Date of Award
5-1-1990
Document Type
Thesis - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Mary Ellen Snapp
Keywords
Older Adults, Aging, Day Care Centers, Child Caregivers, Geriatrics, Payroll Records, Salaries, Equal Opportunities, Preschool Education, Early Childhood Education.
Abstract
The problem addressed in this practicum concerned the high staff turnover rate in a small child care facility. The goal of the writer was to reduce the staff turnover rate and the staff certification expense. The solution chosen was to implement an intergenerational program in which senior citizens were hired as paid employees. These persons were recruited from a neighborhood senior citizen center following advertisement for two available positions. After recruitment, they worked with other staff members as teacher assistants while completing their training requirements. The training consisted of familiarizing themselves with the children and the center's policy and procedures. In addition, they were required to meet the state's training requirements by successfully completing six hours of early child care training. Evaluations were made after the seventh week of the implementation period to determine the amount of progress achieved and if the new employees meetings were scheduled regularly to address the concerns of all staff members and written comments were entered daily in the employee files. The success of this practicum experience depended on a decrease in the staff turnover rate resulting from the continued employment of the senior citizens throughout the implementation period.