Assistant Teachers,Workplace Satisfaction,and the Creation of a Culturally Competent Workforce Pipeline in Head Start

Abstract

Early care and education programs like Head Start provide a critical foundation for later achievement for children from vulnerable communities. Notably, recruiting and retaining bilingual teachers is an ongoing struggle for many Head Start agencies. Assistant teachers are more likely to be bilingual than their lead teacher counterparts (Jacoby, in press) and are important contributors to a workforce pipeline that diversifies staff. We conducted this qualitative study with 35 assistant teachers to understand how workplace attributes influence satisfaction and job retention in Head Start. Workplace attributes such as wages and support for professional education and those with symbolic value, such as the robustness of the program, both played an important role. We also found that the instrumental-symbolic framework demonstrated utility for understanding how workplace attributes might be leveraged to recruit and retain linguistically and culturally competent teaching staff.

Keywords

assistant teachers Head Start preschool paraprofessionals job retention

Early care and education (ECE) programs like Head Start provide a critical foundation for later achievement for children from vulnerable communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2010). Currently, Head Start is the only federally funded model for free preschool for low-income children in the United States. Notably, Latinx children are the largest group of children living in poverty in the United States right now (DeNavas-Walt & Proctor, 2015; Lopez & Velasco, 2011). The vast majority of all Head Start programs (85%) enroll dual language learner (DLL) children—that is, children who live in homes where a language other than English is spoken (U.S. DHHS, 2008). Close to one third of all Head Start children are DLLs, and 80% of those DLL children come from Spanish-speaking homes (Office of Head Start, 2020). Thus, Head Start is necessarily committed to supporting the learning and development of linguistically and culturally diverse groups of preschool children.

Recruiting and retaining bilingual lead teachers is an ongoing struggle for many Head Start agencies (Mancilla-Martinez & Lesaux, 2014; Whitebook et al., 2008). Barriers to entry, in the form of increased requirements to qualify for the lead teaching position—such as the requirement that 50% of lead teachers hold a bachelor’s degree, as outlined in the 2007 Head Start Act reauthorization (Kaplan & Mead, 2017)—may prevent applicants who are multilingual, or come from ethnic/cultural-minority groups, from being hired into those lead teacher roles. Notably, assistant teachers in Head Start are more likely to share the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of Latinx DLL students than lead teachers in the same classrooms (Jacoby, in press). In this way, assistant teachers contribute relevant linguistic and cultural knowledge to the everyday implementation of the Head Start program (Jacoby, in press).

The number of DLL children in the United States has reached an all-time high with more than one-in-five school-age children (5–17 years old) speaking a home language other than English (Camarota & Ziegler, 2014). At this moment in time, there is a need to recruit, retain, and develop a strong teaching staff that is also diverse and representative of the families served. Educational research demonstrates better academic and social–emotional outcomes among children who have teachers whose racial/ethnic background match theirs (e.g., Dee, 2004, 2005; Egalite & Kisida, 2018; Egalite et al., 2015). Creating a strong workforce pipeline of assistant teachers may be one way to support high-quality education for Head Start children and also improve the linguistic and cultural diversity of the lead teaching pipeline.

Most prior research on the education workforce pipeline has not asked assistant teachers to respond directly about their motivation for seeking out and remaining in their positions. In the UK, where policy changes created the need for a strong assistant teacher workforce, scholars initiated research endeavoring to hear from assistant teachers directly, instead of only talking to administrators and policy makers (Butt, 2014). From that work and others who are beginning to explore this frequently overlooked segment of the Head Start educator workforce (Curby et al., 2012; Figeuras-Daniel, 2016; Young, 2017), we are beginning to understand the particular and unique components of assistant teachers’ jobs and workplace contexts. We contribute to this important and growing body of research in the present study by investigating the workplace experiences of assistant teachers employed in a diverse Head Start program in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, we present implications for how preschools may more successfully recruit and retain culturally and linguistically competent teaching staff.

Theoretical Framework

To interpret our findings, we employed a theoretical framework from marketing literature about brand choice behavior that has previously been applied to studying employer attractiveness (Highhouse et al, 2007; Lievens, 2007; Lievens & Highhouse, 2003; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Anseel, 2007; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Schreurs, 2005; Van Hoye, 2008). The instrumental-symbolic framework is based on the idea that instrumental, or functional, attributes and symbolic meaning both matter and are a part of brand image (Gardner & Levy, 1955; Keller, 1993). In marketing literature, instrumental attributes are described as “objective, physical, and tangible attributes that a product either has or does not have” (Lievens & Highhouse, 2003, p. 77). Furthermore, as first described by Katz (1960), these attributes “enable consumers to maximize benefits and minimize costs” (Lievens & Highhouse, 2003, p. 76). In the context of the present study, which uses the framework to understand employer attractiveness and identification with the employer, examples of instrumental attributes of Head Start could include wages, benefits, work hours, flexibility, and location. These are all tangible attributes of the employer, Head Start, which may or may not appeal to employees to differing degrees.

In contrast, symbolic attributes are subjective and intangible. These attributes are described in marketing research as “how people perceive a product and make inferences about it rather than what they think a product does or has” (Lievens & Highhouse, 2003, p. 79). They are also conceptualized as attributes “linked to people’s need to maintain their self-identity, to enhance their self-image, or to express themselves” (Van Hoye et al., 2014, p. 459). Examples of symbolic attributes of Head Start employment might include whether or not the program is viewed as prestigious, innovative, or reliable.

