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LBST 348: Childcare and Workers in Canada Report a Broken Link

This course provides an extensive exploration of childcare within the Canadian context, with a central focus on the pivotal role played by childcare workers and impact on workers. We'll cover the historical development of childcare policies, tracking their evolution while considering the profound influence of social, economic, and political factors. Additionally, we will consider various human resources policies used in the workforce that touch on childcare and family status.

Unit 1: Foundational Theories and Concepts of Care Work

England, P. (2005). Emerging theories of care work. Annual Review of Sociology, 31, 381–399.
Moss, P. & Roberts-Holmes, G. (2021). Now is the time! Confronting neo-liberalism in early childhood. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 23(1), 96–97.
Fraser, N. (2009). Feminism, capitalism and the cunning of history. New Left Review, 56, 97–117.
Fraser. N. (2013, October 14). How feminism became capitalism’s handmaiden – and how to reclaim it. The Guardian.
Bezanson, K. (2017). Chapter 1: Mad Men social policy: Families, social reproduction, and childcare in a conservative Canada. In R. Langford, S. Prentice, & P. Albanese (Eds.), Caring for children: Social movements and public policy in Canada (pp. 19–36). UBC Press.
Morestin, F. (September 2012). A framework for analyzing public policies: Practical guide from the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy. National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy.
Family Friendly Workplaces. (May 2023). National work + family standards. familyfriendlyworkplaces.com.  

Unit 2: Early Learning and Childcare: Historical and Current Context

Scherer, R. (2001). Chapter 10: Federal child care policy development. In S. Prentice (Ed.), Changing child care: Five decades of child care advocacy and policy in Canada (pp.187–200). Fernwood Publishing.
Finkel, A. (2006). The child care debate, 1945–80. Social policy and practice in Canada: A history. Wilfred Laurier University Press.
McKenzie, D. (2014). A long history of failure: Feeling the effects of Canada's childcare policy. Canadian Journal of Law & Society, 29(3), 397–412.
Childcare Resource and Research Unit. (2023). A summary of the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreements and action plans. childcarecanada.org.

Unit 3: Early Childhood Educators and Workers

Baylon, J. (2021, February 16). The legacy of Canada’s caregiver policies: Part I. The Legacy of Canada’s Caregiver Policies: Part I. Toronto Star. www.thestar.com
Baylon, J. (2021, February 16). The legacy of Canada’s caregiver policies: Part II. Toronto Star. www.thestar.com
Drolet, N. (2016). An overview of Canada’s new caregiver program: A shift from permanence to precariousness. Canada’s Immigration & Citizenship Bulletin, 6.
Adamson, E., & Brennan, D. (2017). Return of the nanny: Public policy towards in-home childcare in the UK, Canada and Australia. Social Policy & Administration, 51(7), 1386–1405.

Unit 4: The Impact of Childcare on Other Workers

Horne, R., Breitkreuz, R. (2018). The motherhood sacrifice: Maternal experiences of child care in the Canadian context. Journal of Family Studies, 24(2), 126–145. 
Doucet, A., & McKay, L (2017). Chapter 4: Parental leave, class inequalities, and “caring with”: An ethics of care approach to Canadian parental-leave policy. In R. Langford, S. Prentice, & P. Albanese (Eds.), Caring for children: Social movements and public policy in Canada (97–118). UBC Press.
Doucet, A., Mathieu, S., & McKay, L. (2020). Reconceptualizing parental leave benefits in COVID-19 Canada: From employment policy to care and social protection policy. Canada Public Policy, 46(Suppl 3): S272–S286.
Canada’s Building Trades Unions. (January 2022). National childcare program: Making childcare accessible for Canada’s skilled tradespeople. www.buildingtrades.ca

Unit 5: Indigenous Childcare

Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre. (2019). Section 1 (Parts 1, 2, 3): Residential schools in Canada. Healing and Reconciliation through Education. (Note: You are free to review and watch any of the videos in Part 3. Survivor Voices, but this is not required.)

Fortin, D. (2017).  Hard learning: A choice between home or school. [YouTube]. Little Bear Big Wolf Pictures. (7 mins)
Moore, C. (Director). (2019). When the children left. [YouTube]. Raven Bear Productions. (11 minutes)
Anderson-Gardner, V. (Director). (2020). Becoming Nakuset. [YouTube]. Loud Road Productions. (13 minutes)  
Roxburgh, S., & Sinclair, M. (2023). Colonial construction: Systemic racism in child welfare practice. Journal of Social Work, 24(1), 3–20.
Gerlach, A., Browne, A., & Greenwood, M. (2017). Engaging Indigenous families in a community-based Indigenous early childhood programme in British Columbia, Canada: A cultural safety perspective. Health & Social Care in the Community, 25(6), 1763–1773.
Mashford-Pringle, A. (2017). Chapter 3: Changing early childhood care and learning for aboriginal children. In R. Langford, S. Prentice, & P.Albanese (Eds.), Caring for children: Social movements and public policy in Canada. (pp. 73–96). UBC Press.
Ball, J., & Benoit-Jansson, A. (2023). Promoting cultural connectedness through Indigenous-led child and family services: A critical review with a focus on Canada. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 18(1), 34–59.

Unit 6: A Key Debate in Childcare: For-Profit or Not?

Richardson, B. (2017). Chapter 5: Taking stock of corporate childcare in Alberta: Licensing inspection data in not-for-profit and corporate childcare centres. In R. Langford, S. Prentice, & P. Albanese (Eds.), Caring for children: Social movements and public policy in Canada (pp. 119–140). UBC Press.
Brennan, D., & Oloman, M. (2009). Child care in Australia: A market failure and spectacular public policy disaster. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 18(3), 117–127.