DOCUMENT RESUME ED 387 236 PS 023 578 AUTHOR Modigliani, Kathy TITLE Child Care as an Occupation in a Culture of Indifference. PUB DATE 93 NOTE 189p. PUB TYPE Books (ON) Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MFOI/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Caregiver Role; *Child Caregivers; *Child Care Occupations; *Day Care; Early Childhood Education; Employment Practices; Family Day Care; Fringe Benefits; *Job Satisfaction; Professional Recognition; *Social Attitudes; Wages; Work Attitudes; *Work Environment; Work Experience IDENTIFIERS *Caregiver Attitudes; Cultural Values; Work Commitment ABSTRACT The study presented in this book explores the causes of the problems in child care as an occupation and points to important social and political solutions. Chapter 1 describes work conditions, benefits, and problems related to child care workers. Chapter 2 gives specific information on the nature of the study, its goals, and the methods used. Chapters 3 and 4 analyze the study's interviews of 28 child care workers interviewed during the fall of 1987 and spring of 1988, exploring their feelings about their week and what they expect of their working life in the future. Chapter 4 concludes that the problems with child care as an occupation are largely financial in origin, and chapter 5 presents an analysis of the economics of traditional women's work. This in turn points to consumerism of our culture, which lures the richest nation in the world into treating its children with indifference, as discussed in chapter 6. Chapter 7 analyzes parental and governmental spending on child care, revealing the conflicted relationships between mothers and caregivers analyzed in chapter 8. The conclusion proposes basic recommenlations for improving child care as an occupation. The appendix presents a review of the research on child care as an occupation. Contains over 300 references. (AA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * U S DEPARTMENT OE EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMAI ION CENTER /ERIC; lOs UoCumeol received 11(1/11 Vie 130,11' .1,,o4d,/1!.., owytaldry ii 0 Mini donges harr I.Per S. improve rep:OthrrIlor Pod,I, of vtov, or ,..py UM!, iiltIfor; ()ca. uillent 1191 nOCOS,110 lvii 01R1 y 4'0 CHILD CARE AS AN OCCUPATION IN A CULTURE OF INDIFFERENCE Kathy Modigliani f !HI-; c`lc)iA\S`ckr" Iti 14,j , BEST COPY AVAILABLE © Kathy Modigliani 1993 All Rights Reserved For permission to reprint, write to: Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to the child care workers who told their stories for this study and tothe millions of others who carry on in their quiet ways. Thanks to my insightful, patient, flexible dissertation committee members: Janet Lawrence and William Cave, who taught me about adultsand how they learn and the responsibilities of adult educators; Valerie Polakow, who taught me how to elicit people's stories and analyze them and urged me on to a critical analysis of the culture ofchild care as well as my own values; and Gerald Gurin and Elizabeth Douvan, who taught me about using survey research to study important questions in meaningful ways. Thanks to other University of Michigan faculty who made importantcontributions to this work: Duane Alwin, Biff Barrett, Larry Berlin,Sam Meisels, and George Rosenwald. Thanks to The University of Michigan Rackham School of GraduateStudies, School of Education, and Center for Continuing Education of Women fortheir fellowship support. Thanks to my mentors and friends in the child care employee movementwho helped me understand the need for this study and who continue to struggleagainst great resistance, especially: Marcy Whitebook, Jim Morin, Margaret Boyer,Joan Lombardi, and many others in the Child Care Employee Caucusof the National Association of the Education of Young Children and the Worthy Wage Campaign of the ChildCare Employee Project. Thanks to those who offered helpful comments on the manuscript:Jinny Bartel, Joan Chess ler, Nancy Cohen, Leslie De Pietro, Jan BrownMcCracken, Edna Shapiro, and Cheryl Whitehead. And finally, thanks to those who will sort through andrefine the theory advanced by this dissertation, which has not yet been honed by the finehand of consensus process. ill I PREFACE This book has emerged with a life of its own. Writing the last four chapters was an ever-surprising adventure.I felt like the four-year-old who, when asked what she was painting, said, "How should I know until it's finished?" I began the study with a straight-forward concern about the national exodus of good child care workers from the occupation. Chapters 3 and 4 analyze my study's interviews with 28 caregivers in centers and homes in four communities, exploring their feelings about their work and what they expect of their worklives in the future. Chapter 4's conclusion that the problems with child care as an occupation are largely financial in origin led me to an analysis of the economics of traditional women's work in Chapter 5. This in turn exposes the consumerism of our culture, which lures the richest nation in the world into treating its children with indifference, as discussed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 analyzes parental and governmental spending on child care, revealing the conflicted relationships between mothers and caregivers analyzed in Chapter 8. The Conclusion proposes basic recommendations for improving child care as an occupation. This study explores the causes of the problems in child care as an occupation and points to important social and political solutions. