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OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE AND SCHOOLS
JENNIFER LEIGH CARTMEL
Dip. T. (Mt Gravatt College of Advanced Education), B. Ed. Stud. (University of Queensland), M. Ed. (Queensland University of Technology)
Thesis submitted in fulfilment of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology Brisbane, Queensland
Centre for Learning Innovation
2007
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Keywords
Outside school hours care; School age care; child care; critical ethnography,
communicative action.
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Abstract
Outside school hours programs provide recreation, play and leisure-based programs for
children aged 5 to 12 years in before- and after-school settings, and in the vacation
periods. Over the past ten years, the number of programs has grown rapidly due to
women’s increasing participation in the workforce. At the same time, critical changes
for the operation and administration of Queensland outside school hours care services
were occurring following the introduction of mandatory standards and quality
assurance. This study is a critical ethnography investigating the circumstances for two
Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services located on school sites at this time of
change. The services were responding to the introduced legislative and accreditation
requirements, the burgeoning numbers of students in the programs, and the
requirements by parents for care for their school-aged child. The findings of this study
show the complexity of the dualities of purpose and the operational administration of
OSHC services, an area that has been little identified and discussed to date. This study
illuminated not only aspects of OSHC services, it provided an opportunity for the co-
ordinators of the two OSHC services to reflect on the operational structures.
As the majority of OSHC services in Queensland (and other Australian states)
are located in school sites, a closer examination of the relationship between OSHC and
schools provided insights into some issues concerning the sector. Habermas’ Theory of
Communicative Action was used to investigate the state of affairs and analyse the
consensual and coercion meaning-making that occurred in the interactions between the
stakeholders, specifically between the OSHC coordinators and school principals.
Critical ethnographic research techniques, including participant observations and semi-
structured interviews, were used to investigate what appears below the surface of social
existence in the OSHC settings.
On the surface, the interactions between the coordinators and principals
appeared congenial. However, the study found that the vulnerability of the OSHC
services for alienation and marginalisation was linked to the lack of legitimacy and
reduced sense of social membership endowed by the ambience of the school setting in
which the services were located. The study found that the distorted communicative
action that took place within the OSHC settings exhibited the pathologies of alienation,
withdrawal of legitimation and lack of collective identity. Examining the relationships
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of the key stakeholders within the outside school hours care services offers conceptual
understandings of existing institutional relationships and practices, This critical
ethnography pinpoints sources of power and unease contributing to the concerns for the
outside school hours sector and recommends ways to develop these programs.
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A Statement of original authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signature: Date:
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Table of Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................... x Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. xi Glossary of terms ............................................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 Australian Outside School Hours Care ............................................................................ 3 The Aims .......................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter Overviews ........................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 11 Increasing demand for OSHC Services ......................................................................... 13 OSHC Stakeholders ....................................................................................................... 14 Children and parents and OSHC services ...................................................................... 15 Changes in management structures: Public stakeholders, management committees, governments and schools ............................................................................................... 17 Australian response to OSHC and research ................................................................... 20 Issues for Australian OSHC services ............................................................................. 25 Statutory Regulations ..................................................................................................... 25 Licensing ........................................................................................................................ 26 Accreditation .................................................................................................................. 30 Workforce Issues ........................................................................................................... 35 Tenancy Concerns .......................................................................................................... 39 Communication problems .............................................................................................. 44 Queensland Context ....................................................................................................... 45 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 48 CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .......................................................... 50 Critical Theory ............................................................................................................... 52 Examining Culture ......................................................................................................... 54 The Process of Critique .................................................................................................. 57 Thinking To and Fro ...................................................................................................... 58 Habermas and Communicative Action .......................................................................... 60 Rationality ...................................................................................................................... 61 Making Sense and Socialisation .................................................................................... 62 Communicative Action .................................................................................................. 63 Lifeworld and System .................................................................................................... 69 Colonisation of the Lifeworld ........................................................................................ 71 Critique of the Theory of Communicative Action ......................................................... 75 Habermas and the postmodern theorists ........................................................................ 77 Invisible Women ............................................................................................................ 78 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 80 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 82 Critical Ethnography ...................................................................................................... 82 Design of the Study ........................................................................................................ 85 The Sites and the Participants ........................................................................................ 85 The Growth of OSHC Services at Currajong State School and Jarrah College ............ 85 Currajong State School OSHC service .......................................................................... 86
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Jarrah College OSHC Service ........................................................................................ 89 Overview of Data Collection Methods .......................................................................... 94 Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................... 95 Semi-Structured Interviews ............................................................................................ 96 Informal Conversations ............................................................................................... 100 Participant Observation .............................................................................................. 100 Fieldnotes ..................................................................................................................... 101 Documents ................................................................................................................... 103 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 103 Validity ........................................................................................................................ 107 Reflexivity ................................................................................................................... 109 Ethics ........................................................................................................................... 111 Limitations of the Study .............................................................................................. 113 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 115 CHAPTER 5: WITHDRAWAL OF LEGITIMATION .............................................. 117 Workforce Issues of Recruiting and Retaining Staff: The Principals’ Work in Withholding Legitimation ............................................................................................ 117 Pinching Staff: Luring Staff Away From the OSHC Service ...................................... 118 Increased Space and Work Conditions but at a Cost ................................................... 130 Qualifications Quandary: Principals, OSHC Staff and Professional Training to Work with Children ............................................................................................................... 133 Low Pay, Low Training Priority .................................................................................. 140 Ladies and Girls are Not Professional Role Descriptions ............................................ 143 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 147 CHAPTER 6: UNSETTLING COLLECTIVE IDENTITY ........................................ 149 OSHC Services in Makeshift Spaces ........................................................................... 149 Building the OSHC Empire … School Strikes Back ................................................... 150 In the Beginning ........................................................................................................... 150 A Building for the OSHC Service ............................................................................... 151 Dilemma of Non-Compliance to Requirements: Multiple Obligations ....................... 171 Strategic Communication of the Principal Shapes Identity ......................................... 176 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 179 Postscript ...................................................................................................................... 180 CHAPTER 7: ALIENATION OF OSHC .................................................................... 181 Relocating the OSHC service: aliens in matching uniforms ....................................... 181 Daily shifts and changes .............................................................................................. 187 Under pressure outdoors as well as indoors ................................................................. 192 Out in the Cold, exposed to the inclement weather ..................................................... 194 Changing responsibilities ............................................................................................. 199 Teachers relinquishing ‘loco parentus’ ........................................................................ 200 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 206 Postscript ...................................................................................................................... 208 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 209 Findings and Recommendations .................................................................................. 211 Findings ....................................................................................................................... 211 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 218 Legitimating OSHC ..................................................................................................... 220 Future research ............................................................................................................. 221 Secure venues .............................................................................................................. 222 OSHC Staff require specialised knowledge ................................................................. 223
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Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 225 Postscript ...................................................................................................................... 226 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONS for SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS ................ 228 APPENDIX B: DOCUMENTATION SOURCES ...................................................... 232 APPENDIX C: ETHICS APPROVAL ........................................................................ 233 APPENDIX D: INFORMATION SHEETS ................................................................ 237 APPENDIX E: CONSENT FORMS ........................................................................... 239 APPENDIX F: THEMED DATA SETS ..................................................................... 246 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 252 LEGISLATION ........................................................................................................... 278 PRESENTATIONS ..................................................................................................... 279
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List of Figures
Figure 1.1. Timeline showing development in the relationship between OSHC and School in Australia
Figure 2.1. Timeline showing policy and regulatory contributions that have shaped
the OSHC in Queensland Figure 2.2. Venues for OSHC services
Figure 3.1. Communication Act is linked to four domains
Figure 3.2. Communication Act - communication makes connections between the social structure and the cultural patterns.
Figure 3.3. The Lifeworld and the System is used to explain the relationships
between every day life and the economy. Figure 3.4. Reproduction Processes that maintain the structural components of the
Lifeworld Figure 3.5. Shift between the Lifeworld and the System in the Colonisation of the
Lifeworld. Figure 3.6. Communicative action line with manifestations of crisis when
reproduction processes are disturbed Figure 4.1. Administration of Currajong School
Figure 4.2. Timeline of key developments for Currajong OSHC service
Figure 4.3. Administration Jarrah College including OSHC staff
Figure 4.4. Timeline of key developments for Jarrah OSHC service
Figure 4.5. The steps in the interview process
Figure 4.6. Growth of the economy and the public administration system associated
with OSHC during the data collection phase
Figure 8.1. Contextual elements of the domains of the communication act between
OSHC coordinators and principals
Figure 8.2. Recommendations for each of the domains to support the facilitation of
consensual understanding between OSHC stakeholders
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List of Tables
Table 1.1. Licensing/ Regulations for OSHC in each Australian state and territory
Table 3.1. Manifestations of crisis when reproduction processes are disturbed
Table 4.1. Hours of operation and numbers of staff in attendance at Currajong
OSHC
Table 4.2. Hours of operation and numbers of staff in attendance at Jarrah College
Table 4.3. Number of semi-structured interviews with participants at Currajong SS
OSHC site
Table 4.4. Number of semi-structured interviews with participants at Jarrah
College OSHC
Table 4.5. Manifestations that occur when communicative action with the
structural components of the Lifeworld is distorted
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Abbreviations
CCIA – Child Care Improvement Accreditation
DETA – Department of Education, Training and the Arts
EQ - Education Queensland
FACSIA – Department of Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
(previously FACS - Department of Families and Community Services)
LOTE – Languages Other Than English
NCAC - National Childcare Accreditation Council
OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OSHC – Outside school hours care
P&C – Parents and Citizens Association
QCAN – Queensland Children’s Activities Network
QDoC – Queensland Department of Communities
RPL – Recognition of Prior Learning
Abbreviations used with data
FN – Field Notes
I – Interview
IC – Informal Conversation
PO – Participant Observation
Glossary of terms
Accreditation - Outside School Hours Care Quality Assurance for OSHC services, that
assists services to implement strategies to improve the quality of care that they provide
for children.
After School Care - school age care that operates in the afternoons after school has
concluded.
Assistant - person engaged by the approved school age care service provider to
undertake the responsibilities for supervision of children in the school age care service
required by Section 32 of the Child Care Act (2002).
Before School Care - school age care that operates in the mornings before school
commences.
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Co-ordinator - person engaged by the approved school age care service provider to
undertake the responsibilities for operating the school age care service required by
Section 32 of the Child Care Act (2002).
Licence - means a licence under the Child Care Act (2002) to conduct a child care
service, issued by the Chief Executive (or delegate) of the Department of Families.
NETWORK – Peak body for children’s services in New South Wales.
QCAN – Queensland Children’s Activities Network Inc. Peak body for school age care
services in Queensland.
OSHC - Outside School Hours Care
QDoF - Queensland Department of Families, now known as Queensland Department
of Communities. Government Department responsible for the oversight of community
services such as child care.
School Age Care or Outside School Hours Care - means a licensed centre-based
service for which, under its licence conditions, the children in care are primary school
age (including preschool and preparatory year in Queensland).
Vacation Care - school age care that operates during school vacation periods.
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Acknowledgements
Writing the thesis was both a personal and professional journey. My son was 3 months
old when I first began working in OSHC and as I neared the completion of this study
OSHC and Schools he exited from secondary school. The time spent undertaking this
thesis has allowed me to reflect on childrearing and its relationship to OSHC and
schools, from personal and professional circumstances. To all the child carers of
Tristan and Amelia - grandparents, extended family and friends, and staff in day care
centres, family day care homes and particularly outside school hours care services, my
husband, Tony and I say ‘thank you’.
I want to acknowledge all the invisible supports that sustained the journey of this
thesis:
• The coordinators, staff and children of the research sites who allowed me to
blend in,
• OSHC workers (Australia, England and Scotland) who have encouraged me and
also wanted their stories to be told,
• Work colleagues and friends,
• My sisters – Sandy, Wendy and Salli,
• And my family – Tony, Tristan and Amelia.
I have valued the constant support and inspiration offered by my supervisors Professor
Sue Grieshaber and Professor Susan Danby. They stimulated my ideas and challenged
me to extend my skills and understandings. Their friendship has kept me on the
journey.
The ongoing encouragement and strategic support of Associate Professor Jayne
Clapton, Head of School, School of Human Services, Griffith University has enabled
me to balance the range of work commitments to provide the additional time required
for undertaking the writing of this thesis.
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I am grateful to the spark kindled by my colleague and friend Wendy Redhead. She
challenged me to undertake at study that could make a difference.
Particular thanks to my parents, Val and Roy, who believe that education and play are
essential features of childhood, and of life. This provided an important foundation that
combined with their ongoing unconditional support has been invaluable throughout this
journey. I am particularly indebted to my father whose curious attention to detail has
encouraged me to look beyond the surface to what lies below.
1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
I have been involved with Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) in Queensland as a
contact worker with the children, a vocational teacher, an administrator, a parent using
services and as a university academic managing field studies for students in outside
school hours care services.
My initial experiences in the field were as a worker in an afterschool care
program. I shopped for the afternoon tea supplies, organised the craft program and
engaged with the children in a range of conversations and activities. The program was
held in a small church hall that had been relocated into school grounds. We always
hoped that it would not rain; otherwise we could not fit everyone inside the hall. I also
vividly recall the afternoon that I found one of our popular resources - a box of Lego
blocks - in the classroom of the Year 2 teacher. The teacher had removed the Lego from
OSHC because she thought that the children in her class could use the equipment more
appropriately than the children in OSHC. She had removed the materials without the
permission and knowledge of the OSHC coordinators. As a worker in OSHC, I took
my three month old baby with me. The children in the program had the choice of craft
activities, watching television or playing with my baby. The limited hours of my work
and my child care salary had made it impossible to find affordable child care for him. I
worked in this setting for more than twelve months before undertaking other
employment, as a part-time tertiary teacher and lecturer.
