IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v9y2019i1p2158244019837830.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Relationships: An Exploratory Study of Early Childhood Educators Earning a Bachelor’s Degree

Author

Listed:
  • Anne L. Douglass

Abstract

Professional standards increasingly call for early childhood educators to hold a bachelor’s degree as one measure of educator quality. This has prompted many educators to return to college, creating both a need and an opportunity to better understand the factors that support educators to complete their degree and apply what they learn to their teaching practice. This qualitative study examined the higher education experiences of early educators enrolled in a public urban university early childhood teacher education program. Using a theoretical lens grounded in relational theory, this study explored how relationships in the university and the workplace influenced educators’ progress toward degree completion and their application of learning into practice. Data included in-depth individual interviews with educators and their workplace supervisors. This study shows how positive relationships with university faculty, staff, peers, and workplace colleagues and supervisors can support educators as they work toward earning their bachelor’s degree. The results revealed four characteristics of these relationships that influenced educators, as well as key barriers and challenges. In particular, the findings show how several negative relational dynamics may act as a barrier to educators’ efforts to apply new learning in the workplace. The paper concludes with implications for research and practice, and calls for increased attention to the relational contexts in which educators pursue their degree and make improvements in their teaching practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne L. Douglass, 2019. "The Role of Relationships: An Exploratory Study of Early Childhood Educators Earning a Bachelor’s Degree," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:9:y:2019:i:1:p:2158244019837830
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244019837830
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244019837830
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2158244019837830?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jody Hoffer Gittell & Rob Seidner & Julian Wimbush, 2010. "A Relational Model of How High-Performance Work Systems Work," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 490-506, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hazhir Rahmandad & Nelson Repenning, 2016. "Capability erosion dynamics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 649-672, April.
    2. Kaifeng Jiang & Riki Takeuchi & David P. Lepak, 2013. "Where do We Go From Here? New Perspectives on the Black Box in Strategic Human Resource Management Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(8), pages 1448-1480, December.
    3. Muhammad Asif & Arif Jameel & Noman Sahito & Jinsoo Hwang & Abid Hussain & Faiza Manzoor, 2019. "Can Leadership Enhance Patient Satisfaction? Assessing the Role of Administrative and Medical Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Baik, Kibok & Kim, Kyoung Yong & Patel, Pankaj C., 2019. "The internal ecosystem of high performance work system and employee service-providing capability: A contingency approach for servitizing firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 402-410.
    5. Chaojie Liu & Timothy Bartram & Sandra G. Leggat, 2020. "Link of Patient Care Outcome to Occupational Differences in Response to Human Resource Management: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study on Hospital Doctors and Nurses in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-14, June.
    6. Stephen Frenkel & Karin Sanders & Tim Bednall, 2013. "Employee perceptions of management relations as influences on job satisfaction and quit intentions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 7-29, March.
    7. Umans, Ine & Lybaert, Nadine & Steijvers, Tensie & Voordeckers, Wim, 2021. "The influence of transgenerational succession intentions on the succession planning process: The moderating role of high-quality relationships," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2).
    8. Kim, Andrea & Moon, Jinhee & Shin, Jiseon, 2019. "Justice perceptions, perceived insider status, and gossip at work: A social exchange perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 30-42.
    9. Margaret A. Abernethy & Chung-Yu Hung & Laurence van Lent, 2020. "Expertise and Discretionary Bonus Decisions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(1), pages 415-432, January.
    10. Spilg, Edward & Siebert, Sabina & Martin, Graeme, 2012. "A social learning perspective on the development of doctors in the UK National Health Service," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(9), pages 1617-1624.
    11. Xiaoming He & Yaqun Yi & Zelong Wei, 2019. "New product development capabilities in China: the moderating role of TMT cooperative behavior," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(2), pages 73-97, April.
    12. Rawan Alafeshat & Cem Tanova, 2019. "Servant Leadership Style and High-Performance Work System Practices: Pathway to a Sustainable Jordanian Airline Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-21, November.
    13. Safa Riaz, 2016. "High Performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Study on Manufacturing and Service Organizations in Pakistan," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 421-442, December.
    14. Xueqing Fan & Yan Liu & Xi Zou, 2018. "Where there is light, there is dark: a dual process model of high-performance work systems in the eyes of employees," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    15. Jaewan Yang, 2016. "Thriving Organizational Sustainability through Innovation: Incivility Climate and Teamwork," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-12, August.
    16. Seung-Yoon Rhee & Jooyeon Park & Hyung-Deok Shin, 2020. "High-Performance Work Practices and Organizational Innovativeness: The Roles of Relational Coordination Competencies and Market Turbulence as a Mediator or Moderator," JOItmC, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-14, September.
    17. Deneckere, Svin & Euwema, Martin & Van Herck, Pieter & Lodewijckx, Cathy & Panella, Massimiliano & Sermeus, Walter & Vanhaecht, Kris, 2012. "Care pathways lead to better teamwork: Results of a systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 264-268.
    18. Ariel C. Avgar, 2021. "Relational Exchange in Non-union Firms: A Configurational Framework for Workplace Dispute Resolution and Voice," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 607-636, May.
    19. N. Soens & D. Buyens & M. S. Taylor, 2012. "First-line Implementation of High-Performance Work Systems: Effects on Work Unit Human Capital, Empowerment, and Performance," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 12/783, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    20. Jaewan Yang & Joon Yeol Lew, 2020. "Implementing Sustainable Human Resources Practices: Leadership Style Matters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:9:y:2019:i:1:p:2158244019837830. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.