Interestingly, research using this framework to study employer attractiveness has conceptualized symbolic attributes as having five areas—similar to human personality traits—which follows from the idea that people ascribe traits onto brands and employers (Lievens, 2007; Lievens & Highhouse, 2003; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Anseel, 2007; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Schreurs, 2005; Van Hoye, 2008). These five areas, and some descriptive examples, are sincerity (warmth, acceptance, honest), innovativeness (trendy, spirited, exciting, cool), competence (secure, intelligent, reliable), prestige (sophistication), and robustness/ruggedness (strong, tough; Aaker, 1997; Lievens & Highhouse, 2003).

We are not the first researchers to employ this framework outside of product marketing; other researchers have also used the instrumental-symbolic framework to investigate employer attractiveness and identification with the employer (e.g., Lievens & Highhouse 2003; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Anseel, 2007). Our work differs from these prior investigations in that these other researchers employed the framework to understand attractiveness to potential job seekers, not to current employees. We use the framework with assistant teachers in Head Start in order to investigate how they came to the position and why they stay—specifically by focusing on job satisfaction and ongoing commitment. This understanding supports the field’s knowledge of how best to attract, retain, and support a diverse workforce pipeline in Head Start, specifically, and also across ECE programs, more broadly. Furthermore, these findings may be useful to informing the work of other stakeholders such as education policy makers and administrators.

Job Retention Among Assistant Teachers in Head Start

Research on job satisfaction and retention among assistant teachers in Head Start is scarce. Wells (2015) conducted one of the only investigations into Head Start teacher turnover that acknowledged differences in the findings between lead and assistant teachers. This investigation found that among 81 newly hired lead and assistant Head Start teachers, 36% left their positions prior to completing a single year. Other researchers investigating teacher turnover in preschools more broadly found a similar range of 25%–50% turnover among this group each year (Burton et al., 2002; Lyons, 1997; Miller & Bogatova, 2009).

Using quantitative methods of data analysis, Wells (2015) identified several “risk factors” related to quitting, and the more risk factors a teacher possessed, the more likely they were to quit before finishing a single year. Some of these risk factors included having lower education compared to those who continued teaching, having a worse relationship with their supervisor, and not liking their work environment. Assistant teachers in Wells’ study had lower education levels than lead teachers, as would be expected by the job requirements laid out in the 2007 Head Start Act reauthorization (Kaplan & Mead, 2017). This relationship between lower education levels and turnover may be important when considering the unique position of assistant teachers in Head Start.

Instead of focusing on turnover, other researchers have investigated preschool teachers’ well-being and its relationship to job satisfaction. In a review of research by Hall-Kenyon et al. (2014), these researchers found that most prior investigations focused on salary and education level as the primary indicators of teacher well-being. Hall-Kenyon and colleagues argue that insight into additional mechanisms underpinning job satisfaction and retention are needed. Additional researchers (e.g., Noble & Macfarlane, 2005; Tran & Winsler, 2011) have also called for more research on preschool teachers, in general, and preschool teachers who work with children from low-income families—as Head Start teachers do—specifically. Reducing turnover in order to retain a strong assistant and lead teacher workforce in Head Start is critical to supporting its commitment to being a high-quality intervention for children from low-income homes. The present study focuses specifically on recruiting and retaining assistant teachers because of their unique potential to support the linguistically and ethnically/racially diverse children who enroll in Head Start programs.

Ongoing work in early childhood care and education policy lays out a framework for understanding how the competencies and characteristics of assistant teachers, particularly when aligned with the demographic characteristics of the children enrolled in the classroom, support high-quality classroom experiences and improved child-level outcomes (Jacoby, in press). The urgency to recruit and retain a linguistically and ethnically/racially diverse assistant teaching staff is apparent in the shifting demographics of the population of young children enrolled in preschool programs like Head Start (Camarota & Zeigler, 2014). Related challenges are also evident in the barriers to employment many early education job seekers with bilingual and bicultural competencies may encounter as a result of the 2007 Head Start Act reauthorization (Kaplan & Mead, 2007), which potentially limit these applicants to positions as assistant teachers if they have not yet obtained 4-year bachelor’s degrees.

Present Study

The present study investigates the experiences of a culturally and linguistically diverse group of 35 assistant teachers in Head Start. Using a semi-structured interview protocol in one-on-one interviews, we asked each assistant teacher a series of questions aimed at elucidating aspects of the job and organization that influenced their decision to become an assistant teacher at Head Start, their commitment to staying at Head Start, and what support they believed they needed to achieve their professional goals.

We had two primary goals in the qualitative analysis of the interview responses. First, we aimed to answer the following research question: How do assistant teachers at Head Start describe the influence of salient workplace attributes on job satisfaction and their ongoing commitment to the organization? Our second goal was to evaluate the utility of the instrumental-symbolic framework for understanding how salient workplace attributes might be leveraged to recruit, retain, and promote a diverse, linguistically and culturally competent teaching workforce in Head Start.

Method

Participants

Participants were recruited as part of a larger project examining the roles of assistant teachers in Head Start classrooms in partnership with a large Head Start agency in the Northeastern United States. The agency spans three small to mid-size cities and serves over 1,000 children and their families. Spanish is the primary home language for 33% of the children in the agency. Less than 1% of the students have a primary language other than Spanish or English. Children with home languages other than English were identified as DLL children; in this agency, one third of the children are DLLs, which closely reflects the national demographics of Head Start. Preschool classes enroll children aged 2.75–5 years. Twenty-three percent of preschool students have an individualized education program or individualized family services plan, which qualifies them for intervention services based on a documented developmental difference or delay.

