Childcare — Human Services or Education: A Genealogical Approach

Abstract

This article examines the implications of a ‘problem of the present’. It explores the potential conflicts and fragmentation that may arise as a result of divisions in the interpretation of the metanarrative of child development within the two disciplines of education and human services. Childcare in Australia is strongly driven by this metanarrative and already some providers in this country use developmental discourse as a way of de-emphasising the educational aspects of the work. These providers use the focus on child development as an argument to keep qualifications in the field at a minimum level. This has impacted on teachers in childcare, making it difficult for them to obtain recognition and adequate remuneration for their skills. In this article there is a particular focus on how childcare is situated in Australia and an examination of the constant struggle to ensure it remains a part of the educational context. The authors question the practicality of continuing this struggle given the particular historical context, societal position, and industrial situation in this country. It is argued that it is possible for childcare to maintain substantial links with educational discourse while still developing a strong identity of its own.