. The characteristics of neighborhood did not make a difference. The overall number of classes showed a difference, which explained the low satisfaction with relationships with directors when there was one class. The overall number of children and child-care providersand average monthly pay displayed no differences. Types of benefits such as bonuses, overtime pay, and rural and fishing area pay increased job satisfaction significantly. More days of annual leave positively affected relationshipswith directors, promotion opportunities, work environment, welfare, and overall work. The frequency of working Saturdays made a difference in satisfaction with relationships with directors, work environment and welfare. Working 8 hours a day on average rather than 12 or more hours produced higher levels of satisfaction with relationships with directors. Regular attendance at training sessions resulted in higher levels of satisfaction with work environment, welfare and overall work. The age of children in class did not make a difference in satisfaction level, but the number of children affected relationships with co-workers.
Fourthly, as problems and solutions of child-care centers, ‘pay’, ‘work hours’, and ‘no substitutes’ were mentioned in the order of highest frequency. The suggested areas that require national financial support for child-care centers were in the priority order of ‘payroll costs of child-care providers and directors’, ‘teaching materials and supplies’, and ‘school bus operation cost and cooks’.
These research findings imply that it is necessary to improve work environments to raise job satisfaction of child-care providers who look after infants and young children at home based child-care centers.