In Table 1, we display the relevant linguistic, race/ethnicity, and teaching experience background characteristics for each of the participating assistant teachers. Participants (N = 35) had an average of 8.72 (SD = 9.34) years of experience teaching at Head Start, with individuals’ experience ranging from 0 to 33 years. For comparison, the lead teachers in the same classrooms had about 5 years more experience, on average, than the assistant teachers (M = 13; min = .5; max = 32; SD = 8.9). Within the sample, 63% identified as Latinx or Hispanic, 20% identified as White, 6% identified as Black, 3% identified as Asian, 3% identified as both White and Native American, and two (6%) chose not to report their race or ethnicity. In comparison to almost three quarters of all assistant teachers identifying as either Latinx or as a member of another non-White racial/ethnic group, just under half (49%) of lead teachers identified similarly. Seventy-one percent of assistant teachers were competent Spanish speakers and said that they “can have most or all conversations in Spanish.” In contrast, only 44% of their lead teacher counterparts (n = 32) were competent Spanish speakers.

Table 1.
Assistant Teacher Linguistic Competencies, Race/Ethnicity, and Years Teaching at Head Start.

ID English Spanish Race/Ethnicity Years

1 Fluent Most Hispanic or Latinx <1

2 Most Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 14

3 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 9

4 Fluent Most Hispanic or Latinx 2

5 Most Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 10

6 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 3

7 Fluent Most Hispanic or Latinx 3

8 Some Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 10

9 Fluent Most White <1

10 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 28

11 Fluent Some White and Native American 8

12 Most Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 3

13 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 5

14 Fluent Some White 1

15 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 33

16 Most Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 3

17 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 8

18 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 10

19 Fluent Little to no — 10

20 Fluent Some Asian <1

21 Fluent Some Black 4

22 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 1.5

23 Some Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 3

24 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 2

25 Fluent Some White 7

26 Fluent Most White 10

27 Fluent Most — 23

28 Fluent Little to no Black <1

29 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 3

30 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 8

31 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx <1

32 Fluent Fluent Hispanic or Latinx 23

33 Fluent Little to no White 4

34 Fluent Little to no White 23

35 Fluent Little to no White 32

Assistant teachers represented 33 classrooms from 14 centers—as two classrooms each contributed two assistant teachers to the present study. For 32 of these classrooms, we were able to compare rates of lead teachers’ Spanish competency with those of assistant teachers. (NB: One lead teacher chose not to respond to questions about language competencies.) In 11 (34%) of the 32 classrooms, both the lead and assistant teachers were competent Spanish speakers. In another 11 classrooms (34%), however, only the assistant teacher was a competent Spanish speaker and in six (19%) classrooms, neither teacher was a competent Spanish speaker. In just four (13%) classrooms, only the lead teacher was a competent Spanish speaker, making this the least common staffing pattern.

Data Collection Procedures

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 assistant teachers to gain an understanding of their professional lives and their experiences in their Head Start agency. This format was used due to its use and utility in related research (e.g., Sawyer et al., 2017; Zinsser, Shewark, Denham, & Curby, 2014) and in the first author’s prior studies in a similar Head Start teaching context (Jacoby & Lesaux, 2019). Furthermore, we believed that capturing assistant teachers’ perspectives in their own words would best illustrate the experiences of this typically overlooked population of teachers.

Interviews were approximately 30 min or less and consisted of 11 primary questions. In order to test the utility of the questions, the interview protocol was first piloted with early childhood educators who were not involved in the present study. Each interview was conducted in a quiet location at participants’ job sites to minimize disruption and allow participants to speak freely about their workplace. We asked assistant teachers how they started in their current role (e.g., as permanent assistant teachers or as long-term substitutes), how they shared daily responsibilities with their lead teacher, what Head Start meant to them, and how working at Head Start was different than working at other preschools. We also asked them how Head Start could support them now and in the future, whether they planned to remain in their current role, and what their future goals were. In addition to audio recording each participants’ verbal responses, the interviewer took notes about nonverbal participant responses and other notable events during the interview.

Qualitative Data Analysis

We used a reiterative qualitative coding approach to analyze the data (Braun & Clark, 2006; Saldaña, 2016). This approach allowed for codes and categories to initially emerge organically from the collected data without forcing them into framework categories. We used the emergent findings from the initial open-ended coding and theming to assess the utility of a theoretical framework. Ultimately, we explored several theoretic frameworks before identifying the instrumental-symbolic framework as one that matched the emerging themes and codes we found.

All interviews were transcribed and annotated by the interviewer and then imported into QSR International’s qualitative data analysis software NVivo Version 12. In the first step of data analysis, both authors read each of the interview transcripts, prepared and discussed thematic summaries that captured the emerging themes, and made note of any exceptional responses that stood out in the transcripts (Maxwell, 2013). An open-coded scheme was used during the first cycle of coding. This was followed by further discussion between the authors about the data corpus in the context of the instrumental-symbolic framework. This framework was identified, and ultimately selected, due to participants’ emphasis on noninstrumental attributes about their workplace and because of its previous application the study of workplace attraction and perception (Lievens & Highhouse, 2003; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Anseel, 2007). The subsequent, second-cycle coding was conducted using this framework. We relied on the theoretical framework to guide our analysis of workplace attributes. We did not eliminate or emphasize attributes based on the number of responses.

In subsequent coding, we categorized some workplace attributes assistant teachers referenced as instrumental, meaning they were tangible qualities of the organization that had a direct and concrete impact on employees. Examples of these instrumental attributes included wages and opportunities for advancement. Workplace attributes were categorized as symbolic if they reflected participants’ trait inferences about the organization, yet did not directly impact assistant teachers in a concrete way. Despite the lack of a direct, measurable effect on assistant teachers, symbolic attributes were identified because of the important role they played in influencing the assistant teachers’ perception of, and relationship to, their workplace. For example, the perception that Head Start sincerely and competently provided resources to children and families in their community was very important to assistant teachers.

