Research shows that for children in early childhood education and care (ECEC), higher quality service leads to better outcomes, but it requires a dedicated, sustainable and high-quality workforce of educators, teachers and leaders. With high staff turnover a challenge for the sector, attracting and retaining skilled individuals is a priority for governments, ECEC leaders and stakeholders, and forms part of Focus Area 2 of the National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy 2022-2031 (NWS).
Generating evidence on equity and quality in ECEC
Using data provided by the Australian Government Department of Education, AERO wanted to investigate if there were any insights on workforce retention for policymakers and the sector that could be generated from the Educator Survey 2023 data (now known as the ECEC Staff Survey). The nationwide survey is designed to help the Department develop policies to improve ECEC workforce retention as well as monitor progress on the 10-year NWS.
AERO’s preliminary analysis of the responses from more than 5,600 ECEC teachers, educators and leaders 1 working in Child-Care Subsidy (CCS)-funded services revealed new insights, which were shared at the 2025 Biennial National Workforce Forum.
Day-to-day experiences influence educators’ willingness to stay
This analysis focused on educators’ intentions to stay in their current job for 3 years or more, to stay in the sector for 3 years or more, and whether they would recommend a career in ECEC to others. AERO looked at whether educators’ responses were related to their background characteristics, then analysed how educators’ experiences in their jobs were related to these workforce outcomes. While AERO didn't find strong patterns or consistent evidence linking educators’ background demographics with their desire to stay or to advocate for a career in ECEC, it did provide early insights into 4 experiential factors influencing educator retention:
- Community respect: A strong sense of community respect for the ECEC sector played an important role in shaping educators’ commitment to their profession. Educators who felt the sector was well-respected were significantly more likely to stay in their current roles and in the sector for 3 or more years, and were 5 times more likely to recommend the profession to others, compared to those who didn't.
- Feeling valued and appreciated: One of the strongest predictors of educators staying in the sector and being advocates for a career in ECEC was feeling genuinely valued and appreciated in the workplace. Those who responded as feeling ‘very valued’ were more than 3 times as likely to remain in their current position and 2.5 times as likely to remain in the sector, compared to those who felt ‘poorly valued’. Advocacy for a career in ECEC was twice as likely among educators who felt ‘good’ or ‘very good’ about being valued and appreciated compared to those who felt ‘very poor’. These results highlight how fostering a supportive and appreciative work environment can help retain skilled educators, while simultaneously building a pipeline of future educators through positive word of mouth.
- Leadership: Perceived quality of leadership within the workplace had a significant influence on an educator’s intent to stay in their current role in the short to medium term, but had little influence on their commitment to the sector. Educators who rated leadership quality in their service as being ‘very good’ were 3 times as likely to remain in their current job for 3 years or more, compared to those who rated it ‘very poor’. There is also evidence that even small improvements in perceived leadership quality could increase the likelihood of educators wanting to remain in their jobs, such as shifting from a rating of ‘poor’ to ‘moderate’.
- Wellbeing: Wellbeing support had a significant influence over educators’ desire to remain in ECEC, with educators being 1.3 to 1.5 times more likely to want to remain in their roles, and 1.5 times more likely to want to remain in the sector, if they were ‘very satisfied’ with the wellbeing support provided by their service, compared to those who were ‘very dissatisfied’. Only educators who reported feeling ‘very satisfied’ or ‘somewhat satisfied’ with the wellbeing support in their roles were likely to recommend a career in ECEC to others.
What the findings mean
Initial findings from the year's worth of data show that a positive experience in the workplace was closely linked to ECEC educators’ intentions to stay in their current roles and the sector for 3 or more years. A positive workplace experience was also linked to their willingness to advocate for a career in ECEC. These early insights point to there being an opportunity for services, employers and systems to positively affect workplace retention through policy, practice and leadership. This includes making improvements to workplace culture, encouraging community respect for the sector and ensuring educators feel valued and appreciated in the work that they do.
Where to next?
While these emerging insights are helpful, this analysis is only the beginning of a larger research piece. AERO will continue to partner with the Department of Education and extend its work on ECEC educator retention as part of its Work Plan research on quality and equity in ECEC education, using updated national survey data from 2024 and 2025. This research will provide valuable insights to help inform future policy decisions on workforce retention, as well as benefit sector and service leaders who play a role in workforce policies and initiatives.
1 Participants had varied backgrounds. This analysis examined the influence of 10 different background characteristics: age, years in the job, job type, qualifications, setting type, setting governance, full-time/part-time employment, pay, identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or with a language background other than English.