After my part-time teaching positions in the tertiary sector, I returned to
teaching as a preschool classroom teacher. I shared my classroom with the OSHC
service at that school. I became very aware of the additional wear and tear on the
resources, jointly shared by the preschool children and the OSHC children, as they
were used for eleven hours per day. The children from the primary school were always
eager to play in the home corner, or with building blocks, construction equipment and
art materials that constitute learning materials in an early childhood classroom. I
arranged the classroom with two sets of children in mind--the preschool children and
the OSHC children.
In this role as preschool teacher, I also undertook additional responsibilities as
the administrator for before and after school, and vacation, care programs. I developed
a first-hand awareness of the lack of organisational and legislative structures for these
2
services and how these inadequacies could impact on service delivery for children, and
on staff morale. The absence of specified requirements meant that programs could be
quite wide ranging in relation to staffing, building, and resources. For example,
financial administrators in schools or parent committees made decisions about the
number of staff that they could afford to pay to run the program, rather than on a basis
of considering suitable child/staff ratios.
I resigned from teaching in school to work as a Technical and Further Education
(TAFE) teacher and Vocational Education Workplace Assessor for TAFE. In that
position, I assisted staff in OSHC services to gain formal qualifications. As well, I
made many workplace assessment visits to help the OSHC staff collate their portfolios
for obtaining qualifications through the process of Recognition of Prior Learning. As a
teacher in the TAFE system, I modified the teaching program so that it was relevant for
the staff in OSHC services. I did this by including information about child development
for children aged from 5-12 years, craft activities, and leisure pursuits for school age
children in the curriculum. As part of updating my industry skills, a requirement for
TAFE teachers every three years, I worked for two weeks in vacation care, and in after
school care, in an OSHC service in my local area. This service is one of the two
research sites for this study.
As a parent, I used my local service where many staff was well known to me as
they were the TAFE students that I had taught, or were teaching, at that time. This
program provided before and after school care and vacation care for my children for
more than ten years.
As a university academic, meeting weekly with students and visiting them on
practica in OSHC services in schools, I increasingly became aware of the growing
tension between OSHC services and their associated schools. This pressure was
brought to bear with the introduction of mandatory regulations and quality assurances
processes in 2002. In my quest to understand the complexity of the relationship
between the OSHC service and the school, and between the OSHC coordinator and the
school principal, I searched for scholarly literature and professional practice guidelines
to substantiate the practices of OSHC services and schools sharing spaces. However, I
found very little to help me. While there were some materials dealing with the practical
implementation of OSHC programs, there was a lack of scholarly literature on OSHC,
and specifically on OSHC and schools sharing spaces.
3
All these experiences over an extended number of years have contributed to my
‘insider knowledge’ about outside school hours care services. This insider knowledge
motivated my interest in investigating the challenges facing the OSHC sector. My
insider status, also, was invaluable in developing the trust of the participants at each of
the OSHC research sites. It also enabled me to participate unobtrusively in, and act as
an observer of, the services.
Australian Outside School Hours Care
Outside school hours care (OSHC) services have been around for more than one
hundred years and, more recently, they have been used as a source of child care to
support women’s participation in the workforce (European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EFILWC), 2006; Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC, 2007); Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD), 2002; Press, 2006). These services are facilities
for children aged 5 to 12 years. The services operate before and after school, during
school term time and between 6.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. during vacation periods. Care
also may be provided on student free days. Services offer recreation, play and leisure-
based programs within schools or other venues. A closer examination of the
relationship between OSHC services and schools could provide insights into some
issues concerning the sector and, more specifically, on aspects of the relationship
between the school and OSHC programs.
Over the past one hundred years, the Australian OSHC sector has altered
considerably in role and structure, and this is particularly evident within the past thirty
or so years. In Australia, after school programs offering cultural and recreational
pursuits have been operating since the 1900s (Brennan, 1998, 1999; Elliott, 1998a;
Finlason 1993; Piscitelli, 1988). Programs first operated in community playgrounds and
then moved into community halls and schools playgrounds. Generally, the programs
were coordinated by arts or recreational organisations (Apps, 1944; Finlason, 2004)
that used public school sites, and community halls or playgrounds as venues. The
programs had few links with school or school staff. It was not until after the 1970s that
there was a demand for services that had ‘care’ and not recreation as their focus
(Moyle, Meyer, & Evans, 1997).
4
The focus for recreation services for children has altered significantly since 1980 to
show a shift in priority from a focus on the needs of children to those of parents
(Arnold, 2002; Brennan, 1994; Finlason, 2004). Now the main concern of OSHC
services is to offer working parents care and protection for their children. Some key
changes that have occurred in the sector are represented on Figure 1.1: Timeline for
development of OSHC services in Australia. The shift of the focus of services from
recreation activities for children to child care is indicated on a parallel line to the date
line. As the services changed focus from recreation to care and grew in size, the
systems required to administer them altered in structure. The early 1980s saw a rapid
expansion of OSHC services as women’s participation in the workforce increased
(Brennan, 1998; Elliott, 1998b; Moyle et al., 1997; OECD, 2001). and subsequently
requiring care for their primary school aged children. In 1993, 4.8 percent of Australian
children were recorded as attending school age care in Australia (ABS, 1993). In 1999,
19 percent of children in formal child care attended OSHC services (FACS, 1999).
Department of Families and Community Services (FACS) (1999) reported there may
have been more children attending programs but consistent counting methodology for
OSHC was not introduced until 1998. In 1998, the Commonwealth of Australia
government introduced Outside School Hours Reforms which provides the opportunity
(means-tested) for parents to obtain financial assistance for child care. This funding
initiative required reliable data for financial reasons. There had been no formal census
information about OSHC services (QDoF, 2002b) until 2001, when the child care
census statistics began to include specific data relating to OSHC. In 2005 in
Queensland, 7.4 percent of children used OSHC services (ABS, 2006).
The increased use of OSHC services by parents has been supported by financial
incentives from the government’s subsidisation of child care fees for some families.
The uncapping of the quota of subsidised places has provided opportunities for OSHC
services to enrol more children. However, without capital support from the
government, OSHC services have been unable to utilise this initiative as venues have
not been large enough to cater for increased numbers of children (Personal
Communication, V. Darke, OSHC Coordinator, August 19, 2005). The issue of venue
size is linked to the alignment of administrative systems such as the quality assurance
process and mandatory licensing that have been introduced parallel to the growth of
services (Queensland Child Care Strategic Plan 1999-2004). All Australian states are
5
…1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005
• More women in workforce • Paid employment in OSHC • Accreditation (2003) • Licensing (2002)
• Building standards • Qualifications • Staff/ Child Ratio
• Source of income to school
• More women in workforce • Paid employment in
OSHC • Free rent for OSHC
• Recreation activities after school and in vacations in community playgrounds
Figure 1.1. Timeline show
ing the development in the relationship betw
een Outside
School Hours C
are and School in Australia
• OSHC Reforms – child care assistance (1998)
RECREATION -------------------------------------------- RECREATION & CARE -------------------------------------------------------------- CARE
6
subject to the quality assurance process. However, only some Australian states, namely
Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland, have
introduced mandatory licensing of OSHC services. Table 1.1 shows the current
mandatory requirements in each Australian state and territory. Previously, OSHC
services were able to operate almost independently of their host facilities (generally
schools). However, the situation now requires more negotiation about operational
issues concerning the space used by OSHC services and schools.
State or Territory Regulations/ Licensing
Queensland Child Care Act 2002
Child Care Regulations 2003
New South Wales Proposed introduction 2008
Australian Capital Territory School Age Care Conditions 2002
Victoria Proposed introduction 2008
South Australia Children’s Services Bill 2005
Western Australia Community Services (OSHC) Regulations
2002
Tasmania Child Care Act 2001
Northern Territory Recommended Standards
Table 1.1. Licensing/ Regulations for OSHC in each Australian state and territory
Historically, the State and Commonwealth of Australia governments have
treated the services for education and for care as separate entities. They have had
separate policies, regulations, funding methodologies, and are co-ordinated by different
government agencies (HESTA, 2001). Many public policies for children have their
roots in nineteenth century movements for social organisation (Michel, 2003; Petrie,
2003; Rose, 2000) and were related to goals of poverty relief and custodial care
(Michel, 2003). These policies normally defined the role of the services offered to
children and families such as keeping children safe from harm rather than nurturing and
enhancing their development. Such notions have continued to permeate the policy
7
directions for Australian children (Samson, 2002). OSHC provision, in particular,
grouped children together so that they did not have to go to ‘empty homes’; and there
was no emphasis on the need for staff with professional qualifications to undertake the
‘caring’ role.
OSHC services are an under-researched sector, particularly in Australia. OSHC
has not attracted the attention and research given to child care for very young children
(EFILWC, 2006; FASCIA, 2005; Halpern, 2006; OECD, 2001, 2002). Researchers in
Britain and Europe have profiled services (Barker & Smith, 2000a, 2000b; Moss &
Petrie, 2002). In the United States there has been a plethora of material describing
OSHC programs but empirical research studies have been limited (Halpern, 2006;
Posner& Vandell, 1999; Vandell & Schumow, 1999). It is the British services that are
most similar to Australian OSHC services. These services have similar historical, social
and economic concerns.
In Australia, particularly, there has been little research examining the OSHC
services. However, there have been a few pioneering studies that have examined
various aspects of the OSHC program. State based profiles of OSHC services were
undertaken by Beck (1975) in Western Australia; by Piscitelli and Mobbs (1986) and
Child Watch (1987, 1988) in Queensland and South Australia; and by Blackwood
(1985), Gifford (1991) and Glyde (1997) in the Australian Capital Territory services.
Two small research projects investigated the effects of OSHC on children: Garton, Pratt
and Maiolo (1991) researched the leisure interests of 11 and 12 year olds in relation to
out-of-hours care programs and Howie (1992) compared the effects of differing after
school arrangements on third and fourth grade children.
When the Commonwealth Government commissioned research projects about
OSHC services, the specific focus has been funding issues including the cost-impact
analysis prior to the introduction of quality assurance processes (Community Services
Management Limited (CSML), 1999; Moyle et al., 1997). Other more recent reports
relate to the child care workforce and combined childcare quality assurance processes
(Community Services Ministers Advisory Council (CSMAC), 2006; Elliott, 2006;
Tayler, Wills, Hayden & Wilson, 2006), which have made minimal references to
OSHC. Injections of financial support into the sector by the Commonwealth
Government were the significant highlights that were recorded. Very little information
has been collated about the nature of programs and services across each Australian
8
state. As the OSHC sector is increasing and more funding is being spent in the area,
there is a need to be more accountable for the spending.
OSHC services have been referred to as the “Cinderella” of the care services
because they attract the least amount of funding and have the poorest work conditions
(Gammage, 2003). Gammage (2003) suggests that OSHC makes “contributions
towards the social and psychological capital (not to mention safety) and to freedom” (p.
2), but often has impermanent premises and substandard service and equipment, and is
“tucked away, so as not to offend too much” (p. 2). Moreover, the roles and
responsibilities of staff and management, particularly where school classrooms and
OSHC services share the available space, are being affected by the convergence of
social and economic policies (Jackson, 2005). These influences include legislative
developments of licensing and accreditation, and debate about the care and education of
school-age children including suggestions about longer schooldays (Howard, 2003).
OSHC services undertake a diverse range of responsibilities for children and
families. As such, OSHC has lacked an identity under current service models as there
has been a lack of appreciation of their role. Research undertaken by Health Employees
Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) (2001) found that the “stereotypical view of
children’s service work as being unskilled ‘women’s work’ that can be done by anyone
is still relatively commonplace within the Australian community” (p. vi).
The description of the growth of the OSHC sector provides a background for
discussion about the status of OSHC services within the ‘care’ domain and about the
recent regulatory frameworks within which services operate. The relationships among
each of the stakeholders in the OSHC sector including children, parents, staff, schools,
auspicing bodies, service providers, and governments are complex, as each has
differing perceptions and wide ranging concerns about the role and responsibilities of
the OSHC sector. In Queensland, services have grown, but little consideration has been
given to the purpose and value to the community of OSHC services. OSHC has been
the ‘invisible’ partner for working parents with school age children.
The Aims
The purpose of this study is to explore how OSHC services operate on the
premises of two primary schools. It illuminates the activity of the staff of the service as
they provide out of school care to children who attend the associated primary school.
9
The major question for this study is
What happens when OSHC services and schools share premises?
Sub questions are:
• How do OSHC staff and principals understand their role?
• How do policies shape sharing the space?
• What matters associated with the sharing of spaces need to be
considered?
OSHC services that operate in conjunction with schools are an example of two
cultural groups that coexist. In each situation, there are certain functions and language
use, which determine how groups are constrained by each other. The theoretical
framework for this study is critical theory. Habermas’ Theory of Communicative
Action is used to analyse the interactions between the principals and the coordinators.
The study found that the principal was a significant contributor towards the
marginalisation and alienation that the OSHC coordinators experienced as they
executed their role within the OSHC services. The pathologies of the communicative
action meant that the OSHC services perceived themselves as not being legitimate,
without a collective identity and alienated from the school. Although the principals
were not visible participants in outside school hours care day-to-day, their actions and
beliefs were able to dominate polices and practices of outside school hours care
services. One way of investigating such relationships is critical ethnography.
Critical ethnography begins from the premise that the structure and content of
culture makes life more uncomfortable for some people (Kincheloe & McLaren, 1994;
Thomas, 1993) and, also, that these groups are constrained by policies from other
bodies (Smith, 2002). Critical ethnographic research techniques are best suited to
investigate what appears below the surface of social existence. This research aimed to
illuminate aspects of the OSHC services, and also provide an opportunity for the co-
ordinators of the two OSHC services to reflect on the activity of the organisation.
It is timely that issues about sharing spaces are illuminated. Space in schools is
determined by a range of features (Gordon, Holland, & Lahelma, 2002). The sharing of
space between OSHC services and schools involves communal relationships,
psychological and intellectual understandings as well as the material properties of the
10
premises. This study provides an in-depth account about what happens in two OSHC
services, incorporating the perspectives of the co-ordinators, OSHC staff, and the
school principals. The study uncovers complexities that confront co-ordinators of
OSHC services that operate on school premises. It provides information for policy
makers, educationalists, and community development planners because it exposes the
areas of knowledge about OSHC about which more information is required so that
services can work more effectively.