Validity and Researcher Positionality

The qualitative coding of emergent themes in the assistant teacher interview data may be subject to the authors’ assumptions and biases. We therefore minimized the influence of any potential bias through the reiterative data analysis process detailed above. We, as the authors of the present study, also acknowledge our position as White researchers from an institute of higher education. As noted, 73% of the Head Start assistant teachers we interviewed identified as belonging to linguistic and ethnic minority groups. We have considered how our positionality in regard to the topic of study had the potential to shift participants’ responses and actions, which could have contributed to biases in our findings (Milner, 2007). We have also considered how our own racial and cultural identities contributed to our interpretation of the findings (Milner, 2007). By examining our stance as researchers and foregrounding the experiences of the study participants, we strived to represent the Head Start agency in which we conducted this research with integrity.

Findings

Assistant teachers in Head Start described many attributes of their workplace that supported their job satisfaction and their ongoing commitment to remaining in their current position. We display the content and structure of these attributes in Table 2. Most of these workplace attributes were perceived as positive, though a few of the attributes were perceived as partially or wholly negative. Additionally, the instrumental-symbolic framework demonstrated utility for interpreting the assistant teachers’ responses. This framework, borrowed from marketing research, aided in understanding how the varied attributes assistant teachers mentioned related to their overall positive feelings about their work and their workplace. It also provided structure for understanding how these attributes were connected to the assistant teachers’ explanations of their job satisfaction and the reasons behind their ongoing commitment to remaining in their current position. Below we present the findings from the interview analyses organized within the instrumental-symbolic framework.

Table 2.
Instrumental and Symbolic Attributes Described by Assistant Teachers.

Instrumental Attributes Symbolic Attributes

Benefits
Wages^a
Professional education^b
Opportunities and encouragement for professional advancement
Workplace environment
Collaboration with lead teachers
Working with children
Stress^a
Uncertainty^a Sincerity: Accessible and mission-driven
Innovativeness and competence: Comprehensive resources for children and families
Academic curriculum
Support for the whole family
Robustness: Foundation for success
Prestige: Reputation fosters pride

^aSub-attribute perceived as wholly negative. Participants perceived all other attributes positively. ^bSub-attribute perceived as partially negative.

Instrumental Attributes

We defined instrumental attributes as tangible qualities of the organization related to what it is, or does, that have a direct and concrete impact on employees. In the present study, therefore, instrumental attributes included strategies or actions taken by Head Start, as an organization, or by the staff members in Head Start, such as the administrators or lead teachers. Participant responses illustrated how these attributes influenced the assistant teachers’ level of job satisfaction and their ongoing commitment to the organization. The instrumental attributes assistant teachers described pertained to two broad categories: benefits and workplace environment. Most attributes were viewed as positive. Low wages, stress, and uncertainty in the workplace were perceived as wholly negative; educational benefits were viewed as partially negative.

Benefits

Assistant teachers described specific workplace benefits offered by Head Start. These were wages, professional education, and opportunities for advancement. Notably, few (n = 2) assistant teachers brought up other benefits such as health care or retirement.

Wages (negative)

Low pay was discussed by several teachers (n = 9). In this Head Start agency, assistant teachers receive an hourly wage based on years of teaching experience and level of formal education. For assistant teachers with fewer than 3 years of teaching experience and the least amount of formal education, who are at the lowest level of the pay scale in this agency, the hourly wage is US$13.99. Notably, this agency is located in the state with the second-highest minimum wage rate in the country, at US$12.75 per hour. Based on the median number of years of teaching experience among the assistant teachers in our sample, the typical wage earned would be around US$16 per hour or a bit higher.

In addition to general dissatisfaction, especially in comparison to public school wages (n = 3), some respondents (n = 3) said explicitly that they believed assistant teachers should get a raise. A few (n = 2) said that they appreciated and believed that their Head Start agency was working hard to increase their wages. Participant 35, who had worked for the agency for 23 years, said: “They do the best they can to…get the assistant teachers a raise…” One rationale cited for increasing wages was rising education requirements and retention. Participant 11, who had been working at Head Start for 8 years, explained why she felt this way:
They want us to all get Bachelor’s and whatnot and I want to and I am but, you know, that’s the thing, I think that’s where they lose people because you…want them to get Bachelor’s and Master’s but if you go somewhere else like public school or something like that you’re gonna get paid quite a bit more than what we would here.

Professional education (positive and negative)

Head Start assistant teachers received financial support to advance their education, typically in the form of partial tuition reimbursement for college courses. Assistant teachers said that this was key to supporting them in continuing their education, which was perceived as encouragement to continue a professional trajectory, though not required to remain in their current position. Several teachers (n = 8) said that Head Start paid for most or all of course costs. “I have taken quite a few that they have paid for…that I have only paid for books,” said Participant 18, who had been working at Head Start for ten years. “I feel it’s important because, you know, they’re willing to [reimburse] a certain percentage, you know, they’re willing to help me pay back for what I pay,” said Participant 17.

Uncertainty that they would receive reimbursement might explain some of the additional concerns teachers had about reimbursement. A few teachers shared concerns about having to pay for the courses up front, and having to take out loans, before receiving reimbursement. Participant 21 said that she had applied for reimbursement but was not approved: “It took ‘em like two years just to tell me ‘no.’” Others (n = 4) felt that the amount reimbursed—more commonly approximately 50% of the cost—was not sufficient to make courses affordable. Three of the four assistant teachers who said this level of reimbursement was not sufficient cited the cost of raising children as one of the main reasons. As Participant 17, who has also been working at Head Start for 10 years, said: “It’s hard being a single mom, you know, and you’re still trying to work and trying to still educate yourself.” Indeed, many assistant teachers are parents of current or former Head Start students.

