The University of Manitoba in Partial Fulfllment L
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DAY CARE IJ\ }4AN]TOBA AN ANALYSIS OF ITS SOCIO-ECOX]O}4IC ORIGITTS AND OBJtrCTIVES A Thesis Presented to The Committee on Graduate Studies 'the University of Manitoba In Partial Fulfllment of the Requirements for the Degree l'{aster of Social Work by Gordon C. Alvare I'iay, I978" DAY CARE III I4ANITOBA AN ANALYSIS C)F ITS SOCIO-ECONOI|IC ORIGINS AND NB.IECTIVTS BY GORDNN C. ALVARE A <lissertation submitted to the Faculty of Gruduate Studies of the University of Munitobu in purtial fulfillment of tire requirements ol' the tlcgrce ot ¡4ASTER OF SNCIAL I,IORI( o 1978 Per¡nission hus beon gratttcti to the LIBRAI{Y OF T}¡E UNIVUR' SITY OF MANITOtIA to lcnd or sell copies of this disseriatioar, to thc NATIONAL LlBlìAlì,Y OÈ" (IANADA to nricrofilm this dissertutio¡r and to lend or sell copies of the filnl, und UNIVEIìSITY MICROFILMS to publish utt ubstruct of this dissertution. The autl¡or reserves other publication rights, ¿¡ncl neithcr the dissertation nor extcnsivc cxtructs fronr it nlay be printed or t¡tlter- wise reproduced without tltr: uuthol''s writtert ¡rcrttrissiotr. ABSTRACT lvith the increasing number of v¡orking mothers in the Labour force, particularly during the past twenty years, there has been a corresponding increase in the popularity of day care for the children of these v,,orking mothers. This thesis examines the social, economic and political aspects of day care, from its earfiest beginnings in North America and Canada, dovln to a particufar case, the development of day care in the province of lt{anitoba. I{ore specifically, t}'ris thesis looks at the social, economic and political origins and objectives of the day-care legislation introduced in L974 by the Nev¡ Democratic Party government of Manitoba, r,r,hich f irst came to po\^jer in 1969. The following questions about bhe development of this day-care policy prompted the thesis: \¡/as clay care a priority issue for the N. D. P. v;hen it rvas first elected; if it v,¡as, v;hy dicl it take five years for a government policy to appear; how did the policy refate to the social policy objectives of the government; what was the redistributive effect of the nev,/ legislation; and v'¡hat vias the role of the professional in the development of the nel,v policy. The stucly shows that, as in other areas of policy, the N. D. P. government, labelled as a "socialist'r group, focussed its attention most closely on a type of day care ûhat v,¡ould strengthen its popular support by appeasing the mistrusting middle c1ass, rather than sul¡stantially promote the interests of the }ower ones. The policy was delayed by cost-sharing problems v¡ith the federal government and by ministerial caution. when it appeared it v¡as mistaken as a device to assist the fov¡er classes (as federaÌ cost-sharing regulations inûended). Hov;ever, its analysis shorvs that in reality it lvas a cievice to liberate middle-class mothers so that they could enter the v¡ork force. Like many other social policies, the day-care policy reinforced class disparities. The chilctren of the relatively better-off receivecl an additional heacl starb in a competibive economic system. The professionafs contributed to this phenomenon, as Shov/n by the controversy betl¡een them and the government C,uring the introductory phases of the policY. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNO],{LEDGEMENTS iii INTRODUCTION 1- 1. Organi.zation of the Thesis 1 ) Purpose of the Thesis Jc J.a Research Problems L Terminology Chapter I. THE HISTORY OF THE DAY NURSERY IN CANADA TI 1. Historical- Background 11 (a) Early North American DaY Nurseries T4 (¡) The First Day Nurseries *:":n. America 1". 16 Background to the Early Day Nursery in Canada 22 (a) The First Forty Years of Canadian Day Nurseries ( rgge-1932 ) 26 (b ) The Next Forty Years ( 1-933-1973 ) ó/ .1 . Summary 66 II. THE HISTORY OF THE DAY NURSERY IN MANITOBA 1. The Socio-Economic Background 2. The First Thirty Years of the Day Nursery ( 1-eoe-1e3e ) B2 (a) The ldinnipeg Free Kindergarten Association ( 1892-1951- ) B4 It Chapter Page (n) The Joan of Arc Day Nursery ( rgog-1e68 ) (]Õ (c) The Mothers' Association Day Nu ( tgog-present ) 90 (o) The Last Pre-l¡/ar o:":':oT": L5 ( rg:g-194o ) 92 3. The Next Thirty Years ( 1939-1969 \ 94 (a) Day Care During he 1950s 96 (n) St. Joseph's Day Nursery 9B (c) Day Care During the 196Os 99 108 rl^ III. THE DEVELOP}4ENT OF A DAY_C ARE LIC a ( rgog -re74) 116 L. The First N. D. P. Terml- nO ffi c ( rgog-1e73 ) 116 ( a ) 1-s7o 11- B (¡ ) 1's7 L 121- (c ) r972 t29 tl D 2. The Second Coming of t IIU N. a r32 (a) Le73 L32 (n ) 1974: The Legisl dLL^+; on of a Day-Care Po1 icy r45 3. Summary 163 CONCLUSION LTJ BIBLIOGRAPHY .L()J tla ACKNO\,fltrDGEMENTS I want to express my appreciation to the SociaÌ Planning Council of Greater ldinnipeg and to the New Demo- cratic Party of Manitoba for aflowing me to peruse their archives. I/Vithout their assistance, this study would have been severety hampered. Furthermore, I am especially in- debted to the following people for their advice and editorial suggestions: Professor Leonard Rutman of the Carf eton University School of Social \dork; Mrs - Barbara Marquand of the Family Services Association of Greater Idinnipegrs Family Day Care Department; Mrs. Gretta Brown, former Director of Day Nursery centre, Incorporated; and Mrs. Efaine Mcleod, former early-childhood-education con- sultant to the provincial government. Finally, I am especially indebted to Dr. George Tsalikis, chairman of the thesis committee, and also to the other committee members, Dr. Paul Phitlips and Dr. Bob van der Krabben. INTRODUCTION I . Thesis Organi zalior] This thesis is divided into three main chapters, each with a different focus. The first chapter details the history of the day nursery in C anad.a. From the information avaílab1e, an attempt is made first to present a l\Torth American context for the day nursery by discussing its American precursors and their influence on Canadian day nurseries. The subsequent discussion of the Canadian day nursery draws Some parallels between Canadian and American developments in early-childhood education. American pro- fessionals eventually worked in Canadian day nurseries, and Canadian professionals, lacking a systematic body of know- ledge on which to base their work, turned to American documents and practices. Finally, an attempt is made to relate the development of public concern for day care to the social, political and economic trends that appear to have influenced the countryrs social poticies in general. Chapter II traces the history of the day nursery in Manitoba up to the efection of the New Democratic Party government in June, 1969, which in L974 introduced a pro- vinciat policy in day care. It shows how day care developed separately from other child-welfare policies' mainly because it was private and charitable. In this chapter, as well as in the previous one, the study is re- stricted to charitable, public day nurseries. Commercial day nurseries that v/ere run for profit have left fev,r, if âûy, records of their existence. And since there were only tv¿o day nurseries in Manitoba until the late 195Os, Chapter II focuses on their history; that is, after a short introduc- tory section on the kindergarten facility that was established seventeen years prior to the appearance of the first day nurseries in Manitoba. Once again, âû attempt is made to relate the development of public concern for day car:e to the social, political and economic trends that influenced the provincers social- policies generally. Chapter III discusses sequentially some of the factors lying behind the development of Manitoba's L974 day-care legisfation. Each sequence begins with a b,rief presentation of the state of the provincial economy as it was reflected in budget addresses presented to the Legisla- ture. Each is followed by a description of whatever legislative debate on day care occurred that year. There- after, each sequence presents 1ocal developments in the history of the policy. The Manitoba day-care policy is less than four years old. No examination was made of the forces J_ying behind the choices governing its provisions. Much has been v¡ritten about day care in other countries; however, bhis has dealt mostly with standards, quality of care, and the beneficial or harmful effects day care can have on 3 children and famifies. Almost no literature presents the subject from a general theoretical perspective of social change, which prompted this thesis. 'Ihe conclusions to this thesis summarize the trends that the precedÍng chapters have identified, and place the most important developments in their general- social context. 2. Purpose of the Thesis This thesis was prompted by a comment appearing in a newspaper article published a few months after the enact- ment of a day-care policy in Manitoba. The reporter said that the question of day care had been "a first priority for the NDP after its first election in 1969,"1 but that it had taken a long time for a policy bo appear. The reason why the policy was so slow in developing was partially answered., being attributed to ministerial caution and delays in federal-provincial cost-sharing arrangements. But there was no discussion on the question whether or not day care had in fact been a party priority, and if so, why. This thesis fooks at these questions and, by relying for the most part on public information, tries to answer them.