Chapter Overviews
This chapter has introduced some key themes that are pertinent to the OSHC sector.
Chapter 2 provides a review of relevant international and national literature about the
stakeholders in OSHC and the issues for the delivery of OSHC services. Chapter 3
details the aspects of critical theory, the theoretical framework used in the study. In this
chapter, the pertinent features of Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action are
discussed. Chapter 4 describes the research design for the study, critical ethnography.
Critical ethnography works across cultural boundaries and was used to deconstruct
competing discourses within the OSHC field site and to share insights about these
discourses with different stakeholders, including the OSHC coordinators and school
principals. The chapter contains an account of how data were collected and analysed
and discusses the ethical considerations and the limitations of the study. Chapters 5, 6
and 7 are the analytic chapters, and explore the data that were gathered using interviews
and observations. These chapters report on the communicative action that took place
within the OSHC settings, acknowledging the pathologies such as alienation,
withdrawal of legitimation and lack of collective identity that occur when
communication is distorted. Chapter 8 draws together the findings of the study and
makes recommendations for the OSHC field and for further research.
11
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
OSHC services aim to be responsive to children, families and the community. They are
conceptualised to support workforce participation by providing care for children, and,
consequently, involve child rearing roles and responsibilities. Diverse stakeholders
contribute to the operations of these services. This chapter shows that the issues related
to the provision of OSHC services for school age children have been very limited.
There is little research examining the development of statutory regulations--licensing
and accreditation, recruitment and retention of the workforce, and government
initiatives involving policies and funding.
The paucity of literature about the OSHC sector has contributed to regress for
the circumstances of OSHC. While, OSHC has responded to the largest surge of parent
participation in the workforce, there is minimal support and understanding of the actual
circumstances of the OSHC because of its “relatively low profile … compared to other
child care services” (FACS, 2005, p. 27). While some research has been undertaken
with services responding to the workforce participation of parents with children under
mandatory school age, findings have not provided insights into, or understandings
about the origin, development, policies, regulations and daily operation of OSHC
services.
In this chapter, I examine Australian and international literature focussed on
OSHC services and similar issues to the values and service delivery in Queensland
where the priority is providing a safe place for children until their parents finish work
(ABS, 2007). OSHC is as much an industrial relations issue as it is a family issue and
so this chapter investigates the OSHC as a dual purpose activity with social and
economic outcomes for children, parents and society.
The first section of this chapter discusses the growth of OSHC services with a
focus on its stakeholders. The next section outlines the historical events that have
contributed to the contextual circumstances that have seen the increase in OSHC
services. The final section of the chapter highlights some issues that have particular
importance to the profile of OSHC sector in Queensland.
The tensions and issues for Australian OSHC services are identified within
grassroots publications, including newsletters and reports. As such, the newsletters are
the communication links between the peak advocacy organisations for OSHC and their
12
members. This material is pragmatic, sharing ideas for activities with children that
others have tried, and it is focused on tips for survival in marginalised circumstances.
For example, Australian researchers Piscitelli (1988) and Brennan (1996) scoped
literature about OSHC internationally and nationally to develop annotated
bibliographies to show that the literature in the OSHC field was predominantly either
government reports about funding or descriptive materials about the diversity of
activities children may encounter in OSHC services. Other documentation includes
profiles of service delivery in Victoria (Kennedy & Stonehouse, 1997) and in the
Australian Capital Territory (Glyde, 1997). At this time, Brennan (1996) stated that
there was a “notable lack” of research (p. 4) about OSHC issues. In the following ten
year period, very little experimental or evaluative research has occurred and the most
recent Australian research has been restricted to reports about availability and funding
for places in OSHC services (CSMAC, 2006; CSML, 1999, FACS, 2003, 2005; Tayler
et al., 2006). One exception is the South Australian study by Orr Vered (2006) that
investigated children’s media use in after-school care. Nationally, the longitudinal
study, Growing Up in Australia is collecting data about outside school hours care
services but, as yet, the research cohort has not reached the time frames to report on
OSHC for Australian children. None of these studies examined the issues of managing
the services in relation to organisational and workforce issues.
Internationally, noteworthy empirical projects have been undertaken by British
researchers such as Barker, Smith, Morrow, Weller, Hey & Harwin (2003); Moss and
Petrie (2002); Moss (2006); Petrie (2003) and Petrie et al. (2000). In Britain the
increase in public funding also has prompted some investigation of the impact of
OSHC on stakeholders (Petrie et al., 2000; Barker et al., 2003). Barker et al. (2003)
sought views particularly from parents and children about their expectations of OSHC
services. The report detailed stakeholders’ expectations and concerns. Peter Moss and
Pat Petrie (2002) have challenged thinking about the values and philosophies of
children’s services in their work From Children’s Services to Children’s Spaces. Other
European research literature, particularly from the non-English speaking countries has
been difficult to access.
The lack of OSHC provision has been described as an inadequate response to a
growing need (OECD, 2006). The report, Starting Strong II: Early Childhood
Education and Care (OECD, 2006) states that OSHC services are marginalised due to
13
the uncaring attitude of society and education systems towards children (OECD, 2006,
p. 84). Member states of the European Union have reviewed the provision of school
age child care services with a particular focus on workforce development. The report
Employment Developments in Childcare Services for School-age Children (EFILWC,
2006) contains scenarios about services. It is a comprehensive collation of material
from the member states of the European Union. It also highlights the use of web-based
material as a chief source of information about the activities of OSHC services. The
report links to previous work undertaken by Meijvogel and Petrie (1996) School-Age
Care in the European Union. The information collected will be used to initiate a
strategic response to shaping childcare policies and solving some of the concerns of the
sector, particularly in relation to workforce sustainability.
North American OSHC services, despite their long history, have an empirical
research base which has been limited. In the United States, even though OSHC services
are large undertakings, much of the literature is descriptions of programs such as
undertaken by the Afterschool Alliance and the Harvard Family Research Project.
Exceptions are projects undertaken by Vandell and colleagues (Posner & Vandell,
1999; Vandell & Schumow, 1999) and Halpern (2006). Halpern (2006) describes the
OSHC sector as “undernourished” (p. 109) and much in need of research to strengthen
understandings about the field. Canadian OSHC services are described as representing
“a patchwork of public policies” (Mahon, 2001) as each province in Canada has
responded to the need for care for school age children is different ways. Similar to
other countries the development of Canadian OSHC services are “piecemeal” (Mahon,
2001, p. vii) with minimal attention given to documentation and research about the
issues. The limited empirical research activity during the period between the reports is
testament to the understated priority given to the OSHC area.
Increasing demand for OSHC Services
Since the 1970s, the increasing demand for OSHC services has been attributed to
changing labour market patterns as more women participated in the workforce.
Economic policies concerning productivity and public policy initiatives in the areas of
child protection and welfare prompted responses to extend services for primary age
children outside the realm of educational activity into “Before and After School”
programs. The development of Australian OSHC services has been in tandem with the
14
growth of services internationally in Britain, Europe, United States and Canada. A
diverse range of services mushroomed in response to community need and prompted a
growth of services.
As increasing numbers of Australian children are spending extended time
outside home (ABS, 2005), some discussions have occurred about the workforce
required to sustain the services to care for children outside the home environment, and
about the status of children (CSMAC, 2006). In 1991, Petrie’s report of the OSHC, as a
“fairly new subject of inquiry” (p. 527), outlined how care of children before and
afterschool was taken for granted and linked to the “invisibility of women’s care work”
(p. 529). The shift of child caring and rearing from family to the public arena has not
received consistent and consolidated responses from policy makers and society in
general. Without adequate understanding about the space, staff and resources required
to care for large groups of children for two to three hours at a time there is potential for
OSHC to be considered as a marginalised.
OSHC Stakeholders
The increasing number of women in the workforce with school age children has altered
the social responsibilities associated with child rearing. In Australia, 60 percent of
mothers with school age children are in the workforce, as compared with 46 percent in
1985 (Campbell & Charlesworth, 2004, p. 77). This change has placed greater demand
on OSHC services to care for children of working parents. There is contestation about
whether services, such as schools and OSHC services are family or community
responsibilities. Broader social and financial issues are linked, particularly in relation to
the responsibilities associated with the provision of the social and financial
infrastructures that support these systems. Without consolidated support, services such
as OSHC are more vulnerable to alienation.
Economic strategies of government have focused on retaining or recruiting
more women in the workforce to increase the productivity of the economy. The social
and economic policies that are coaxing women to return to the workforce have fallen
short, due to short-sightedness of the government in providing adequate quality child
care places for school age children. In other words the strategies for recruiting women
to the workforce have not been totally successful because the policies have not
accounted for the care and well-being of school-age children (Pocock, 2006a). For
15
example, the Child Care Workforce Think Tank (FACS, 2003) underrepresented the
school-age child care sector. Very few participants were from the OSHC sector, so the
issues from the early childhood sector dominated. It appears that the Think Tank was so
focussed on issues pertaining to children under school age that they ignored the plight
of school age care services altogether.
After a period of gradual transformation, the OSHC sector is now at the centre
of some rapid developments. Each of these developments intersects with the various
OSHC stakeholders in different ways. Profiles of the stakeholders in the OSHC sector
including children, parents, staff, schools, service providers, auspicing bodies and
governments suggest that the roles and relationships between each stakeholder in the
OSHC sector has the potential to be complex. Difficulties defining roles are
compounded by the nature and status of the activity of childrearing (Fraser, 1985).
Consequently, there are only partial profiles of OSHC stakeholders and the interactions
that occur among them.
Children and parents and OSHC services
OSHC services cater for children from 5 to 12 years of age. Children may attend OSHC
for up to five hours per day during school terms, and eight to ten hours per day during
school holidays suggesting children spend about half their waking hours in the OSHC
(Network, 2000). It is difficult to make comparisons between attendance rates at OSHC
services due to the various statutory requirements, the diversity of program types and
the resources and equipment available for use. There has been inconsistent information
collected about children who attended programs because of the paucity of statistical
data available.
Statistical information shows that the attendance rate diminishes with the age of
the child in services in western countries. Understandings about the drop in attendance
rates of older children are yet to be comprehensively explored but two reasons are
possible. First, young children enjoy out of school care but the provision of care for
children aged 10 or more is more problematic (Department of Health and Family
Services (HAFS), 1997; Malcolm, Wilson & Davidson, 2001). Older children tend to
prefer a less structured home-type of environment with more emotional and physical
freedom (HAFS, 1997; Audain, Leadbetter & Schoolbread, 2005), and with activities
that are suitable for older children. Second, attendance rates may also diminish because
16
of mixed perceptions about whether older children need adult supervision (Seligson,
1991). In Finland, it is regarded as desirable for children of school age (seven years and
up) to be independent whereas, in Britain, parents are concerned about stranger danger
and traffic danger and so demand adult supervision of children after school (Mayall &
Hood, 2001).
Munton et al. (2002) show that there is little understanding of the complexity of
variables that impact on children of the middle years (six to twelve years age range).
The conclusions from their investigation are that three factors contribute to the
effectiveness of children’s experiences in OSHC:
• Staff trained to understand and provide the stimulation essential to the social,
emotional and academic development, and healthy functioning of school age
children;
• A flexible program structure offers a wide choice of activities to stimulate and
challenge, promoting both autonomy and security for children; and
• Appropriate staff-child ratios and numbers of children to promote positive
interactions between children and staff and between the children themselves
(Munton et al., 2002, p. 228).
These factors have applicability to all manner of services that are offered to children in
western countries.
There are mixed perceptions amongst adults and children about the activities of
children when out of school (Mayall, 1994, 2002; Mayall & Hood, 2001; Moss &
Petrie, 2002; Polatnick, 2002; Smith & Barker, 2000). Mayall and Hood (2001) note
that children involved in their British-based study placed value on the activities and
experiences available to them whereas the OSHC staff were more concerned with long
term goals, that is, preparing the children for the future (Mayall & Hood, 2001). Smith
and Barker (2000) found that children were happiest when they had some control over
the way in which the OSHC service operated. They noted tensions between children
and adults as children contested the manner in which the OSHC space was structured
and used. Moss and Petrie (2002) suggest that children in the middle childhood years
need flexible programs to allow children to construct knowledge and help develop their
sense of identity, independence, and ability to make decisions for themselves
independently. Recent debates about homework, enrichment activities and organised
group activities are also matters of tension among stake holders (Moss & Petrie, 2002).
17
The impact of out of school care provision on children’s lives is dependent upon
the quality of the out of school care programs (Barnett & Gareis, 2006; Millward, 1998;
Pocock, 2006a; Rosenthal, 1999). Munton et al. (2002, p. 224) cite research from the
United States that suggests children of working parents are physically, emotionally and
socially at risk if the program is of poor quality. Supporting children emotionally
influences their establishment of relationships with peers and adults (Posner & Vandell,
1999). However, Munton et al. (2002) caution about generalising from the limited
studies as the studies undertaken as well as being few in number, have not used
rigorous, valid methodology.
Parents’ attitudes toward the function of OSHC in the lives of their children
influence the care arrangements they make for their children. Wise and Sanson (2000),
of the Australian Institute of Family Studies focussed on cultural issues in long day
care settings but the discussion has application to the OSHC services. As well as
cultural concerns, Wise and Sanson (2000, p. 8) listed the following influences on
parental child care choice:
• The distribution of Commonwealth subsidies;
• Family income levels;
• Children’s characteristics;
• Knowledge of the child care settings;
• Work arrangements;
• Satisfaction with care providers;
• Parental education; and
• Availability of non-parental care giving.
Generally, documentation about awareness of parents’ perceptions, choice and
concerns about OSHC services have been restricted to issues about funding,
affordability and accessibility (Brennan, 1999; Malcolm, Wilson & Davidson, 2001;
Petrie et al., 2000). Contrasting expectations contribute to the lack of definition about
service delivery in the OSHC sector.