College classes offered through Head Start were perhaps the most positively viewed benefit. Assistant teachers felt very favorably about how much more accessible taking courses offered through Head Start were and were interested in more courses with this setup. “I would like for them to offer more courses, like they have offered courses before that you could take, you know, through Head Start,” said Participant 11, who has worked with the organization for 8 years. Several teachers (n = 6) thought that this would be something that they and/or their coworkers would participate in if Head Start offered more of these courses.

Assistant teachers had mostly positive things to say about the amount and types of ongoing, site-based professional development they received. Participant 27 has been working at Head Start for 23 years and said: “Every training that I do attend really meets my needs.” Assistant teachers were in agreement that they received more trainings than would be typical in other organizations, and most felt positively about this. “Trainings are awesome, there’s a lot of those (laughs) so they keep you up on everything,” said Participant 34, who has also been at Head Start for 23 years. One teacher did not agree: “They give us too many trainings…it’s always the same” (Participant 15).

Opportunities and encouragement for professional advancement (positive)

Many assistant teachers started as parent volunteers or bus monitors at Head Start. For these assistant teachers, encouragement and support from their (n = 19) children’s teachers and Head Start administrators created the pathway for them to become early childhood education professionals. Participant 32’s words were echoed by many others: “I like the way that—when I start, I start with my daughter and they give me the opportunity to like grow on this.” These teachers described the path as going from volunteer and nonteaching positions to working as substitute assistant teachers and then to working as permanent assistant teachers. Participant 3 described this common path:
I started as a parent volunteer. I was a parent volunteer for a year then the teachers were telling me “you should apply for the substitute position,” so I did. I got the position and then I went and got my child growth and development class and became a teacher. (Participant 3)
With continued encouragement from other teachers and administrators, most assistant teachers went (or went back) to school to advance their jobs or had plans to do so in the future. This was a salient feature of the organization to Participant 5:
They’re always looking for what’s next: what is your goal? So it’s like a ladder like you’re moving one step at a time. And it’s an agency where you can start from cleaning the classroom to be a director. (Participant 5)

Workplace environment

In talking about their workplace environment, assistant teachers identified four specific components of their work that contributed to their level of job satisfaction and ongoing commitment. These were collaborative relationships with lead teachers, working with children, dealing with stress, and managing workplace uncertainty. The nature and structure of Head Start supported these instrumental attributes of the workplace.

Collaboration with lead teachers (positive)

Most assistant teachers described working with their lead teacher in a team-teaching relationship as positive and collaborative. With few exceptions, assistant teachers said that they had good communication with their lead teachers, felt that their perspectives were valued, and shared most responsibilities in the classroom. Assistant teachers generally described having a schedule or rotational system where they and their lead teacher outlined who was responsible for which activities on different days. Most described having equal or shared influence in this process, but a few indicated that their lead teacher created the schedule of their responsibilities.

A few teachers mentioned feeling valued as equals and appreciating greater sharing of responsibilities in their current classroom than in previous classrooms. Participant 21 had previously worked with other lead teachers and described how lead teachers can shape the work environment:
I have worked with some really good people but this is probably only the second [lead teacher] that I ran into that really makes you feel like you’re equal, not like “oh, you’re just a [assistant] teacher and I’m the [lead teacher] because there are some [lead teachers] that will just make you feel like this: I run this and this is how I’m running it and you’re going with it or you’re not.” I like my classroom. Everybody’s respected, everybody’s opinion matters, even when she’s introducing us or herself to other people, we’re all teachers. (Participant 21)
Other assistant teachers, typically those with less experience, described positive mentoring relationships in which the lead teacher guided them in their current roles and/or taught them skills that they would need if they chose to become a lead teacher.

Working with children (positive)

Many assistant teachers (n = 12) said that working with children was a very positive part of their job. “I enjoy working with kids, I um, I love seeing their smiles,” said Participant 24. Participant 25 expressed similar delight in working with children: “I love the kids so much, they are so cute, so it’s great.” As an instrumental attribute of the workplace, working with children was a draw. Additionally, for some assistant teachers, this perspective offset other aspects of their job that they viewed negatively, such as the large amount of paperwork and low wages.

Stress (negative)

The sentiment “this job is so stressful” (Participant 30) was echoed by several teachers (n = 7). Participant 7, who has four children of her own, said: “It’s stressful…I’ve gone home crying a few times.” Participant 7 added later, laughing, “if I think that being a[n assistant] teacher brings on a lot, I can’t imagine being, taking, [the lead teacher] role.” She was one of the few (n = 3) assistant teachers who said they thought being an assistant teacher was significantly less stressful than being a lead teacher.

The majority (n = 22) of assistant teachers did not indicate that they were considering leaving the organization; rather, most explicitly expressed enthusiasm for continuing to work at Head Start. In describing reasons why they might leave, assistant teachers (n = 10) cited two instrumental attributes in particular—stress and wages. As Participant 11 explained:
Sometimes I think it’s pretty hard and I think like “oh, you know, would I be happier doing something different?” but I do enjoy doing it, I do like doing it…. I do want to stay with early childhood, so if I’m not here I might be in kindergarten, first or second grade, something of that nature, but for now probably, you know, stay here for a while.

