This article uses an ethical audit framework proposed by Cribb and Ball to critically
analyze the possible implications of the rapid growth of corporatized childcare in
Australia. In particular, it seeks to examine how corporatization affects childcare
service provision and whether it conflicts with other social goals. Noting the
paucity of systematic evidence currently available concerning the impact of
corporatization, the article identifies a research agenda with scope to inform
policy decisions about whether support for continued expansion of corporatized
childcare is ethically justifiable.
ABC Learning
(2005) ‘So much more than
childcare!’. Available at http://childcare.com.au/
(accessed 1 September 2005).
2.
ABC Radio National
(2004) ‘Childcare profits’.
Background briefing, 3 October. Available at
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s1214400.htm (accessed 5
October 2004).
3.
Ackerman, D. J.
(2005)
‘The costs of being a childcare teacher: Revisiting the problem
of low wages’
. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American
Educational Research Association, Montreal, April.
4.
Alberici, E.
(2004) ‘Childcare companies in the
spotlight’. The 7.30 Report, 29 March,
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
. Available at
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2004/21076521.htm (accessed 31 March 2004).
5.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(2003) Australia's welfare.
Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
.
6.
Baragwanath, C. A.
(1998) ‘Childcare and kindergartens: Caring about
quality’. Special Report No. 55.
Melbourne: Auditor-General's Office
.
7.
Beauchamp, T.
and
Childress, J. F.
(2001) Principles of Biomedical Ethics.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
.
8.
Bergman, S.
(2004)
‘Collective organizing and claim making on childcare in Norden:
Blurring the boundaries between the inside and outside’
. Social Politics11:
217–246
.
9.
Bergmann, B.
and
Helburn, S.
(2002) America's Childcare Problem.
New York: Palgrave
.
10.
Brennan, D.
(1998) The Politics of Australian Childcare: Philanthropy
to Feminism andBeyond, 2nd edn.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
11.
Brennan, D.
(2004) ‘Childcare and Australian social
policy’, in
J. Bowes
and
A. Hayes
(eds) Children, Families, and Communities: Contexts and
Consequences, pp. 210–227.
Melbourne: Oxford University Press
.
12.
Business Review Weekly
(2003) ‘Playgrounds of profit’.
13–19 November, pp. 32–37.
13.
Butler, J.
(2003) ‘Judith Butler’, in
G. A. Olson
and
L. Worsham
(eds) Critical Intellectuals on Writing, pp.
42–52.
Albany: State University of New York Press
.
14.
Carter, C.
(2003) ‘Threat to smaller
players’. Territory News, 1 December. Available at
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,80231%5E13569,00.html
(accessed 1 December 2003).
15.
Cleveland, G.
and
Krashinsky, M.
(2002) Financing ECEC Services in OECD Countries.
OECD Occasional Papers.
Paris: OECD
.
16.
Cochran-Smith, M.
(2005)
‘Teacher educators as researchers: Multiple perspectives’
. Teaching and Teacher Education21:
219–225
.
17.
Cribb, A.
and
Ball, S.
(2005)
‘Towards an ethical audit of the privatization of education’
. British Journal of Educational Studies53:
115–128
.
18.
Crouch, C.
(2000) Coping with Post-democracy.
London: Fabian Society
.
19.
Crouch, C.
(2003) Commercialisation or Citizenship: Education Policy
and the Future ofPublic Services.
London: Fabian Society
.
20.
Cullen, D.
(2005) ‘Early learning’.
Sydney Morning Herald Money, 3 August, p. 6-6.
21.
Dahlberg, G.
and
Moss, P.
(2004) Ethics and Politics in Early Childhood
Education.
London and New York: Routledge Falmer
.
22.
Department of Family and Community Services
(2005) 2004 Census of Childcare Services.
Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia
. Available at
http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/childcare/04_census.htm
(accessed 4 August 2005).
23.
Dobrowolsky, A.
and
Jenson, J.
(2004)
‘Shifting representations of citizenship: Canadian politics of
“women” and “children”’
. Social Politics11:
158–180
.
24.
Doherty, G.
,
Friendly, M.
and
Forer, B.
(2002) Childcare by Default or Design? An Exploration of
Differences between Non-profit and For-profit Canadian Childcare Centres Using
the ‘You Bet I Care!’ Data Sets.Occasional Paper 18.
Toronto: University of Toronto, Childcare
Resource and Research Unit
.
25.
Duff, J.
and
Larsen, A.
(2003) ‘Service professions in corporate
settings: The implications for autonomy, public interest and
trust’, in
L. Briskman
and
M. Muetzelds
(eds) Moving Beyond Managerialism in Human Services, Vol. 2.
Melbourne: RMIT Publishing
.
26.
Fraser, A.
(2004) ‘Child's
play’. Weekend Australian, 11–12 September,
p. 33-33.
27.
Freedman, C.
(2003)
‘Corporate childcare: Weighing up the costs?’Rattler68:
20–21
.
28.
Gelles, E.
(2002) Sector Distinctive Administrative Attitudes and
Practices among For-profit and Non Profit Childcare Providers: A Social
Judgement Analysis. Nonprofit Sector Research Fund Working Paper
Series.
Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute
.
29.
Groves, E.
,
Purdie, J.
and
Loveday, M.
(2005) ‘ABC Learning Centres Ltd. So much more than
childcare!’ Available at
http://childcare.com.au/images/2005%20documents/ABC%20Half%20Yr%20Res_Pres.pdf
(accessed 29 August 2005).
30.
