the development of public childcare and preschools in europe – path dependencies and change –...
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The Development of Public Childcare and Preschoolsin Europe – Path Dependencies and Change
– Institutional Perspectives
at Hildesheim University, Germany, 19th – 21st October, 2006
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, Dr. Habil., Privatdozentin, Universitätslektorin, Universität Helsinki, Finnland
Concepts:
Equality, in the sense of egalitarian goals according to class/social strata, gender, generation, regions etc.
Equity , in the sense of conducting
righteousnessbased on universalism (instead of labour market participation)
what concerns social security, social citizenship, social
inclusion
Five Nordic/Scandinavian countries:
Denmark, 5 400 000 inhabitants
Finland, 5 200 000 inhabitants
Iceland, 290 500 inhabitants
Norway, 4 600 000 inhabitants
Sweden, 8 900 000 inhabitants
+ three autonomous regions: Aland (25 500),
Faroe Islands (48 000),
Greenland/Kalaallit Nunaat (57 000)
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
four developments in the childcare policies:(Välimäki 1999, Välimäki & Rauhala 2000 & 2006)
1) traditional care within the agrarian household2) educational-pedagogical care in the kindergarden-institution,
since the end of 19th century; preschool included3) social care-social service -based care in the daycare institutions
based on the age of children (Krippe + Kindergarden) + complementary services for family care; parallel development with the former
4) state-municipality responsibility based daycare with a wide diversity of benefits and services available for parents; combining and modifying the 1-3 developments
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
Profound policy interests behind the childcare:
- facilitating the everyday living of the families
- building a nation with (high) educated citizens
- getting the women’s labour force into the waged employment market
- preventing the poverty of the families with women’s labour market participation & two salaries: dual-earner model; reconciling of work and family
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
BUT NOT: to favour division of work and family spheres to be sensitive for difference(s); choices to manage
the convergence of way of life (waged employment as a leading principle) are organised through care policies and services
to be sensitive for the childhood as a special phase, and children as stakeholders of their own lives
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
Nordic childcare policies –model:(Hiilamo 2004; Sipilä et al. 1997; Leira 2002; von Maydell et al. 2006)
• universalism (equality: a very strong ideology in Scandinavia)• emphasized government responsibility for the well-being of
families in the frame of advancing general equality: similar opportunities for family formation and in labour market
• horizontal and vertical distribution of income in family policy (equality & equity; income transfers, benefits, allowances)
• gender equality; women’s and men’s rights and obligations in labour market and in the family (equality & equity)
• weak pronatalism (equity, respect for individual choice)
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
Interpreting the Nordic development, 1 from traditional childcare towards state-headed family-market-
state –care contract & arrangements since the end of 19th century, and especially after the WWII: politicising childcare (Leira)
from mother’s obligations towards parental choices, especially in the care of the new-born children during their first year
from family’s own responsibility towards shared rights and obligations, within genders, too
refamilising the care of (under school-age) children through long parental leaves and by home care allowances in cash and time
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
Interpreting the Nordic development, 2 equality in access to institutional daycare guaranteed while the
repertoire of the childcare choices is shifted towards individual decision-making – favouring the well-educated couples, both women and men, in maximising their opportunities to care arrengements with a good public support
equity is under a strong pressure in a situation where the family changes seem to have as an outcome a) poverty of single mothers and b) poverty of families in a weak labour market position, as well as c) poverty of immigrant families
low fertility rates increase the pressure towards care policies based on equality of children with different family background
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki
Interpreting the Nordic development, 3 there is not any shift in the childcare policies according to the
neo-liberalistic political economy; childcare in general has not been taken under re-consideration in the renewal of the social policy
in fact, the modifying and adjusting the childcare policies into the new economy has happened gradually and in a long-run, not as a rapid reaction; flexible development & outcome
individual choice has been emphazised since the 1960s, e.g. in the discussions concerning ”mother’s wage”
in fact, the childcare of under-school-age children has had the goal of effectiveness and efficiency, e.g. professional care, since its beginning
References
Bradshaw, Jonathan & Hatland, Aksel (eds): Social Policy, Employment and Family Change in Comparative Perspective. Cheltenham, UK & Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 2006.
Hiilamo, Heikki: Changing family policy in Sweden and Finland during the 1990s. In: Matti Heikkilä & Mikko Kautto (eds): Welfare in Finland. Helsinki: STAKES, 2004, pp. 123-144.
Leira, Arnlaug: Working Parents and the Welfare State. Family Change and Policy Reform in Scandinavia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Von Maydell, Bernd & Borchardt, Katja & Henke, Klaus-Dirk & Leitner, Rupert & Muffels, Ruud & Quante, Michael & Rauhala, Pirkko-Liisa & Verschraegen, Gert & Zukowski, Maciej: Enabling Social Europe. Heidelberg & Nework: Springer, 2006.
Sipilä, Jorma (ed): Social Care Services: The Key to the Scandinavian Welfare Model. Aldershot: Avebury, 1997.
Välimäki, Anna-Leena & Rauhala, Pirkko-Liisa: Children’s day care yields to societal changes in Finland. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 65 (2000): 387-405. [In Finnish, a referee article)
Nordisk Ministerråds Velferdsforskningsprogram. Programkomitéens sluttrapport. Köbenhavn: Nordisk Ministerråd, 2006. [In Swedish and in Norwegian]
Childcare as an issue of equality and equity – the Nordic countries as an examplePirkko-Liisa Rauhala, University of Helsinki