A study examining the potential association between perceived stress and turnover intention among early childhood educators in Malacca

Tey, Zen Myn (2024) A study examining the potential association between perceived stress and turnover intention among early childhood educators in Malacca. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

Given the critical role of early childhood educators in providing quality education and promoting children’s development, understanding the phenomena such as educator’s perceived stress and turnover intention is essential for promoting educator’s well-being and enhancing educational quality. In the context of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Malaysia, a concerning trend emerges with high perceived stress and turnover intention rates among educators. However, the study on perceived stress and turnover intentions in the ECE sector is limited as many of the past research focussed primarily on other industries and other levels of education. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the turnover intention rate among early childhood educators in Malacca, as well as investigate the possible association between their perceived stress and turnover intention. Social Exchange Theory (SET) was adopted as the theoretical framework to lay the groundwork for this study and the quantitative research approach with correlational design had been employed. The two questionnaires utilized as research instruments are the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) by Cohen et al. (1983), and the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6) by Roodt (2004). In addition, a convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants for this study, with a total of 70 early childhood educators from Malacca participating in the study. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between perceived stress and turnover intention among early childhood educators in Malacca (r=0.333**, p=0.005). However, the study’s generalizability was restricted by the narrow demographic scope of the participants, limited external validity due to the convenience sampling method applied, and the constraints of relying solely on a quantitative research approach. Thus, it is recommended to increase the sample size, utilize multiple random sampling methods, and incorporate a mixed-method approach to mitigate these limitations. Keywords: Perceived Stress, Turnover Intention, Early Childhood Educators, Malacca

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