Changes in management structures: Public stakeholders, management committees,
governments and schools
The management of OSHC as a public responsibility has triggered systemic responses
and tensions. Many OSHC services have been established by volunteer committees,
18
and these services have particular management issues that other services may not
experience. For example, families finding it difficult to combine family and work
schedules may find it increasingly difficult to commit to the volunteer management
committees required to operate OSHC services (EFILWC, 2006; FACSIA, 2006).
There is increasing pressure on management committees because members of the
committee may not have the skills and commitment to devote to oversee the process.
Some religious denominations have corporatised OSHC services as part of the
welfare services divisions of their organisations so that the services are no longer the
responsibility of the volunteer management committees (Personal communication, K.
Brannley, QCAN, 2005). This is the case for OSHC Services in Catholic and Lutheran
schools, as well other community based organisations, such as Young Men’s Christian
Association and Police Citizen’s Youth Club, who have developed corporate structures
to manage OSHC services.
Changes in management structures have also occurred to address systemic
requirements of OSHC services on school sites. Some services have designated
buildings and others share classrooms or speciality buildings such as music rooms or
halls. While some statistical information is available about the number of school sites
being used for OSHC services, there is little known of the circumstances of the
potentially precarious relationship between OSHC services and schools.
From a policy perspective, the care of primary school age children after school
finishes has traditionally been situated in the government department concerned with
welfare. Within the area of welfare, Moss and Petrie (2002) describe the systems in
Britain as having “limited remit on preventative and protection work for a small
proportion of children” (p. 173). The public policies, provisions and practices
associated with the OSHC services have the difficulty of falling between protection and
learning (Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie, 2002).
The policies for child care, including OSHC, have their roots in goals of poverty
relief; and are custodial rather than developmental (Michel, 2003; OECD, 2006; Petrie,
2003; Rose, 2000). These notions have continued to permeate the policy directions for
children in child care in western countries (Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie, 2002; Press,
2006; Sanson, 2002).
Governments, particularly in Britain and the United States, have been keen to
deal with economic and social issues concerned with poverty by supporting children’s
19
services in the OSHC sector (Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie, 2002; Nyland, 2001;
OECD, 2006; Posner & Vandell, 1999; Seligson, 1999). The initiatives emphasised
employment, rather than reliance on welfare support, and had a two pronged mission,
with each goal having implications for the OSHC programs. The first goal was to
encourage adults into the workforce by offering care for their children, and this
included encouraging women into the workforce and furthering their education so that
they could obtain employment and reduce their reliance on welfare payments. The
second goal was to provide activities to ensure that children had the necessary skills to
seek gainful employment in the future.
Policies for care and for education were seen as a way to provide solutions to
poverty and associated issues: “It is believed that many economic and social difficulties
may be alleviated or indeed solved, by the development of a population which is
educated, trained and motivated for employment” (Petrie, 2003, p. 76). Petrie (2003) in
her detailed account of the parallel development of policies for “care and education” in
British services showed that in the first instance, the OSHC service was provided to
care for children while parents, usually mothers, could study and obtain employment
and contribute to the family’s financial circumstances. Second, future employment
opportunities for children were seen to be enhanced if they spent time in OSHC
programs to support children’s growth and development (MacBeath, Myers & McCall,
2001; Smith & Barker, 2004).
In their background report for the United Kingdom for the OECD Review,
Bertram and Pascal (2000) state:
There is a clear intention by the Government to cut across existing departmental
boundaries and develop a ‘joined up’ approach to policy delivery in the interests
of coherent and effective support for children and families. The aim is to develop
a seamless web of policies which will cross traditional demarcation boundaries
and make it easier for families and children. (p. 53)
Policies for “joined up” services in Britain have been the result of high level and
applied public interest research on child development and children’s services (HESTA,
2001; McDonald, 2002). The British government’s focus on improving children’s
services policy, regulation, work practices and training programs (HESTA, 2001)
recognised that, for changes to occur, a community response was required (Nash &
20
Fraser, 1998; Halpern, 2006; Petrie, 2003; Petrie, Meijvogel & Enders-Dragasser,
1991; Seligson, 1999; Wise & Sanson, 2000).
The United States approach has focussed on the development of public
programs in response to government initiatives in the area of welfare reform, crime
prevention, and education reform (Seligson, 1999). The focus on welfare reforms that
require single mothers to work outside the home in order to receive other government
benefits has increased demand for out of school hours care in the United States
(Michel, 2003; Seligson, 1999). At the same time, the focus of these policies has
changed “from one in which service provision is paramount to one where the needs of
children is paramount and the services are seen as the means to address those needs”
(HESTA, 2001, p. 28). As such, the emphasis has been on the features of innovative
programs (Posner & Vandell, 1999; Seligson, 1991, 1999; Vandell & Schumow, 1999).
Australian response to OSHC and research
The Australian context has focussed on the growth of OSHC services. Inaccurate data
collection (Moyle et al., 1997) and the unregulated circumstances of OSHC services
have meant that it has been difficult to obtain consistent and accurate data about the
growth of the number of children in services (Moyle et al., 1997). While there is now
more regular reporting on the numbers of children attending services (ABS, 2005), the
limited data cannot build a comprehensive profile of the sector and so specific
information such as attendance patterns, has not been available. Government reports
have argued for increased women’s participation in the workforce acknowledging the
need to increase OSHC services.
During the 1970s, a groundswell of pressure from women’s lobby groups
demanded that all women should have the opportunity to work. According to Brennan
(1998), the advocacy of child care lobby groups forced the Commonwealth government
to plan a National Child Care strategy that included subsidising a number of places in
OSHC (Brennan, 1999; HAFS, 1997; Millward, 1998). Since the mid 1980s, there
have been further increases in the number of subsidised places for children in OSHC
(Brennan, 1998, 2004). Just as “work related reasons are the single biggest reason for
parents using child care” (ABS, 2007, p. 3), the demand for school age child care has
also risen. This is reflected in the statistics that show workforce participation is higher
for women with school age children than for women with preschool aged children
21
(ABS, 2005; McDonald 2002). The numbers of children aged between 5 and 11 years
attending before and after school care increased by thirty- three percent in the period
2002-2005 (ABS, 2005; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2002). The 2006
Federal Budget approved the uncapping of child care benefit to increase places in
OSHC services.
The OSHC services are viewed as a minor player in the child care sector. For
example, 73 percent of children attend OSHC for less than ten hours each week. This
could be interpreted in a number of ways: the OSHC services being underutilised, as
there was still unmet demand (ABS, 2005); there is unreliable data regarding the uptake
of children attending services (ABS, 2007); there was a shift away from the use of
OSHC services in preference to informal care. While it was common for higher
numbers of school age children to use informal care, including care by relatives,
particularly, grandparents and friends (ABS, 2002) there has been a jump to 33 percent
in 2005 (ABS, 2005). The main providers of informal care have been grandparents
(ABS 2005) but, more recently, there has been a decline in the number of grandparents
available to provide child care (Goodfellow, 2003, 2005). Goodfellow (2005) suggests
that grandparents, traditional sources of unpaid care, are engaged now in the workforce
or feel they are too old to care for children, and this has affected the supply of informal
carers. Millward (1998) reported that the changing nature of availability of work and
workforce roles also influenced attendance patterns at OSHC for children of migrant
families and families who had moved from rural to urban areas without the support of
informal carers such as grandparents or extended family.
As well as women’s participation in the workforce and the economy, OSHC
services cut across government policies in relation to family support, child welfare and
child care. Child care services, including OSHC, serve multiple purposes for
government policies for family support, child welfare and child care. This trend has
increased significantly in recent decades (ABS, 2005; CSML, 1999). In Australia,
government social services for children and families may be divided into three
categories: child welfare, child care, and family support (HESTA, 2001; Jamrozik,
2005; McDonald, 2002; Press, 2006). Child care and family support have been the
responsibility of the Commonwealth government, and child welfare has been a task of
the State governments. Public policies impacting on the lives of children are located in
a number of different government portfolios depending on whether they deal with
22
social policies or economic policies. The policies that inform service provision in these
areas have developed and changed over a period of time, most noticeably when there
was growth in the economy (HESTA, 2003; Jamrozik, 2005; McDonald, 2002; Press,
2006).
The Commonwealth of Australia government concedes there is scope to
improve policy around the key transitions between home and work and issues
associated with welfare reform (Barnet, 2003; Howard, 2003; Michel 2003). Pocock
(2004) also suggests that the economic lens of government policy for issues around
work and care is inadequate. This task is not easy as the bureaucratic processes
associated with administering the policies and programs in the current circumstances
first require restructuring (McDonald, 2002; Sanson, 2002). The conservative policy
stance of the previous government indicated a preference for a particular family form
(Bailey & van Acker, 2006; Brennan, 2004; Pocock, 2004). To date, the current
government has not produced policies specifically addressing the issues for the OSHC
sector. Pocock (2005, 2006a) refers to a shrinking of the structures within families and
communities so that family members are unable to care for the children due to
competing commitments to the workforce and the economy. While some roles and
responsibilities of families are able to be filled by public support and purchased within
the labour market, this has been insufficient in the case of child care (Pocock, 2006a).
The Australian government has continued to make ad hoc responses to the
development of the OSHC sector. One example is the uncapping of the child care
places before a comprehensive profile of the quality of the OSHC services had
occurred. The uncapping created two challenges for services and parents. The first
challenge was that there were no funds to help services source suitable venues to
accommodate increasing numbers of children. The second challenge was that a review
of the impact of quality assurance processes was not undertaken. A review of this
nature would have provided a profile of the type of practices that children and families
were experiencing in OSHC services. While the government instigated a review of the
training process about the implementation of quality assurance for OSHC staff and
management committees (FACS, 2005), the information contained in this report about
the challenges to implementing the quality practices, such as staff turnover and
inadequate tenancy arrangements were incidentally gathered and recounted.
23
A further difficulty is the resistance by government to decree restrictions on the
manner in which OSHC programs are delivered. With a huge demand for services,
placing too many restrictions in the form of mandatory requirements, such as
regulations and accreditation, had the potential to reduce the availability of services.
This situation would have been untenable with the increasing pressure for OSHC places
in response to increasing workforce participation of parents with school age children.
The hasty response to providing child care for school age children has contributed to
the issues that plague the sector, as many services commenced without adequate
resources or infrastructure (Arnold, 2002). The services depended on other
organisations, such as schools, to provide accommodation and equipment.
The hasty response to provide OSHC in schools was initiated usually by
volunteer committees sponsored by an assortment of non-profit community based
organisations. The OSHC services were predominantly managed by the voluntary
services of parents and other community-minded citizens. This form of management
made OSHC services quite different from other forms of child care such as long day
care (HAFS, 1997, p. 1). It also impacted on the status and profile of OSHC services.
For example, Bailey and Van Acker (2006) describe the Howard Government policies
as working from the position that “the voluntary sector ought not to play an effective
role in civil society other that a caring and sharing one” (p. x). On the one hand, the
Howard government had allowed community groups to establish OSHC services and,
on the other, did not support voluntary groups as being responsible for providing civic
services that contribute to economic productivity. Being managed by voluntary
organisations has contributed to the low status and profile of the OSHC sector, as
evidenced by child care staff “subsidis[ing] childcare through low wages” (Pocock,
2006a, p. 173).
A further challenge caused by uncapping the quota of subsidised places without
capital support from the government services is that this initiative was unable to be
utilised as venues were not large enough to cater for the increased numbers of children
in the services. The issue of venue size is linked to the alignment of administrative
systems, such as the quality assurance process and mandatory licensing, which was
introduced parallel to the growth of services (Queensland Child Care Strategic Plan
1999-2004; Queensland Child Care Industry Plan 2002-2005). All Australian states are
subject to the quality assurance process. However, only the Australian states of the
24
Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland have
introduced mandatory licensing of OSHC services. Previously, OSHC services were
able to operate almost independently of their host facilities (generally schools).
However, now the situation requires more negotiation about operational issues
concerning the space used by OSHC services and schools.
The perception that OSHC has limited operational hours has contributed to the
low priority placed on this form of care (QDoC, 2007). In comparison to long day care
settings, the hours of operation and the attendance patterns of OSHC services may
seem minimal. However, the format for OSHC operating before and after school masks
the actual operating hours of OSHC services, which are usually at least five hours per
day but split into two sessions. If these sessions are combined with vacations and pupil-
free days, OSHC services operate for an equivalent amount of time when compared to
their host schools. While the majority of children who attend OSHC services participate
for less than ten hours a week, more children attend OSHC services than long day care
(Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian, 2007).
The lack of focus and status of the OSHC sector has perpetuated concerns about
tenancy and high staff turnover (CSMAC, 2006; Gammage, 2003). The high staff
turnover is attributed to the lower level qualifications required for staff in OSHC
services (QDoC, 2007). For example, OSHC coordinators require a two-year
qualification whereas directors of long day care centres require three-year qualification.
The low level of qualifications is linked to the inability to recruit and retain staff in the
sector (QDoC, 2007) as staff, after attaining a higher level of qualification, seek
alternative employment with greater remuneration and better work conditions
(CSMAC, 2006; Elliott, 2006a).
Under the Howard government, the Australian policies for OSHC services
appear to be a low priority and of a fragmented nature. The sector is marked by
separate policies, regulations, funding methodologies and co-ordination by different
government agencies in relation to issues connected with children and families
(HESTA, 2001). The uncapping of the child care places for school age care was part of
the response to supporting women’s retention in the workplace. However, with little
insight into the complexity of the operation of OSHC services, the government policies
have not appeared to have altered the circumstances of school age care services. Many
25
pressing issues such as insecure tenancy, workforce issues, and clarity of service
provision remain (Press, 2006).