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii PREFACE iv GLOSSARY ix CHAPTER 1. CHILD CARE AS AN OCCUPATION 1 The Child Care Labor, Shortage hrome Fringe Benefits Turnover Parents' Fees and Reimbursements Lack of Opportunity for Advancement Decreasing Quality of Caregivers Low Status Work Overload and Burnout Grief and Loss Other Working Conditions Job Satisfaction 2. THE STUDY 12 The Choice of Method The Four Sites Selecting Interviewees Characteristics of the Sample The Interview Method of Analysis 3. THE SATISFACTIONS OF CHILD CARE AS WORK THE TOUGHEST JOB YOU'LL EVER LOVE 22 The Multidimensionality of Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction The Realms of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction The Satisfactions of Child Care Workers Helping Young Children Grow and Learn Being of Service Doing Work That Matters Appreciation of Young Children Challenging Work Relationships With Staff Relationships With Parents Natural Mothers Personal Growth Autonomy, Responsibility, and Power The Lack of Differences in Satisfaction by Gender and Race Satisfaction With Income 4. THE DISSATISFACTIONS OF CHILD CARE AS WORK ITS NOT A "REAL JOB" 44 The Dissatisfactions hrome Financial Hardship Poverty Directors Between a Rock and a Hard Place Lack of Unions Comparisons to Other JobsMcDonald's Pays More It's Not Just the Pay, It's and Low Pay and... Dependence on Spouse's Income Variations on the Theme Satisfaction with Income Fringe Benefits Lack of Respect and Status DON'T Call Us Baby-Sitters There's No Respect for Child Care Workers Variativas on the Theme Satisfaction With Respect and Status The Status of Public School Teachers Workload and Stress Workload Stress and Burnout Dead-End Jobs The Role of Insuffiecient Funding 5. CRILD CARE LABOR ECONOMICS WOMEN'S WAGES AND MARKET FAILURE 67 The Gap Between Women's and Men's Wages Segregated Occupations The Dual Labor Market Women's Lesser Sense of Pay Entitlement The Increasing Value of Women's Pay The History of Women's Labor Economics Industrialization Women in the Workforce The Feminization of Poverty Pay Equity and Comparable Worth Comparable Worth Initiatives in Child Care The Sources of Women's Pay Differential Market Theory Discrimination Theory Research Testing the Theories Causes of the Low Wages in Child Care vi Traditional Women's Work Today The Service Industries Non-Unionized Workers Home Workers Domestic Workers Market Failure in Child Care 6. THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF CHILD CARE 91 Consumerism Mothers' Need to Work Mothers Who Must Work The Relativity of Need Where Are the Fathers? The Cult of Motherhood The Devaluation of Motherhood The Devaluation of Children and the Child's Experience The Commodification of Nurturance and the Massification of Care The Poor Quality of Child care Massification Child Care, A Profession Making the Best of a Bad Situation 7. SOCIAL INVESTMENT AND FAMILY SPENDING 101 Child Care as an Investment The Value of the Child Care Experience The Full Cost of Care But Where Will the Money Come From? How Much Can Families Afford to Pay for Child Care? Family Income The Effects of the Recent Economic Downturn and Income Redistribution Current Child Care Fees Where Do Our Family Do lins Go? Government Spending Priorities Employer Spending Priorities 8. MOTHERS AND CAREGIVERS TWO WORLDS APART 113 The Distant Lifeworlds of Mothers and Caregivers Is This a Business Relationship or Are We Friends? Lack of Direct Communication The Perspective of Mothers (and a Few Fathers) Time Pressure The Emotional Distress of Using Care Guilt Sorrow Jealousy vu Fear Denial and Cognitive Dissonance The Father's Role Dislike of Caring for Children Contentment, A Variation on the Theme of Stress Child Care, Quick and Cheap A Paradox The Caregiver's Perspective Criticism of Parents Caregiver Distress The Culture of Silence The Caregivers' Version The Parents' Version Overcoming Estrangement CONCLUSION 134 The New American Family Parents Working Outside the Home Changes in the Experience of Early Childhood Child Care, an Occupation in Trouble Reclaiming Women's Ways of Caring Recommendations Directions for Public Policy Early Childhood Professionals Parents Employers A National Alliance for Early Care and Education APPENDICES 142 BIBLIOGRAPHY 164 viii GLOSSARY Following are definitions of terms that are used in this study: Child care center - Also known as a day care center, preschool or nursery school, these programs are located in a building other than a private home, such as a church, community center, private building, or school.