Uncertainty (negative)

Head Start increased feelings of uncertainty for some assistant teachers because of major changes year to year, such as placement with different lead teachers and locations. “Sometimes you’re coming back to work at the beginning of the school year and you have no idea what you’re gonna do, what your schedule’s gonna be” (Participant 18). Some assistant teachers also reported that their coworkers were worried about the rising educational requirements challenging their job stability. Participant 5, who started 10 years ago as a bus monitor and is currently working toward a degree, said:
A few teachers feel like they gotta go back to school, um, some of ‘ems are afraid they’re gonna lose their jobs, and it’s kinda like a push for everybody to either go back to school or I think I’m gonna have to apply to another place.
These elements of uncertainty and flux were related to assistant teachers’ thinking they should look for employment elsewhere.

Symbolic Attributes

Assistant teachers described several workplace attributes that supported their job satisfaction and their ongoing commitment to Head Start that fit into the symbolic category of the instrumental-symbolic framework. We defined symbolic attributes as positive or negative trait inferences about the organization that did not directly impact teachers in a concrete way. Participants illustrated how these attributes influenced their job satisfaction and their ongoing commitment to the organization despite not providing direct, tangible benefits. Notably, all symbolic attributes were perceived as positive by the Head Start assistant teachers. Furthermore, the symbolic attributes assistant teachers described mapped onto the five-factor model described by previous researchers employing this framework to study employer attractiveness (Lievens, & Highhouse, 2003; Lievens, Van Hoye, & Schreurs, 2005). These five factors are sincerity, innovativeness, competence, robustness, and prestige.

Sincerity: Head Start is accessible and mission-driven (positive)

Assistant teachers (n = 9) described that it was important to them that Head Start serves the children and families who need the most support. Community accessibility, combined with adherence to a particular mission to educate children from vulnerable communities, contributed to assistant teachers’ positive perceptions of Head Start. In evidence, Participant 21 said: “They specifically open their centers in lower income areas; those are the kids that need it the most.” Accessibility created by making education available to children who require additional support was also important to teachers: “They take in all the children, so it doesn’t matter if the child has autism or, you know, any type of disability, they accept the child and I feel like that’s very important,” said Participant 4, who had previously worked for a preschool that did not have a comparable mission.

Innovativeness and Competence: Head Start Provides Comprehensive Resources for Children and Families (Positive)

Academic curriculum and kindergarten readiness

Assistant teachers (n = 8) identified providing high-quality, leading-edge preschool education and other services as a core part of what makes Head Start stand out from other organizations that provide ECE. “Head Start is like the leader in early child education,” said Participant 21, who passionately spoke about the many reasons she believed this is true. Assistant teachers (n = 13) expressed that they felt positively about Head Start’s use of curriculum and the focus on kindergarten readiness. They compared this to other preschools, which they said do not emphasize academic instruction. “This is not a daycare” (Participant 17), “we are not a daycare” (Participant 23), and “it’s not a daycare” (Participant 30), teachers said. This distinction was important to teachers. “We are a very high…(P snaps her fingers a couple of times)…what’s the word I want to use—sufficient, qualified program for these children,” said Participant 35, who has worked at Head Start for 32 years.

Support for the whole family

Assistant teachers (n = 15) spoke passionately about the significant ways that the organization supports the families of children enrolled in the program and described this attribute as distinctive and innovative. Participant 10, who came to Head Start many years ago as a parent, said that this model helps parents to successfully navigate obstacles in areas such as employment and become more involved with their children and is therefore a powerful way to support children:
I’ve seen the difference between other childcare—not to say that they’re not just as good or—but, because of the foundation of our agency it really is…geared for the kids, geared for the family, how we assist them, and not just with just education but…also giving them employment and stuff like that—there’s not a lot of places that do that, you know. We have them get involved with their children’s education and after that they’re on their own but they learn to become advocates for their own kids. (Participant 10)
Participant 16 said that this is what she likes about the organization:
I like it because they got to different [ways to] help the kids and the family too. Yeah, they have to work with the childs, not only childs, but their parents too (P smacks back of hand into palm to emphasize the importance of working with both the kids and their parents). That’s what I like. (Participant 16)
It should be noted that assistant teachers are typically not directly involved in providing services to families. Yet this was an attribute that strongly stood out about their experience of their workplace due to its symbolic value and the positive image they associated with the organization as a result.

Robustness: Head Start is the foundation for success (positive)

Some assistant teachers emphasized the strength of the program by explaining that they attributed their own (n = 2) or child’s (n = 3) success to Head Start. “They taught me how to speak English ‘cuz I didn’t know English, and now I graduated, I got to where I am now because of them. And to now, to pass it forward to the other generation, I love it,” said Participant 1. Parents of Head Start kids were proud of their children, reporting how they were not just prepared but ahead of their peers in kindergarten and beyond. One assistant teacher described how her experience as a parent helped her connect with her students’ families:
It allows me…my own personal experience, to put it out there for other people to see. And hopefully that they are also just feeling the same way, wanting to do just as much as I did for my family, my children, that they would want to do for theirs. (Participant 10)
Through statements like these about the significant and long-term impact of Head Start, assistant teachers emphasized the robustness of the program.

Prestige: Head Start’s reputation fosters pride (positive)

Head Start has a positive reputation in the communities in which the assistant teachers lived and worked. As Participant 21 said, “in regards to this city—Head Start is known and I respect it.” Assistant teachers described the many ways this influenced their relationship with the organization. A few (n = 3) said that this brought them into their current jobs. “I was like ‘you know what, I heard really great things also about Head Start so let me try it out,’” said Participant 4, who previously taught at a different preschool. Furthermore, they (n = 2) said that it feels good to work for such an organization. “A lot of people are like, ‘that is just amazing,’ so it makes me feel like I’m doing something good in the world, you know?” (Participant 33). Teachers said that they were proud of their jobs and enjoyed being able to share positive things about the organization with others. The reputation and relative prestige of Head Start, as compared to other programs, emerged as a critical symbolic attribute contributing to assistant teachers’ feelings of satisfaction with their workplace.