Herde, C.
(2005) ‘Fattened ABC calls halt to
acquisitions’. Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August, p. 25-25.
31.
Horin, A.
(2003) ‘When making money is child's
play’. Sydney Morning Herald, 4 October, p. 39-39.
Jokovich, E.
(2005)
‘Family payment: About face muddies the waters’
. Rattler73:
6–7
.
34.
Kincheloe, J. L.
and
McLaren, P.
(2005) ‘Rethinking critical theory and
qualitative research’, in
N. K. Denzin
and
Y. S. Lincoln
(eds) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd edn,
pp. 303–342.
Thousand Oaks, CA, London and New Delhi: SAGE
.
35.
Lyons, M.
(2003) ‘The work organisation in Australian
daycare centres: Professionalism or exploitation?’, in
L. Briskman
and
M. Muetzeldt
(eds) Moving Beyond Managerialism in Human Services, Vol. 2.
Melbourne: RMIT Publishing
.
36.
Meagher, G.
(2004) ‘Do Australians want a private welfare
state? Are they getting one anyway?’The Drawing Board: An Australian Review of Public Affairs.Available at
http://www.econ.usyd.edu.au/drawingboard/digest/0405/meagher.html
(accessed 1 October 2004).
37.
Mitchell, L.
(2002) Differences between Community Owned and Privately
Owned EarlyChildhood Education and Care Centres: A Review of Evidence(No. 2002/2).
Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research
.
38.
Morgan, K. J.
(2005)
‘The “production” of childcare: How labor
markets shape social policy, and vice versa’
. Social Politics12:
243–263
.
39.
Morris, J. R.
and
Helburn, S. W.
(2000)
‘Childcare center quality differences: The role of profit status,
client preferences, and trust’
. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly29:
377–399
.
40.
National Childcare Accreditation Council
(2005) QIAS Quality Trends Report. Available at
http://www.ncac.gov.au/student_documents/qias_quality_trends_report_jan_to_jul_2005.pdf
(accessed 6 September 2005).
41.
Osgood, J.
(2004)
‘Time to get down to business: The responses of early years
practitioners to entrepreneurial approaches to professionalism’
. Journal of Early Childhood Research2:
5–24
.
42.
Patterson, K.
(2004) Senate Official Hansard, 6 December, No.
3(2), 21pm. Commonwealth of Australia Parliamentary Debates, p.
25-25. Available at
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/dailys/ds061204.pdf (accessed 20
August 2005).
43.
Peacock, S.
(2004) ‘Main game child's play for
young king of kids’. The West Australian, 11
September, p. 74-74.
44.
Peatling, S.
(2005) ‘Hire purchase scheme on offer for
childcare’. Sydney Morning Herald, 6 July, p. 1-1.
45.
Penn, H.
(1995)
‘The relationship of private daycare and nursery education in the UK’
. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal3:
29–41
.
46.
Plibersek, T.
(2004) ‘Childcare prices set to
rise’. Media Release 9 December.
Canberra: Parliament House
.
47.
Press, F.
(1999)
‘The demise of the community-owned long-day care centres and the
rise of the mythical consumer’
. Australian Journal of Early Childhood24:
20–26
.
48.
Press, F.
and
Woodrow, C.
(2005)
‘Commodification, corporatisation and children's spaces’
. Australian Journal of Education49:
278–291
.
49.
Price Waterhouse Coopers
(2003) Draft Children's Services Regulation: An
Evaluation of Potential Benefits and Costs.
Canberra: Department of Community Services
.
50.
Purcal, C.
and
Fisher, K.
(2004) Review of the Early Childhood Teachers Shortage
Interim Policy for the NSW Department of Community Services, Office of
Childcare.
Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre,
University of NSW
. Available at
http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/reports/ECTFinalReport.pdf (accessed 12
December 2004).
51.
Rochfort, S.
(2005) ‘ABC Learning big on US
littlies’. Sydney Morning Herald, 17 November, p. 21-21.
52.
Roth, P.
(2004) The Plot Against America.
London: Jonathon Cape
.
53.
Sait, K. (2004) ‘Responsibility for the care of children: The
family, the state, the market? A critical analysis of the changing nature of
childcare arrangements in Australia’. Unpublished Honours Thesis,
Macquarie University.
54.
Seddon, T.
(1996)
‘The principle of choice in policy research’
. Journal of Educational Policy11:
197–214
.
55.
Shearman, D.
(2003)
‘Childcare and the profit motive’
. Bedrock8:
4-4
.
56.
Singh, M.
,
Kenway, J.
and
Apple, M.
(2005) ‘Globalizing education: Perspectives from
above and below’, in
M. W. Apple
,
J. Kenway
and
M. Singh
(eds) Globalizing Education: Policies, Pedagogies and Politics,
pp. 1–29.
New York: Peter Lang
.
57.
Sundell, K.
(2002)
‘Examining Swedish profit and nonprofit childcare: The
relationships between adult-to-child ratio, age composition in childcare
classes, teaching and children's social and cognitive achievements’
. Early Childhood Research Quarterly15:
91–114
.
58.
Sutherland, K.
(2004)
‘Raising the stakes: The reality of corporate childcare’
. Rattler71:
2–6
.
59.
The Age
(2004) ‘ABC childcare empire looks to
grow’. 13 September. Available at
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/0913/1094927463432.html?oneclick=true
(accessed 13 September 2004).
60.
Welch, D.
(2005) ‘Burden of childcare’.
Sydney Morning Herald, 30–31 July, p. 27-27.
