WHY THEY STAY: AN EXPLORATION OF PART C COORDINATORS’ PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Abstract Leadership in early care and special education programs is critical to the school readiness and educational success of young children with disabilities. Increased turnover in recent years poses a challenge to stability of programs. This dissertation utilizes a descriptive qualitative method to identify key factors that influence IDEA Part C coordinators’ decisions to stay in their position. Eight Part C coordinators participated in the study. I conducted semi-structured interviews with them. I employed thematic analysis and constant comparison methods to analyze the interview data. Findings suggest that on-the-job factors that contribute positively to their decision to stay include commitment to serving young children with disabilities, qualifications for the job, challenges in organizational leadership, and teamwork and collaboration. The off-the-job factor is related to family responsibilities. This study offers multiple practical implications for recruiting and retaining the leadership of EI programs which will lead to improved outcomes for young children with disabilities in the programs. Key words: IDEA Part C, Early Intervention, job embeddedness, on-the-job factors, off-the-job factors, young children with disabilities, public managers, retention, turnover