Creating positive change for young children and their communities cultivated both pride and a sense of life meaning. Participant 19, a former parent, said: “If I can do any good for one child it makes me feel very proud.” Participant 14 grew up in a family of teachers but was new to Head Start. He said:
I feel very humbled to work here. I feel privileged to work here. Um, I feel like I’m making a difference kind of too, and I feel like it’s setting me on my track for my purpose in life. (Participant 14)
The theme of “purpose” and “meaning” came up in many interviews. Essentially, assistant teachers’ descriptions of their work illustrated that they conceptualized it not as just a job but as a calling. Indeed, teachers’ words emphasized feelings of inspiration and awe:
Working at Head Start—making a difference in a little life—it’s amazing because I went to [an indoor play park] and I saw one of my first-graders, it’s crazy how they recognize me “Miss [teacher’s name]!” you know, and then mom’s like “she’s getting straight As and straight Bs” like that just makes me so happy. Making a difference in their lives is what changes my life, you know? It makes a big difference in my life, too. (Participant 29)
These symbolic attributes of Head Start, as an organization that is admired and respected within the community, are part of the attraction for assistant teachers to remain in their position. Assistant teachers (n = 17) described how Head Start had influenced their identity and self-image. Many assistant teachers’ identities were strongly linked to the organization. “You have to give me a transfusion to get Head Start out of me, because it’s all I know (P stresses each, individual word)…it’s who I am,” said Participant 10. When talking about Head Start, assistant teachers also emphasized their close attachment by frequently using phrases such as, “I love it,” with great enthusiasm.

Discussion

The present study had two primary goals. The first was to understand how a majority bilingual and Latinx assistant teacher workforce described workplace attributes that influenced their job satisfaction and ongoing commitment to working at a large, linguistically and culturally diverse Head Start. The second goal was to evaluate the utility of the instrumental-symbolic framework for interpreting salient workplace attributes, which included concrete features of the organization that either did or did not benefit assistant teachers (instrumental) and intangible trait inferences about the organization which contributed to the employee’s self-concept (symbolic).

Several themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the assistant teacher interview transcripts regarding workplace attributes. Applying the instrumental-symbolic framework, we found that both instrumental and symbolic attributes played an important role in how this group of assistant teachers—the majority of whom identified as members of linguistic and racial minority groups—perceived their jobs, and in turn, how they spoke about their satisfaction and ongoing commitment to the workplace.

The Importance of Positive Symbolic Attributes Outweighs the Influence of Negative Instrumental Attributes

In the present study, and consistent with prior research that used the instrumental-symbolic framework to study employer attractiveness (Lievens & Highhouse, 2003), we found that a traditional focus on instrumental attributes, like wages and benefits, did not take into account many relevant workplace attributes that are less tangible (symbolic), but also potentially more central, to assistant teachers’ satisfaction and retention at Head Start.

In the present study, assistant teachers highlighted low wages as one of the negative attributes of their workplace. This finding dovetails with national surveys documenting that the wages earned by assistant teachers in Head Start and other ECE workplaces are abysmally low (Whitebook et al., 2016). Despite the presence of some salient negative attributes, most assistant teachers reported an ongoing commitment to remaining in their position at Head Start due to the strong, personal identification and appreciation they had for the workplace—a phenomenon that can be better understood through their positive orientation to the symbolic attributes of the work. Thus, an investigation of assistant teacher satisfaction that examines only instrumental attributes of working at Head Start may not accurately uncover the various reasons behind their choices to stay or leave the position.

The symbolic attributes assistant teachers described, such as the sincerity and robustness of the program, were related to their identification with—or even as—Head Start. Finding considerable meaning in their work, such as conceptualizing their job as a calling, was especially dominant in participant narratives. As the instrumental-symbolic framework would predict, participants described symbolic attributes as connected to their identity (e.g., identifying as Head Start) and self-image (e.g., pride related to working for Head Start) and allowed them to create professional meaning for themselves (e.g., doing meaningful work that helps their communities). Investigating symbolic attributes of the workplace, as we have done, provides a more complete and nuanced understanding of how to recruit and retain assistant teachers in Head Start.

Creating a Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Workforce Pipeline

Because many Head Start agencies prioritize the recruitment of bilingual teachers (Mancilla-Martinez & Lesaux, 2014) in order to support their bilingual students, understanding how this particular group of assistant teachers describes their workplace satisfaction and ongoing commitment may be particularly useful for Head Start administrators and policy makers. The participants in the current study represented important linguistic and racial minority groups within the United States, with the majority identifying as Spanish-speaking, and as Latinx. Many of our participants described a workforce pipeline in Head Start that they entered first as parents. Specifically, several participants explained how they were initially recruited by their own children’s Head Start teachers when they were parents to become classroom volunteers or bus monitors and then substitute teachers.

These Head Start parents-turned-employees continued to receive support through formalized, partial-tuition reimbursement programs and ongoing, on-site professional development opportunities. This instrumental aspect of Head Start’s workforce pipeline, which assistant teachers generally perceived as positive, appears to support the recruitment and development of a diverse group of assistant teachers whose linguistic and cultural backgrounds match those of the children they enroll—as these employees were once the parents of enrolled children.

