Congratulations to Colleen Fratinardo who on Monday, October 13, 2025, successfully defended her dissertation proposal.
The title of Colleen’s dissertation is: "EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION COMPONENTS AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS' WORKPLACE EXPERIENCES IN HAWAI‘I."
Overview of Problem: Early childhood educators (ECEs) play a critical role in supporting the development and learning of young children during a pivotal stage of growth. However, the field continues to grapple with high turnover rates, instability, and workforce dissatisfaction. Up to 30% of early childhood teachers leave their jobs annually, often due to low pay, lack of benefits, poor working conditions, and limited opportunities for professional growth and advancement. Despite these challenges, ECEs often report moderate to high levels of job satisfaction derived from meaningful interactions with children and the intrinsic rewards of the profession. Job satisfaction is a multidimensional construct that includes both intrinsic and extrinsic elements. These include coworker relations, supervisor support, the nature of the work, pay and promotion, and the general working conditions (Bloom, 2010). Understanding how these dimensions relate to ECEs’ perceptions of their workplace is necessary to support the workforce and ensure continuity of care and quality educational outcomes for children.
Research Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to examine whether, and to what extent, there is a relationship between five components of job satisfaction—coworker relations, supervisor relations, nature of the work, pay and promotion, and working conditions—and early childhood educators’ workplace experiences in Hawai.i. The study will utilize the Early Childhood Job Satisfaction Survey (ECJSS) to measure job satisfaction. The study is situated within NAEYC-accredited preschools across the islands of O’ahu and Hawai’i, targeting approximately 90 early childhood educators, including both lead teachers and teaching assistants. By focusing on this population, the study aims to inform administrative practices and policies that foster higher satisfaction in early childhood settings
Research Design: A quantitative descriptive research design will be used for the proposed investigation.
Sample: The sample size is 90 early childhood teachers. Leavy (2017) posited that research participants should be identified and recruited based on the research purpose and questions or hypotheses in a study. The general population in this study is comprised of all early childhood educators. The target population is 500 early childhood educators, preschool and pre-kindergarten teachers, and assistants working in programs accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in Hawaii.
Data Collection and Analysis: Raw survey data will be exported from SurveyMonkey and imported into SPSS for cleaning and analysis. Initial data screening will identify missing or invalid responses. Cronbach’s alpha will be calculated to assess the internal consistency reliability of the ECJSS in this sample. Composite scores will be created by averaging responses on the instrument. The ECJSS composite score will serve as the primary variable in the planned analyses. Correlational statistics will be produced to explore relationships between job satisfaction components and demographic variables.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Dr. Yiping Wan
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Dr. Nora Broege
Dr. Michael Abel
Take Your Career to the Next Level
Elevate your leadership skills, deepen your understanding of critical and contemporary education issues, and learn to help solve the current challenges in P-20 education.
Learn to Inspire Change
The Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville, offered in partnership with Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES, utilizes a forward-thinking approach to educational leadership that is ideal for practicing and aspiring leaders in any educational context. It is designed to support the goals of educational professionals who seek to develop their leadership skills for career advancement or current job enhancement.
