Intention to Leave, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction of Austrian Early-Career Preschool Teachers

Abstract: Early-career preschool teachers are a crucial human resource pool in early childhood education and care (ECEC). However, 25% leave the profession within the first 5 years because of high job demands, minimal experience, insufficient collegial support, and a high turnover rate among colleagues ( Müller et al., 2018 ). Burnout and job satisfaction may influence the decision to switch careers at such an early stage. We quantified the risk of burnout and job satisfaction in a sample of N = 99 Austrian early-career preschool teachers. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that a higher risk of burnout and lower job satisfaction significantly increased the intention to leave, even when we considered job-related and personal characteristics. This emphasizes the pressing need for coaching, reflection, and mentoring programs tailored for early-career preschool teachers.