The New Factory Floor? Social Class and Childcare

• In Event: Stories of/in Equity and Social Justice in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

This study draws on interviews with staff and parent users of child care services in economically diverse neighbourhoods. It examines the impact of social class and family background on the staff-parent relationship.
Findings from this study indicate that power relationships within child care settings differ from those in school. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu(1984; 1986) and Foucault (1979), this study found that the reduced cultural capital of staff, in relation to the relatively high capital of parent users, raises questions about the ability of the sector to deliver the promised educational outcomes under current policies. This paper will argue that childcare policy needs to start from the realities of its workforce, rather than any imagined similarities with schooling.

Author

• Yarrow Andrew, Monash University