Issues for Australian OSHC services
The contested understandings about OSHC have further exacerbated the issues
for the sector. The issues, as they are outlined in this section, are not in hierarchical
order and, even though they are separated for discussion, they are very much
interwoven with each other. The first section examines the statutory regulations
(licensing and accreditation). The second section identifies workforce issues including
qualifications, training, recruitment and retention, tenancy concerns and
communication problems. The final section explores the policies that contribute to the
context in which the other issues have emerged. In examining issues, specific reference
is made to the Queensland context.
Statutory Regulations
The legitimation of systems, such as child care is reliant on legislative frameworks for
authentication (Habermas, 1984). The introduction of regulatory systems for OSHC has
lagged behind the other forms of child care services, including those for children under
school age. As well as providing regulations for the operation of services, the
legislative frameworks are a form of accountability for consistent service delivery. An
alternative form of accountability is accreditation, a quality assurance process. Both
legislation and accreditation are systems that give status to a social enterprise.
In Western countries, there have been varied responses to legislative
frameworks and accreditation for OSHC services. The introduction of regulations and
accreditation has been hampered by the historical, social and economic circumstances
of OSHC. The development of quality assurance processes has gathered momentum
since child care has been viewed as a commodity. Both internationally and nationally,
there is scarce documentation about the effectiveness of systems of licensing and
accreditation for OSHC (Moss & Petrie, 2002; Pocock, 2006a). In the following
sections I first examine licensing, and then accreditation, as these two aspects
contribute to the current circumstances for OSHC services.
The community-based operation and the minimalist financial outlay associated
with the delivery of OSHC services have hindered the introduction of rigorous
26
regulations. As OSHC services typically were established with a minimalist approach
to resources and staffing, quality assurance processes mean that these conditions are
under evaluation. The circumstances of donated venues with volunteer staff and
volunteer management committees from non-profit organisations made it a struggle to
achieve the commitment required for the achievement of licensing standards and the
accountability for quality assurance accreditation (See Figure 1.1). Consequently,
resistance to changing the mode of operation, means that services are at risk of closing
as they do not meet the legislative standards (HAFS, 1997).
Licensing
Licensing provides a regulatory framework for the OSHC sector to encourage the
delivery of consistent out of school hours care services. Licensing provides a “legal
‘floor' below which no service is permitted to operate” (NCAC, 2007, p. 2). It provides
information pertaining to physical and human resources. The licensing regulations
cover areas such as the level of qualification of staff who work in services, the size of a
service and the ratio of staff to children, physical requirements of building spaces and
equipment, health and safety and administrative requirements. These features generally
are considered to contribute to the quality of a service (NCAC, 2007). The regulatory
framework is a complex activity that depends on the system of government designated
to provide the regulatory framework. Most western countries rely on individual state or
regional governments to decree the mandatory requirements (Habermas, 1984, 1987).
In Britain, OSHC services operate for all ages of primary school children but
licensing requirements are applicable only for children aged 4-8 years. There are no
mandatory requirements for services that offer programs for older primary school
children. Licensing regulations were introduced in British OSHC services under the
Children Act 1989 (Petrie, 1996) at an earlier time than for Australian services (see
Table 1.1). Resources and staffing issues were key concerns (Petrie, 1996). Some
buildings and equipment approved for use by schools did not meet the standards
required of OSHC services. The closing down of services that did not meet the OSHC
standards, yet still operated as schools, posed ethical dilemmas. As Petrie (1996)
describes, the dilemma was that the “local authority staff” (p. 233) were inadequately
prepared to undertake the licensing role. While trained to assess centres for very young
children in long day care and nurseries, they were inexperienced in relation to the needs
27
and interests and the operations of programs for older children. The difficulties of
achieving regulations in inadequate venues with a high turnover of staff are
problematic for both licensing and accreditation.
The same issues of high staff turnover and inadequate experience, raised by
Petrie (1996) were acknowledged in the review of the training for the accreditation
process for OSHC services in Australia (FACS, 2005). In Australia, the licensing of
OSHC services has resided with the individual state governments. For example, in
Queensland, the introduction of licensing for OSHC services occurred in 2002, much
later than their counterparts in long day care (Children’s Services Act, 1965). The
debate about the design and introduction of OSHC regulations focused on both
economic and social circumstances. Some Australian states (New South Wales and
Victoria) are yet to introduce mandatory requirements for the operation of OSHC
services.
The deliberations about the impact on auspicing bodies on the development and
implementation of statutory requirements have contributed to hesitancy about the
introduction of mandatory requirements. The management of OSHC services found that
some auspicing bodies were not really interested in the specific regulations or
accreditation standards for day-to-day operation (HAFS, 1997; CSML, 1999). The
introduction of regulations or standards was rejected because of the potential negative
impact on staffing and the financial operation of the service (CSML, 1999). This was
similar to the Small Business Deregulation Taskforce that had lobbied for Quality
Assurance for long day child care centres to be voluntary and the link between
standards and funding to be severed (McGurk, 1997). There were many concerns about
the financial viability of OSHC services if they were accountable under restrictive
standards. Some areas of the OSHC sector, particularly OSHC management
committees, were concerned that the introduction of licensing processes would restrict
the number of child care places available. There was some reticence about the
introduction of statutory regulations because of the possible negative consequences of
centres closing. As this situation would be a barrier to women’s employment, the
introduction of regulations was required to meet two outcomes, enough to provide
some sense of consistent service delivery but not so much as to reduce the numbers of
services available (Brennan, 1998; CSML, 1999; HAFS, 1997). Further, as the state
governments each had different configurations for the community services and
28
education portfolios, a consistent response to OSHC service was impractical. Each state
government had their own priorities for the management of the portfolios. For example,
South Australia combined the management of care and education services for children
whereas, in Queensland, the administrative structures supporting the education and the
child care systems were quite separate.
The surge of parents into the workforce meant a hasty response to provide child
care for school age children. The hasty response embraced flexible arrangements for
operating OSHC services so that OSHC management committees had easier access to
venues and equipment. To ensure flexibility, the OSHC sector began without any
regulations, which meant that services were established at low cost (Finlason, 1993).
As previously mentioned, at the time of establishment of OSHC services, regulations
may have been a disincentive for services as they may have required buildings, staffing
and resources that the services could not meet and, therefore, the services would not
have been established. The diverse group of stakeholders involved in OSHC services
contributed to limited understanding about the impact of regulations.
Lack of public standards for OSHC prompted members of the National Out of
School Hours Services Association to draft their own set of guidelines, National
Standards for Outside School Hours Care (1995). The National Standards were based
on existing long day care standards (CSML, 1999). Prior to 1995, services had
“operated within a variable framework, ranging from statutory regulations, guidelines
established by grant agreements and/or conditions of subsidy to voluntary codes of
practice” (Community Services Ministers’ Conference, CSML, 1999, p. 1). These
standards were the forerunner of significant changes for the OSHC sector. In 1995, the
National Standards for OSHC was published but it was at the discretion of each state or
territory government as to how these standards were implemented (CSML, 1999). The
standards were acknowledged as a “powerful leverage” for services involved in
lobbying auspicing bodies for better premises and conditions for staff (HAFS, 1997, p.
15). At the time of the writing of the standards, there was little documentation
recording rigorous investigation of high quality practices in Australian OSHC. The
standards were mindful of what was available; for example, a low priority was placed
on the training and qualifications of staff. The training for OSHC staff was embedded
with vocational education training programs for early childhood care services and so
was not entirely appropriate to meet the operational needs of OSHC services. The
29
limited availability of training combined with the limited hours of work contributed to
the low priority placed on mandatory qualifications in the licensing requirements.
Each Australian state responded independently to the National Standards for
OSHC. For example, the National Standards for OSHC was considered in the
development of the Queensland Child Care Strategic Plan 1999-2004 (Queensland
Department of Families, 1999). The plan presented an opportunity to consult with a
variety of stakeholders about the manner in which the Queensland government would
legislate for OSHC services. The government mandated the OSHC standards in the
form of the Child Care Act, which took several years after the introduction of the
National Standards to come to fruition. After the release of the National Standards for
OSHC in 1995, the Queensland Government responded by announcing that the 1995-
1996 State budget had made funding available for capital works for OSHC. Services
could apply for funds to respond to the building requirements outlined in the National
Standards. However, any buildings constructed, or modified, on Education Queensland
sites became the property of the State Education Authority.
OSHC services were concerned about the financial impact on their services of
the requirements for management, buildings, resources, and staffing as proposed in the
draft legislation (Personal communication with OSHC co-ordinators at Consultation
session, February 7, 2002). Some changes had to be made, for example, to allow
Parents and Citizens Associations to continue to manage services. In the
implementation phase for these requirements, services were given five years to comply
with the requirements of the legislation (Child Care Regulations, 2003). However, five
years was not really enough time for committees to strategically plan and raise the
funds required to make changes to current buildings, or to construct purpose-built
facilities that complied with the legislative standards.
The Child Care Act requires that OSHC services be licensed using procedures
similar to the processes used for long day care services. These initiatives have been
accepted by the OSHC sector with mixed feelings (Personal communication, M.
Hannan, QCAN, September 17, 2003). The OSHC services in Queensland that have
operated in ad hoc facilities are required to adhere to regulations governing features
such as indoor and outdoor spaces and staffing. While these initiatives have some
positive impact on the OSHC sector, some services need additional financial support to
undertake the significant task of modifying their physical facilities.
30
The regulations for OSHC services are not as stringent when compared with the
regulations of long day care centres. For example, the qualifications for staff positions
of similar responsibility are different. As previously mentioned, a coordinator in charge
of an OSHC service, only requires a two-year tertiary qualification and yet they
undertake similar responsibilities to a long day care centre director. Another example
relates to physical space. There are no requirements for office space for Coordinators of
services to store information such as children’s records or to conduct interviews with
parents and children, as there are for long day care centres. Children’s records and staff
details were kept in unsecured places. Some of these differences have been noted as
issues that prevent services achieving quality practices (FACS, 2005).
During the phase-in period for the licensing, Queensland licensing officers were
in a similar situation to their counterparts in Britain. Petrie (1996) reports that British
services had the support of resource officers but these individuals had limited
experience with services for children aged 5 to 12 years and were unable to provide
valuable advice. Some officers visited services for their own professional development,
rather than to offer guidance to the service (Petrie, 1996). The quality of the staff
working in OSHC is critical to the implementation of standards (Petrie, 1996). Due to
the increase in workload, the Queensland Department of Communities needed to recruit
additional officers to facilitate the licensing process. Some of the newly-recruited
officers had experience as coordinators of OSHC services (Personal Communication,
M, Jeffery, December 20, 2006).
Accreditation
Accreditation in child care services is a process that aims to facilitate and support
continuous improvement to the quality of child care. The process involves services in
partnership with families, services, government and other key stakeholders. The
National Childcare Accreditation Council quality improvement processes are linked to
funding. This means that services not meeting the accreditation standards are unable to
access the Child Care Benefit payments received from the Commonwealth government
on behalf of the parents of children in their care. Unlike Australia, OSHC services in
the United States and Britain are not obligated to undertake accreditation to receive
public funding (CSML, 1999).
31
OSHC has long been considered the poor relative in child care (HAFS, 1997).
As such, the OSHC services have had different historical circumstances from those that
led to the development of the accreditation process for long day care services. For
children under school age, early childhood services are deemed to offer both care and
education, whereas school age children are considered to be educated at school, and the
after school care a service to mind children until their parents collect them (ABS, 2007;
Elliott, 1998b; FACS, 2005). This form of child minding received little recognition in
the way of public funding. While the child care quality improvement process for long
day care settings was prompted by the growth in private operators and market-driven
child care provision (Brennan, 1998, 1999), the OSHC sector embraced the notion of
accreditation in order to alter the status of sector (Arnold, 2002; Monro Miller, 2003).
OSHC services sought to be treated on equal footing to long day care and family day
care services. The accreditation or quality assurance process was a way to alter the
perception that after school care was a lesser kind of care service in comparison with
long day care services (CSML, 1999).
The motivation for the accreditation process has a long history, which is
recorded in OSHC peak organisations’ grassroots publications such as conference
proceedings and state-based newsletters. The funding for the OSHC Quality Assurance
Project came as a result of continued and relentless lobbying by peak organisations
(Arnold, 2002). The National Outside School Hours Services Association (NOSHSA)
and member State and Territory Associations (CSML 1999, p. 1) were keen for
accreditation to occur but they wanted to ensure that it did not impact negatively on
their members. In 2001, an OSHC Quality Assurance Working Party, comprising
representatives from the NOSHSA and the Department of Family and Community
Services, was formed to steer the development of the national system of accreditation
for OSHC (NCAC, 2003b). The NOSHSA Chairperson’s Annual Report (2001) states
that quality assurance was a positive step in increasing the profile and value of OSHC
in the community.
The development of the OSHC accreditation process was designed to include
staff, children and parents reviewing the key quality areas (Monro Miller, 2003). The
National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) launched the OSHC Quality
Assurance Process on 1 July 2003 (NCAC, 2003b). The process is similar to the
Quality Assurance procedures used by long day care centres and family day care
32
services. The OSHCQA Quality Practice Guide (NCAC, 2003a) focuses on eight
Quality Areas. It involves a Self-study Report, Continuing Improvement Plan and a
visit from a validator. The Self-study Report requires the service to “undertake a self-
evaluation of the care provided and its practices by consulting with management, staff,
and families and where appropriate the children themselves” (NCAC, 2003a, p. 6).
Less than three years after the implementation of accreditation, at least two
reviews were undertaken. One review of the child care quality improvement processes
(Tayler et al., 2006) evaluating the effectiveness of the quality assurance process for
OSHC services was limited to consultation sessions with stakeholders in each state of
Australia. Recommendations were made to streamline the process for all child care
services and a draft proposal of the quality improvement processes was considered
(Tayler et al., 2006). The minimalist approach to the review means that any changes
made were based on limited documentation. Another review (FACS, 2005), examining
the implementation phase, focused on the effectiveness of the training strategies used to
inform stakeholders how to undertake the quality assurance process. This review also
noted other difficulties that impacted on the ability to prepare for and participate in the
process (FACS, 2005). The issues related to the casualised and high turnover of staff,
minimal resources including low budgets and lack of administrative infrastructure,
varying levels of support for management committees, confusion between licensing and
accreditation and communication difficulties. These concerns were similar to problems
experienced with quality assurance in other child care services in Australia (Grieshaber,
2002), as well as children’s services in other parts of the world. The process of
accreditation was a minimalist activity that did not expose the actual quality of OSHC
service provision. Both reviews were undertaken before all Australian OSHC services
had been through the process of quality assurance.
The introduction of an accreditation system linked to government funding and
the introduction of licensing in Queensland has meant that more accurate data have
been collected about the number of children attending OSHC. However, Queensland
OSHC services were placed in an awkward situation because usually, quality assurance
and accreditation processes build on basic licensing and mandatory regulations (CSML,
1999). In Queensland, the OSHCQA was launched before the State government had
officially produced a set of regulations for the operation of school age care. State
Legislation in Queensland was not decreed until two months after the National Quality
33
Assurance Process was launched. This situation made OSHC staff and management
very anxious, as they were not sure whether they would be attempting to meet two sets
of different criteria. OSHC services were placed in the difficult situation of trying to
commence the accreditation process without the enacted support of legislation. The
OSHC quality assurance process necessitated that services show evidence that they had
met the State’s regulations. Until the State Government had released the regulations,
services were uncertain about what they had to achieve. Initially, Community
Resource Officers (Government officials who license child care services) placed low
priority on the OSHC services’ applications for licensing as they lacked confidence
with the aspects of the OSHC licensing process (Personal communication, Community
Resource Officer, September 25, 2003). All OSHC services in Queensland are now
licensed (QDoC, 2006), and participating in the childcare quality improvement process
with the quality assurance process building on legislative requirements (that is,
minimum standard) for children’s services.
The accreditation process placed pressure on the staffing of OSHC services
from two perspectives. In the first instance, OSHC services needed consistency and
commitment from their staff to participate in the self-evaluation phase of the quality
improvement process. The accreditation process requires reflective individuals to
effectively document the quality assurance process. The second circumstance required
experienced staff from OSHC services to undertake the role of validators, visiting other
services to observe practices, view documentation and ask questions to gather
information, which will enable them to validate the indicators in a Validation Report
against the quality standards outlined in the Quality Practices Guide for each CCQA
system (NCAC, 2006). The later role has become a fulltime position attached to the
National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC, 2006).
The high staff turnover in the OSHC sector and the limited number of staff with
appropriate qualifications contributed to the difficulties experienced by services
(FACS, 2005). In addition, with little documentation about ‘best practice’ in OSHC
services based on valid research principles, the activities of services were contested.
Quality Assurance Validators (experienced in the operational requirements of long day
care services for children under five years of age) and coordinators of OSHC services
found it difficult to reconcile some programming practices, such as recording
observations of children at play. State-based Peak Organisations for OSHC were given
34
financial resources to support coordinators and management committees to undertake
the accreditation process. These organisations used their newsletters and locally
developed publications to promote the kinds of practices that were associated with the
quality assurance standards. However, these practices, even though they may have been
successful and well received in the OSHC service, were not substantiated by research
literature or theoretical frameworks. All these matters contributed to the sense of
insecurity exhibited by OSHC coordinators when they were required to represent their
activity in documentation as part of the quality assurance process (Personal
communication, N. Hamilton, National Childcare Accreditation Council, June 18,
2005).
Successful quality assurance needs staff with sufficient qualifications (CSML,
1999; Petrie, 1996). In Australia, the highly casualised and under-qualified nature of
the workforce presently employed in OSHC (Misko, 2003) makes it difficult to provide
the qualified staff required to meet the requirements of accreditation, particularly in
relation to Principle 8: Managing to Support Quality. This quality area requires
consistent management of OSHC staff who are able to operate within relevant
legislation, communicate effectively with families, colleagues, management
committees, implement effective recruitment, orientation and induction processes for
staff, and provide and facilitate professional development opportunities for staff
(NCAC, 2003a). Further, it is difficult for casual staff to effectively document and to
implement the quality assurance process. Generally, casual staff in OSHC services do
not have the time or skills to embrace requirements of the accreditation process.
Further, casual staff usually have a short term commitment to the organisation so they
have often exited from the OSHC service before they can contribute to the changes
required in the quality improvement process.
There is caution that the system of accreditation for long-day child care centres
could be detrimental to the field of early childhood (Grieshaber, 2002, p. 178). Monro
Miller (2001), on behalf of OSHC services, states that “the Challenge (sic) will remain
however to ensure that the new Quality Assurance System reflects the culture of OSHC
and does not clone other systems that may not reflect the age group or the values” (p.
3). Institutional settings such as long day care or schools do not have the exact focus
and variables as those found in OSHC. The calls for an integrated quality improvement
process to have one accreditation process has merit (Monro Miller, 2007) because it
35
brings a unity to the child care sector, particularly around workforce issues and
legitimation of the sector. Yet, without best practice examples or empirical research
that provides some clarity for the issues of OSHC services, it is difficult to approach
quality improvement tasks with confidence that they will be in the best interests of the
children and families who use the sector.
It is possible that the accreditation process will give OSHC services more of a
school agenda and that it will be easier for school principals to link OSHC services
with education programs (Moss & Petrie, 2002). Further, Moss and Petrie (2002)
caution that OSHC will be subsumed by schools and increasingly provide experiences
for children that are more like school than recreation programs. They believe that
children require different experiences from those provided by the schooling system and
that the custodial role of the school setting does not allow children to learn skills and
attitudes for citizenship (Moss & Petrie, 2002).
Workforce Issues
The OSHC sector is characterised by a casualised workforce with low pay, insecure
work conditions and low status. As well, there is high staff turnover and difficulties
with qualifications and training (Ackerman, 2005; Cameron, Mooney & Moss, 2002;
FACSIA, 2006; Misko, 2003; Rolfe, 2005). These features impact on each other and
contribute to the marginalised circumstances for OSHC workers. The low status of the
staff contributes to the “acute lack of bargaining power in employment” (Press, 2006,
p. 4), which is reflected in the difficulties associated with recruitment, retention and
training for the sector. Specific details about the child care workers in the OSHC sector
are embedded often within information about the workers in all child care settings. The
issues have received little consolidated attention. From the limited research available
about OSHC, training and qualifications are highlighted as powerful predictors of
positive experiences for children (McGurk, 1997; Munton et al., 2002, Smith & Baker,
2000). As demand for services is increasing, the impetus to gather more specific
information about workforce issues is gathering momentum world-wide. A research
co-operative for the European Union and a consultancy project for Australian
Department of Families and Community Services have initiated an effort to solve some
of the existing problems and sustain the workforce for the future (EFILWC, 2006;
FACSIA, 2006). In this section, I explore the high staff turnover and the associated
36
issues of recruiting and training which contribute to the lack of professionalism within
the sector.
The role of OSHC staff, challenged by the different expectations of
stakeholders and the lack of consolidated policies about the nature of OSHC provision,
has resulted in no clear definition of the responsibilities and qualifications for staff.
Staffing is a critical issue for the sustainability of services which, in turn, impacts on
the ability of women with children to participate in the workforce (EFILWC, 2006;
FASCIA, 2006; OECD, 2006; Rolfe, 2005). The European Union has initiated a project
aimed at reviewing the circumstances for those employed in the OSHC workforce
(EFILWC, 2006). In the United States, Beckett, Hawken and Jacknowitz (2001) state
that staffing appears to impact on the effectiveness of the program. However, very little
attention has been directed at the experiences of children in relation to high staff
turnover and lack of professional knowledge. As the OECD points out, this lack of
knowledge about children’s experiences has resulted in OSHC being characterised as
emphasising “custodial care or homework rather than developmental leisure time
activities” (OECD, 2006, p. 84).
While there has been some research on staff qualifications, this research is now
ten years old and probably does not reflect current situation. Moyle et al.’s (1997) study
found that a teaching qualification was the most common form of qualification while
others had qualifications in child care, nursing, recreation, social work, psychology,
accountancy or business management (Moyle, et al., 1997). Although each area had
some relevance to the operation of the service, the limited hours of work available
makes it difficult to demand individuals have both business skills and the ability to
program for the leisure time of school age children.
A significant workforce issue for the child care sector is the difficulty of
recruiting and retaining staff (CSMAC, 2006; EFILWC, 2006; FACS, 2003). The
concerns about high staff turnover is that it “results in a lack of continuity of care for
children and problems for services in relation to time spent in staff recruitment and
training” (HAFS, 1997, p. 17). Staff turnover in OSHC is notoriously high (CSMAC,
2006; FACS, 2003; Misko, 2003). Recruitment information has recorded OSHC with
the highest proportion of vacant positions in the child care sector (CSMAC, 2006). For
example, nineteen percent of vacant positions remained unfilled during a twelve month
period from 2004 to 2005 (CSMAC, 2006, p. 195).
37
For Queensland OSHC services, the concern has become more intense since the
introduction of mandatory professional qualifications for staff (Child Care Act, 2002;
CSMAC, 2006). The transition to a more professionalised sector has been slow for a
range of reasons, including the reluctance of current workers to embark on a journey of
study that would provide qualifications. Management committees have not necessarily
prioritised qualifications for staff as they have operated with budget constraints that
have made it difficult for the committees to offer staff higher remuneration. Further, it
has been difficult to offer the same salaries that similar qualifications would earn in
other services.
The 2005 statistics for Queensland child care services record that thirty-three
percent of coordinators of OSHC services are employed as fulltime and permanent
members of the workforce (DoC, 2005). The census data shows that ninety percent of
assistants are employed casually, and that the majority of them have been employed for
less than three years (DoC, 2005). Further, OSHC services have the highest proportion
of staff (57%) with no qualifications in the children’s services sector; significantly
higher than long day care services at twenty-five percent (CSMAC, 2006). Because the
outside school hours workforce is highly casualised, it has a high job turnover rate,
which is linked to a number of factors:
• Lack of remuneration;
• Limited hours of work available;
• Limited opportunities for career progression;
• Extra duties to be performed especially with the National Accreditation Scheme;
and
• Very low professional status. (Misko, 2003)
Queensland OSHC services traditionally have drawn employees from a wide
range of backgrounds (Misko, 2003). However, the licensing (Child Care Act 2002) of
Queensland services requires staff to have, or at least be studying towards, Certificate
III qualification in the area of children’s services, educational support or recreation and
leisure. Underpinning the strategies of the national quality improvement processes for
OSHC services is the idea that staff would remain employed in the service to identify
and implement changes (NCAC, 2003a). The introduction of these systemic changes
placed increased pressure on coordinators of OSHC services.
38
The very low professional status is reinforced when OSHC services and schools
share spaces. Misko (2003) found that university students enrolled in a range of
professional courses staff many centres. The university students were undertaking
studies in preparation for working in professional fields with higher remuneration and
better conditions than OSHC, and so only remained in the OSHC workforce for short
periods of time (Misko, 2003). For those university students undertaking qualifications
to work in the education sector, the OSHC circumstances may foster the perception that
the sector lacks status and power in the lives of children. Smith and Barker (2000)
found that teachers in schools with out of school care clubs “considered themselves to
be more powerful than the play workers who were officially in charge” (p. 253).
Similarly, differing qualifications may affect relationships between qualified teachers
and less qualified OSHC staff. For example, how the shared space is negotiated
between school staff and OSHC staff may be affected by the professional “social
space” between the OSHC staff and school teachers (Smith & Barker, 2000).
The professionalisation of the OSHC workforce has been further disadvantaged
because of part-time employment. The work generated by the licensing and the
accreditation process may force services to employ more full time co-ordinators. It may
also require that more staff have qualifications. However, high turnover of staff makes
this difficult to achieve.
The profile of OSHC workers has been raised by the qualification specifically
for OSHC workers within the Community Services Training package (Australian
National Training Authority (ANTA), 2003). However, the diversity of OSHC
qualification requirements between each state in Australia has contributed to the
inability of the OSHC to promote the sector. Not all states have mandatory
qualifications for staff who work in OSHC services. Even so, in Queensland, not all
staff require qualifications.
While there have been improvements to offering training opportunities, the lack
of training still contributes as an issue that impacts on the OSHC workforce and
continuing high staff turnover (FACS, 2003; FACSIA, 2006; HESTA, 2001; Misko,
2003; Moyle et al., 1997). Generally, the Technical and Further Education Colleges
(TAFE) have undertaken the training of OSHC staff in Australia. In 2000, the
introduction of National Competency Standards for Children’s Services contained some
competencies specific to OSHC but there was not a specific qualification for the sector.
39
More recent changes to the Children’s Services Training Package (Australian National
Training Authority, 2003) include specific competencies for the OSHC sector. This
training, which is technical in approach, has contributed further to the low profile of the
sector because it does not equip staff with the skills to problem-solve and advocate to
respond to changing circumstances (Wheelahan, 2007).
One issue is the importance of trainers with OSHC experience to deliver the
training (HAFS, 1997). This requires authority, credibility and experience within the
sector. However, despite their day to day experiences providing knowledge specific to
the field, OSHC workers do not have university qualifications linked to their roles and
responsibilities. Without a professional qualification they are unable to meet the criteria
for delivering training. The lack of professional knowledge has further compounded the
lack of research and scholarship in the OSHC sector.
Tenancy Concerns
Adequate physical locations for services are relevant to the provision of suitable
environments for the care of children, working conditions for the OSHC staff, levels of
utilisation, and financial viability. However, the problems associated with venues for
OSHC have been an on-going issue ever since services were established (FACS, 2005;
HAFS, 1997). Unfortunately, the OSHC sector has been characterised by services that
“often share premises, lack of security of tenure, struggle to build attendances and
operate on a marginally viable basis, relying on the sponsoring organisation for their
survival” (HAFS, 1997, p. 7). With no consolidated funding arrangements for the
establishment of OSHC (Arnold, 2002; Brennan, 1994), services used venues that were
free and relied on volunteer staff as well as volunteer management committees to
underwrite the activities. Services were at the mercy of their hosts such as schools.