Additional instrumental attributes of the Head Start workplace that supported the development and retention of a diverse workforce included the collaborative nature of the assistant/lead teacher teams. The assistant teachers reported feeling valued by lead teachers who shared the work in the classroom and treated them with respect. This finding corroborates research by Young (2017), who investigated 43 assistant/lead Head Start teacher teams to understand how classroom quality might relate to the quality of the teacher partnerships. Young found that 80% of the teaching teams rated themselves highly in terms of perceived level of teamwork, which aligns with our findings. Relatedly, Young found significant mismatches in teamwork ratings between the assistant and lead teachers in 20% of the teams, and some of our participants highlighted past challenges with their lead teacher collaborations as well. Young’s findings, like ours, suggest that instrumental attributes of the workplace—such as the quality of professional relationships and collaboration—can lead to job satisfaction, but do not guarantee it. Taken together, our findings related to instrumental job attributes suggest that although they are supportive of a diverse assistant teacher workforce pipeline in Head Start, they do not fully explain assistant teachers’ job satisfaction and ongoing commitment—indeed, symbolic attributes figure heavily into the positive perceptions assistant teachers describe in relation to their workplace.

Implications

The findings from the present study have implications for how Head Start, as well as other ECE organizations, may be able to improve the recruitment, development, and retention of qualified multilingual and multicultural teaching staff. From assistant teachers’ testimony, we found that an important component of Head Start’s model is in its encouragement of individuals who may not yet have the desired educational qualifications to apply for lower level teaching positions. As the findings in this study reveal, provided with the appropriate support, assistant teaching staff can successfully obtain qualifications and, in turn, feel more dedicated to the employer and their work because of that support. Indeed, it is not surprising that teachers would be strongly invested in a career or organization that has strongly invested in them.

During the recruiting and hiring process, Head Start—and similar educational programs—may benefit from emphasizing symbolic, not just instrumental, attributes of their workplace. Instead of focusing solely on pay and benefits, emphasizing the educational program’s positive reputation, mission, and competence may engender positive feelings among prospective teachers. Prior research on employer attractiveness suggests that prospective applicants in the banking industry often consider an employer’s reputation before even submitting an application for an open position (Lievens & Highhouse, 2003). Our findings build on this past work by focusing on the field of education, which faces the particular challenge of being considered a low-paying industry in the United States. As a government-funded program, Head Start is limited in the wages it can offer by federal budgets set by Congress. Our findings suggest that by possessing workplace attributes that are important to assistant teachers, Head Start may be creating a pipeline that fulfills their needs for a diverse and qualified workforce despite their inability to offer competitive wages.

Beyond tangible strategies for retaining teaching staff, educational programs may also benefit from cultivating an environment that allows teaching staff to feel connected to and invested in their organization’s mission. As described by the participants in our study, teaching can be exhausting and stressful. Believing in and feeling a part of a collective educational movement may make employees less likely to consider leaving the organization in search of different work.

Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

The present study provided the opportunity to hear directly from assistant teachers in a large, diverse Head Start agency in the Northeastern United States. As with all qualitative studies, the richness of the data is a strength. A relative limitation of our methodology is that we cannot definitively generalize our findings beyond the context from which they were derived.

Continuing to expand the body of research on assistant teachers—and other paraprofessionals in the field of education—is critical to identifying leverage points to improve educational quality for diverse groups of children. More research into the roles assistant teachers play in supporting social–emotional growth and developing early academic skills among diverse groups of children, particularly in ECE programs like Head Start, could inform the continued improvement of these educational systems. Future research should continue to endeavor to hear from assistant teachers directly and should prioritize investigations that highlight the contributions these understudied members of the teaching workforce make to quality in ECE classrooms.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-jcd-10.1177_0894845321993237 - Assistant Teachers, Workplace Satisfaction, and the Creation of a Culturally Competent Workforce Pipeline in Head Start

Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-jcd-10.1177_0894845321993237 for Assistant Teachers, Workplace Satisfaction, and the Creation of a Culturally Competent Workforce Pipeline in Head Start by Jennifer Wallace Jacoby and Allegra Corwin-Renner in Journal of Career Development

ID	English	Spanish	Race/Ethnicity	Years
1	Fluent	Most	Hispanic or Latinx	<1
2	Most	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	14
3	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	9
4	Fluent	Most	Hispanic or Latinx	2
5	Most	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	10
6	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	3
7	Fluent	Most	Hispanic or Latinx	3
8	Some	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	10
9	Fluent	Most	White	<1
10	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	28
11	Fluent	Some	White and Native American	8
12	Most	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	3
13	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	5
14	Fluent	Some	White	1
15	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	33
16	Most	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	3
17	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	8
18	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	10
19	Fluent	Little to no	—	10
20	Fluent	Some	Asian	<1
21	Fluent	Some	Black	4
22	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	1.5
23	Some	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	3
24	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	2
25	Fluent	Some	White	7
26	Fluent	Most	White	10
27	Fluent	Most	—	23
28	Fluent	Little to no	Black	<1
29	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	3
30	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	8
31	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	<1
32	Fluent	Fluent	Hispanic or Latinx	23
33	Fluent	Little to no	White	4
34	Fluent	Little to no	White	23
35	Fluent	Little to no	White	32

Instrumental Attributes	Symbolic Attributes
Benefits Wages^a Professional education^b Opportunities and encouragement for professional advancement Workplace environment Collaboration with lead teachers Working with children Stress^a Uncertainty^a	Sincerity: Accessible and mission-driven Innovativeness and competence: Comprehensive resources for children and families Academic curriculum Support for the whole family Robustness: Foundation for success Prestige: Reputation fosters pride

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article: This research was supported by a grant from the Foundation for Child Development Young Scholars Program (Grant ID#: YSP MHC 02-2018).

ORCID iD

Jennifer Wallace Jacoby

Supplemental Material

The supplemental material for this article is available online.

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