Without state systemic requirements, OSHC services have been developed in an ad hoc
manner particularly in relation to securing venues in which to operate services. The
piecemeal funding arrangements, lack of legislated requirements and the volunteer
management committees contributed to the difficulties experienced by OSHC trying to
assure tenancy for the service within venues such as schools. Also, it was difficult for
the OSHC to claim a collective identity when the service did not own or belong to
resources and equipment, nor did it have a cohesive mandate for the responsibility
undertaken on behalf of parents.
40
OSHC services were provided within venues used for multiple purposes. Venue
hosts for OSHC services were reluctant to allow changes due to the potential impact on
users of the space. The introduction of the National Standards (1995) followed by
licensing and accreditation, placed additional pressure on the OSHC services that did
not have ownership of their venues. It was difficult for OSHC services to raise funds
for modifications to venues to meet the national standards and day to day requirements
because of the lack of tenure (HESTA, 2001, p.25-26). The inability to modify the
physical space created difficulties for providing the range of activities for children that
were evidence of a high quality program.
There is a lot of discomfort when OSHC services share spaces with schools
(Barker et al., 2003; Moyle et al., 1997; Seilgson & Allenson, 1993). Problems such as
multiple-users of locations, limited tenancy agreements and informal venue
arrangements made conditions difficult for OSHC coordinators in their endeavours to
provide appropriate environments for the care of school age children. In this section, I
explore multiple-use venues for OSHC, including the use of school sites.
Schools are viewed as favourable OSHC sites for service providers and
families. The schools usually allow OSHC services access to a range of additional
resources such as playgrounds, sporting fields, and other equipment and resources. The
majority of OSHC services in the Britain, United States and Australia are co-located in
schools (Barker, et al., 2003; FACS, 2005; Glyde, 1997; Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie,
2002; Moyle et al., 1997; Seilgson & Allenson, 1993). For families, there are many
advantages when services are closely linked to the school situation (QDoC, 2005). The
use of schools as venues for OSHC is convenient because children did not have to be
transported. Families do not have to concern themselves with availability and risks
associated with transportation when the service is in the grounds of the school (QDoC,
2005).
On the surface, there are seemingly many advantages for using school premises
to deliver OSHC services (Barker & Smith, 2000; Mahon, 2001; Petrie et al., 2000).
Indeed, services such as schools can be wasteful of resources when they are uni-
functional. According to current economic policies and trends, schools are
underutilised. Very few industries would let their buildings sit idle for more than 25
percent of the year. However, to use the school buildings for OSHC is not a simple
solution. OSHC services need secure tenancy. The security of tenure for OSHC
41
services is important for licensing and accreditation and for the future viability of the
service (Network of Community Activities (Network), 2000). Operating in makeshift
lodgings has negative consequences for delivery of quality, sustainable OSHC services
(EFILWC, 2006; Gammage, 2003; OECD, 2006). Cocooned inside school sites, the
concerns and issues of the OSHC sector have been invisible to the wider community.
As tenants within schools, OSHC services have faced the additional difficulties
of achieving and sustaining their own identity against the social understanding about
services for children and the tradition of school as an institution for the well being of
children (Halpern 2006; Petrie, 2000, 2003). The services rely on the goodwill of
landlords such as schools to provide no-cost or low-cost venues (Arnold, 2002).
However, the services are at the mercy of landlords such as school principals and
Parents and Citizens (P&C) committees as schools have not been designed with the use
by OSHC services in mind (OECD, 2006). Many OSHC facilities have been run by
volunteer management committees with little funding from public authorities, except
that they have been granted access to schools which in some cases have public status.
The relationships between schools and OSHC operate on two levels. One level
is the day to day operational link as the OSHC services and schools share space and
possibly resources; the other is at a theoretical level about the roles and responsibilities
of the care and education of school age children. The principal of the school is often the
representative of the school that has a relationship with OSHC management and staff.
However, other school staff such as teachers, janitors and cleaners often share spaces or
have responsibility, such as cleaning and maintenance of the OSHC services on a day
to day basis. These relationships on the surface may be invisible within the school
community, and more broadly as well.
For OSHC services operating in schools, there are often contested arrangements
in relation to the use of buildings and equipment. The rules for use of space change as
to whether the space is being used for school or OSHC activities. Because accreditation
and licensing have certain building and programming standards to be attained by
OSHC services, the issues have become increasingly pronounced since the introduction
of licensing and accreditation. For example, many school principals have relatively
little understanding and awareness of the OSHC quality assurance requirements
(NCAC, 2003) and the mandatory licensing regulations (Child Care Act, 2002). Tayler,
Willis, Hayden and Wilson (2006) report that, in Queensland, schools operate with
42
different building and equipment standards from those of OSHC services. The
standards applying to the care of children at school do not apply to those same students
when in OSHC. This leads to contradictions and complexities, for example, the
“sandpit and playground equipment” deemed unsuitable for OSHC services by
regulations, are used by children during the school day (Tayler et al., 2006, p. 37).
An additional issue is the difficulty of achieving quality standards in
circumstances when the OSHC venue is constantly relocated (FACS, 2005) or when
there are differing expectations regarding the use of equipment and school spaces.
Smith and Barker (2000) describe children in British out of school clubs as “perplexed,
oppressed and confused” (p. 255) by the shifting boundaries between school and the
out of school care services on the same premises. For example, equipment and places
available to children during school time may not be available to them in out of school
time. Moss and Petrie (2002) propose that, when services coexist, there is a need for a
detailed, principled strategy to ensure that there is a balance between “civic and
individualistic values”. Schools in the United States appear to be compelled to provide
spaces for innovative programs. These programs provide children with opportunities
that they otherwise may not be able to try (Halpern, 2006; Seilgson & Allenson, 1993),
however very little is known about their operational effectiveness.
Across the western world, schools as venues are reported as important to the
provision of OSHC services. Baker et al. (2003) in their report on British services, The
Impact of Out of School Care, point out the increasing significance of schools as sites
for the delivery of child care for school-age children. This work identified the lack of
policy around the use of equipment and space to ensure that the benefits were
maximised for both sectors. Even though this study identified complexity in the
relationships between the schools and services, the research methodology used did not
“dig deep” enough to be able to report on “different approaches” concerning “good
practice” (Barker et al., 2003, p. 62).
The strategic direction of Australian OSHC services and schools has been a topic
of discussion, but of low priority since the 1980s (Arnold, 2002). OSHC services are
typically viewed as separate from the day to day operations of their venue hosts, even
when the services are located in schools. In other words, OSHC services are invisible
additions to the school sites. The OSHC services operate but they seemingly leave no
43
traces, nor are a burden to the activities of the school. In this way, the services have a
fragile identity.
In the 1990s, the Schools Council of the National Board of Employment,
Education and Training decided that schools would not take responsibility for OSHC
services though they would be supportive of external organisations operating on their
sites (Gifford, 1992). The report Early Childhood in Australian Schools: Future
Directions recommended to the Schools Council that child care is not the responsibility
of the schools (Gifford, 1992). The strategic direction for combined services has been
the focus of the National Agenda for Early Childhood (2003) but, as OSHC services are
for primary school children, the sector is not acknowledged in the priorities of the
National Agenda for Early Childhood (2003).
In Queensland, discussions about the provision and maintenance of buildings
for OSHC services occurred between government departments of education and
community services that have resulted in a memorandum of understanding (EQ, 2005).
Formerly, this was a delicate situation as the buildings funded by the Department of
Communities became the property of the Department of Education. Some architects are
designing preschool/preparatory classrooms to be multifunctional to cater for the
regulatory requirements of OSHC services as well as the school building standards
(personal communication, D. Brown, Architect, May 14, 2004, Queensland Anglican
Schools Conference).
A number of Australian and international initiatives have been proposed around
OSHC provision. In Australia, the then Prime Minister John Howard (2003) asked state
governments to be more creative in the use of assets in public schools in response to the
unmet demand for OSHC. Colin Barnet (2003), former leader of the Western
Australian Liberal Party, proposed that after school activities such as supervised
homework, recreation and extension programs could be used to complement current
child care systems. Internationally, challenges have been issued to governments about
rethinking the traditional notion of a six-hour school day and a lengthy summer
vacation that was linked to the needs of an agricultural nation (Belle, 1997; Petrie,
2003).
There is little known about the circumstances for OSHC services and school
sharing the space. The situation is such that it is very difficult for OSHC services to
afford their own premises. Further, parents prefer their children not to be transported
44
and remain close to the school site for OSHC activities. Perhaps there is a reticence to
investigate because OSHC services have very limited options about altering their site of
operation. However, closer examination of the circumstances for OSHC and schools
sharing spaces provides insight that could contribute to development of effective
practice and policies for the OSHC sector.
Communication problems
The interactions between OSHC stakeholders are complex undertakings.
Communication has been added to the list of issues because it is a strategy critical to
the operation of the OSHC services. The impact on service operation and management
by some of the interactions may be invisible to the initiators of the communication. The
issue of communication is considered in two ways. The first relates to the complexity
of linking multiple stakeholders involved in the operation of services. The second is an
understated feature of OSHC that relates to socialisation. The limited opportunities for
communication could mean that all stakeholders are not well-informed, nor have in-
depth understanding of the characteristics about the sector. Certainly, this position is
evident in the Evaluation of the Outside School Hours Care Quality Assurance
Training Project, which states that, in part, “the issue of communication is a by-product
of services’ limited resources, the part-time nature of the sector and the reduced hours
that services operate” (FASCIA, 2005, p. 30).
The limited capacities of services could also be a consequence of
communication issues. The aforementioned report suggests that the low profile and low
confidence of OSHC workers are barriers to achieving the standards required by quality
assurance because they are reluctant to engage in communication with management
committees and parents about the quality standards that could potentially improve their
work conditions. In relation to staff, the report states “OSHC services on school sites
… are generally attributed a low priority in the scheme of things” (FASCIA, 2005, p.
29). Poor communication could impact also on the service delivery in relation to
children. Communication serves social integration and socialisation to form social
identities, qualities significant for children’s development.
45
Queensland Context
In Queensland, while services have grown, there has been little explanation provided
about the purpose and value to the community of OSHC services, or how the cultures
of care and of education coexist in education facilities. This section highlights the
aforementioned issues within the contexts of Queensland OSHC services. Early OSHC
services often were staffed by volunteers and operated on shoestring budgets (Arnold,
2002). Circumstances were quite uncomfortable for co-ordinators as they “made do”
with what was available. Unable to pay rent, services used whatever space was made
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Queensland Child Care Strategic Plan
1999 - 2004
Queensland Child Care Act 2002 Child Care Regulations 2003
Queensland Memorandum of understanding
between Dept of Communities and Dept of Education,
Training & the Arts
Uncapping of Child Care Benefit places
Queensland 1995-1996 State Budget: Funds for capital works for OSHC
Figure 2.1. Timeline showing policy and regulatory contributions that have shaped the OSHC in Queensland
National Standards for OHSC (CSMAC, 1995)
National OSHC Accreditation (NCAC, 2003)
46
available to them. More recently, national accreditation and legislative requirements
have placed increasing pressure on the relationship between OSHC services and
schools, particularly for OSHC co-ordinators and school principals. It appears that
OSHC co-ordinators and services have been constrained continuously by the
circumstances. Figure 2.1. is a timeline for some of the key events for Queensland
services.
In Queensland, OSHC services are located in a range of settings. More than
eighty percent of services are sited on school premises as shown in Figure 2.2. Venues
for OSHC services. Generally, services do not pay rent, maintenance or cleaning costs
(QDoC, 2005). Consequently, there is a delicate relationship between services and their
landlords. Some schools have buildings for OSHC that have been provided by QDoC
(QDoF) funding grants, and others use vacant school classrooms.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Stat
e Sc
hool
Cat
holic
Sch
ool
Inde
pend
ent
Scho
ol
Com
mun
ityC
entr
e/ H
all
YMC
A/ Y
WC
A
Polic
e C
itize
ns's
Yout
h C
lub
Chu
rch/
Chu
rch
Hal
l Oth
erPercentages
Figure 2.2. Venues for OSHC services reproduced from Queensland Child Care
Census 2005, Department of Communities, Brisbane, p. 5.
47
The complex situation provides many challenges for all services based in school
settings. It is particularly complex for more than the fifty percent of OSHC services that
are located in Education Queensland (EQ) state schools. Establishing whether the
QDoC or EQ had the responsibility for upgrading buildings and providing equipment
when two services (e.g. OSHC and public education) used the space at different times
for different purposes has been a blurred situation. In 2005, this situation was provided
with some direction with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Director
Generals of Education and of Communities. Further, Education Queensland introduced
a process of applying for a licence to use Education Queensland premises for School
Age Care services (Education Queensland, 2007). However, application protocols were
slow to emerge after the introduction of the Child Care Regulations 2003 and it was
only in April, 2007 that detailed protocols for state schools were introduced. This ten
page application formalises the use of state schools, where previously there was
informal demarcation. This situation has also been addressed by OSHC services based
in schools auspiced by religious organisations. OSHC services in Queensland Lutheran
and Catholic schools are now part of the corporate community welfare services of the
parent organisations rather than attached to the Parents and Friends Associations of the
respective schools (Personal Communication, M. Little, Centacare, October 28, 2006).
As well as the diverse venues, services are sponsored by an assortment of non-
profit community based organisations that include Parents and Citizens Associations
(P&C), Centacare, and Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) (QDoC, 2005). The
fractured approach to the delivery of OSHC services has contributed to the lack of
consolidated information about the circumstances. Other non-government schools had
ad hoc arrangements. While some school principals recognise the added value of an
OSHC service (Barker et al., 2003), the variety of viewpoints about the philosophy of
the OSHC and its links to families, schools and the community complicate the
circumstances. The lack of consolidation of policies and practices about OSHC has
made it difficult for coordinators to negotiate arrangements for the physical location of
services.
Prior to the introduction of licensing of OSHC services (Child Care Act 2002)
and the national accreditation of OSHC (NCAC, 2003a), the arrangements for the
operation of OSHC were ad hoc. The Queensland government was slow to mandate the
implementation of the National Guidelines for OSHC Services (1995) endorsed by the
48
Community Services Ministers. The Queensland Child Care Strategic Plan 1999 – 2004
(QDoF, 1999) proposed after the launch of the guidelines made very little mention of
OSHC (the focus was on services for children under school age). The development of
the strategic plan occurred prior to the formal collection of census data about the
operations of OSHC services and before the statutory processes of legislation and
accreditation of OSHC services. A subsequent initiative, the Queensland Child Care
Strategic Plan 2002 -2005 also focussed on the development of child care services for
children under school age, and there are only a couple of incidental references to OSHC
services. However, it was this strategic plan that heralded the introduction of licensing
which included mandatory requirements for space and staffing for OSHC services.
Unlike other Australian states, population projections indicate that the number
of school-age children requiring child care places in Queensland will continue to
increase steadily over the next twenty years (Misko, 2003). The population drift to
Queensland and the increasing number of employment opportunities will create a
demand for child care services. The demand for services will not disappear as
communities strive to provide safe spaces and protection for children. It is anticipated
that with limited funds available to provide venues for OSHC that school sites will
continue to be used to accommodate services.
Summary
Documentation of the growth and development of OSHC is minimal compared
to the literature pertaining to the care of children under school age. The literature
available provides a profile with sparse commentary about the intricacies of the OSHC
sector. The Australian material is focussed on the administrative systems for funding
and accreditation processes and on census data about the usage of services. Details
about the types of programs or the relationships that exist between stakeholders are
superficial. There is much more information available about OSHC as contested spaces
within the British literature. The British government has funded a number of projects to
scope the diversity of the OSHC sector (Barker et al., 2003; Petrie et al., 2000). These
projects have listed some areas as requiring much more research:
• Impact of OSHC on children
• Examining the relationship between school and OSHC
• Identifying the models of good practice
49
• Distinctiveness of the variety of OSHC activities, for example, vacation
care, breakfast clubs
The material from the United States documents the diversity of the programs offered by
various groups to occupy children outside school hours; however there is scope to
evaluate the effectiveness of the various programs.
Even though many OSHC programs throughout the Western countries are based
on school sites, the education research community has not invested in seeking evidence
about the relationships between the schools and children’s out of school experiences.
Much of the research material has emanated from groups interested in the welfare of
children or the workforce participation of women. In proportion to the numbers of
children attending OSHC services in western countries, there has been very little
attention given to the breadth of issues that plague the sector.
The negative circumstances including concern for staff shortages and the low
status for the OSHC sector are in marked contrast to the demand and the commitment
by parents to use OSHC services and the enthusiasm with which children participate in
before and after school and vacation care programs. The mismatch between the origins
of OSHC as a community service to circumstances where the service is required to
operate as a sustainable small business is significant. To sustain effective operations
with increasing numbers of services, further research is required. Very little is known
about the complexity of the relationships on the sites where OSHC services are located
within school settings. As the majority of OSHC services are situated in schools, an
investigation of the interface between these two sectors is overdue.
50
CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This study is informed by the lens of critical theory. Critical theory provides both the
epistemological and methodological underpinning for the study. A critical theory
approach analyses the interactions between individuals and society. Such interactions
are embedded within historical, social, political and economic circumstances. The
analyses of social circumstances by critical theorists reflect on the interactions and the
intentions of the actors in their cultural locations (Habermas, 1987b). Horkheimer
(1993) states that critical theory “has as its object human beings as producers of their
own historical form of life” (p. 21). In this way critical theorists are concerned with the
failure of social interactions and arrangements to meet individual needs and ideals
(Hammersley, 1995). They endeavour to explain “what is wrong with current social
reality, identify the actors to change it” and “clear norms for criticism and achievable
practical goals for transformation” (Stanford, 2007, p.1). In summary, critical theory is
concerned with how meanings about social reality are derived in relation to power
struggles; how power struggles are politically mediated and how competing interest
groups differ in their ability to produce and reproduce meaningful systems that
construct social reality (Dey, 2002; How 2003; Kellner, 2003; McCarthy, 1978,
McLaren, 2005).
This chapter begins with an overview of critical theory, including descriptions
of the processes of critique, dialectical thinking and reflection. I describe the specific
features of the critical theories of Habermas that are used to conceptualise this project
and provide the framework for the methodology. Links are then made between critical
theory and the aims of this research.
The history of critical theory is linked to traditions developed by the scholars of
the Frankfurt School, that is, members of the Institute for Social Research founded in
Germany in 1923. The Institute was established as the first Marxist-oriented research
centre. Members of the Frankfurt School are concerned about the growth of science,
modern technology and the commercialisation of the individual and how these changes
in the culture would impact on individuals and society. At the Frankfurt School under
the guidance of Horkheimer (1895-1973), scholars including Adorno and Marcuse
sought to develop “an interdisciplinary social theory that could serve as an instrument
of social transformation” (Kellner, 2003, p. 2). The works of these theorists do not
51
form a “unified approach to cultural criticism” (Kincheloe & McLaren, 1998, p. 279),
but were linked to a form of social analysis that has relevance in interrogating the status
quo (Agger, 2006, Finlayson, 2005; How, 2006; Kincheloe & McLaren, 1998). As a
multi-disciplinary approach, critical theory combines the disciplines of political
economy, sociology, cultural theory, philosophy, anthropology and history (Kellner,
2003; Stanford, 2007).
Early critical theorists focussed on economics as the determinant of social
circumstances. This notion is still considered relevant today, but not as the sole
determinant that dictates the nature of all other aspects of human existence (Kellner,
2003; Kincheloe, 2004; Outhwaite, 1994). Early critical theorists analysed the mutating
forms of domination that accompanied the changing nature of capitalism. The scholars
postulated that economic circumstances contribute to shaping the culture and thus
impact on the structure and power of the dominant culture (Finlayson, 2006; How
2006). The cultural phenomena of everyday life are linked with prevailing economic
trends. Today critical theorists consider other alliances of domination – race, class,
gender, and sexuality as also being important in shaping everyday life (Agger, 2006;
Eriksen & Weigard, 2003; Kellner, 2003).
In this study, I use Habermas’ theory of communicative action (Habermas,
1984, 1987) to provide the framework for the analysis of the interaction between
OSHC and schools. Jürgen Habermas (1929- ), a second generation member of the
Frankfurt School, contributed a number of theoretical propositions that are integral to
this study. Habermas built on the theoretical work of the initial members of the
Frankfurt School, Horkheimer, Marcuse and Adorno. His philosophical stance of
critical theory was theorising a “normative basis for critical theory” (Crotty, 1998, p.
142), which he undertook using Marxist theory and Adorno’s immanent critique
(Finlayson, 2005). He revised the work of the early critical theorists to structure theory
that could be used to analyse situations and uncover sources of power. Habermas
devised a number of theoretical positions and undertook a wide variety of research
projects. He wanted critical theory to be linked to normative structures so that the
theory had more credibility. His aim was to “uncover the interests at work in particular
situations and to interrogate the legitimacy of those interests” (Habermas, 1974, p. 12).
Habermas (1984) stated that society involved what he described as both ‘Lifeworld’
and ‘Systems’ which were integral to the functioning of society (These terms will be
52
discussed in detail in the later part of the chapter). He prioritised communication as the
means by which society sustained itself, stating that “the social life context reproduces
itself through media controlled purposive rational actions of its members and through
the common will anchored in the communicative practice of all individuals”
(Habermas, 1984, p. 398). Evident throughout his work is an emancipatory intent that is
based on the notion of democratic participation, social solidarity and a just society
(Bell, 2004; Best & Kellner, 1991). Habermas’ adoption of ‘grand theory’ and the big
picture meant that some individual pieces of the argument were missing. Habermas is
known for responding to his critics by reformulating his ideas and revising his
theoretical positions (Finlayson, 2005). He used the opportunity to respond to the
critiques to enunciate his ideas in more detail. Some criticisms of his work argue that
he neglected feminist issues and the management of social change (Fraser, 1985;
McCarthy, 1978; Powell &Moody, 2003; Schnadelbach, 1991), two issues that are
pertinent to this study.
Critical Theory
During the 1930s, critical theorists of the Frankfurt School led by Horkheimer,
promoted critical theory as an interdisciplinary theory that was reflective, dialectical
and critical (Finlayson, 2005; How 2003). In this construction critical theory is
reflective, in that it is aware of its own position within the societal context in which it is
formulated and, further, it is also concerned with the function that critical theory
performs within society. Critical theory, also, is dialectically bound to understanding
the world as part of a dynamic process (Finlayson, 2005). The task of critical theory is
to theorise about social reality and to develop understandings that support the well-
being of individuals and groups of individuals. Finlayson (2005) describes critical
theory as “create[ing] social and political conditions that would be more conducive to
human flourishing” (p. 4). Critical theory is used to uncover injustices and promote
individual freedom.
Marxist philosophy (based on the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883)) focussed
amongst other ideas on human circumstances being determined by the economic
system of capitalism. Critical theorists aligned with the Frankfurt School were critical
of orthodox Marxism, and abandoned the use of economic exchange as an explanation
for social systems. For example, Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse are concerned with
53
how individuals are dominated by Western culture (Agger, 2006). They thought that
individuals are impacted upon negatively by the historical context of their time (Agger,
2006). The circumstances of individuals are subject to the historical restrictions which
are facilitated and regulated by particular kinds of institutions including families,
schools, and government departments. For Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse, Western
philosophy and culture produced knowledge that underpinned the domination of others
in society and nature (Agger, 2006). In their understandings, the relationships between
individuals are seen to be influenced by the communities, cultures, and societies in
which individuals exist. Their theoretical position includes the notion that historical
processes privilege scientific and technological forms of knowledge that enable
individuals to master and control the society (Finlayson, 2005).
The critical theorists struggled to find a consistent view on the way in which
critical theory explained societal phenomenon. On the one hand critical theorists
suggest that society is unjust and impacted upon by the circumstances in which it
exists, and so understanding injustices will lead to more optimistic circumstances. On
the other hand, if the imbalances in societal circumstances are adjusted, based on the
recommendations of critical analysis then this new situation could be deemed to be
equally unjust due to the domination provided by the input from the theoretical
position. The notion by the original Frankfurt School members in stressing that culture
determines the life circumstances of individuals has limited value in critiquing the
social reality as it did not explicate how domination occurred.
The contradictions in the work of Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse did not
satisfy Habermas’ quest to theorise and analyse social reality. Habermas states that
more understanding was required about how culture reproduced itself (Agger, 2006,
Habermas 1984). His critical stance involves theorising about the production of
knowledge and the use of language to generate a foundation for circumstances in which
interactions among individuals occur. The Theory of Communicative Action was meant
to be an “alternative to the philosophy of history on which earlier critical theory had
relied” (Habermas, 1987b, p. 397) and was intended as a framework for
interdisciplinary research.
In the following section, I refer to key concepts of critical theory that can be
used to investigate the social reality of OSHC where there are multiple interactions
among assorted stakeholders. I discuss the concept of culture as it is used by Habermas
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(1984, 1987b) to focus attention on characteristics that bind a group of individuals
together. The analysis of social circumstances occurs within and about culture and
generates understandings about how individuals and society interact. Next, I outline the
processes of critique and dialectical thought which are the tools used by critical
theorists to explicate theoretical positions about interactions that are central to human
activity. The notion of culture and the processes of dialectical thought and critique are
essential tools for the critical theorists in generating knowledge about social
circumstances. These features are in essence “built into the theory” (Finlayson, 2005, p.
3). Habermas (1987b) deemed that these tools were not only used to advance theories
about social circumstance but were in essence part of the processes used by society to
maintain it. He states “when social systems learn to relate reflectively to their own
systemic unity there is an additional step in heightening their own complexity in order
to be a better match for the hypercomplexity of the environment” (Habermas, 1987b, p.
396).
Critical theory draws insights from social circumstances beyond mere facts.
Theorists use the element of reason, deemed to reify facts (How, 2003). An important
feature of reason is speculation. How (2003) states speculation is related to “speculum,
or the mirror that reflects something else” (p. 3). Within critical theory, the speculative
element requires theorists to recognise what they are seeing is not all there is to see.
Using dialectical processes of moving thinking back and forth means that the theorist is
constantly reflecting on society with perspectives that have the potential to draw new
knowledge about social circumstances. This new knowledge then provides alternative
ways to view social circumstances, which in turn, by using dialectical thinking
processes, generates further insights.
Examining Culture
Within the realms of critical theory the notion of culture is inextricably linked but
separate from social reality. Critical theorists have strived to unravel knowledge about
culture and to use understandings about culture to comprehend social change. In
particular, Habermas has an eclectic approach to culture, drawn from his extensive
reading and his ability to synthesise the work of others (Wuthnow, Hunter, Bergesen, &
Kurzweil, 1991). Habermas’ focus on culture draws on the work of Horkheimer,
Marcuse and Adorno (Wuthnow et al., 1991). In their work, culture is viewed as more
55
than a way of life. It is the site where knowledge which shapes human existence is
produced and transmitted. In this view, culture is a form of production through which
groups and members of society define themselves. Over time there has been a shift in
Habermas’ thinking as he embraced the ideas of other theorists to fill the gaps in
knowledge about culture and social theory (Finlayson, 2005). Culture has been used
to denote a structure of the Lifeworld in conjunction with society and personality
(Erikson & Weigard, 2003; Finlayson, 2005). More specifically, culture, encompasses
the set of practices, beliefs and values which denote particular social groups and from
which these social groups make sense of the world (Abercrombie, Hill & Turner, 2000;
How, 2003; Kincheloe, 2004). The group characteristics shape and contextualise the
actions that are taken by individuals. For example, child rearing practices of parents
who choose to send their children home to wait for adults to arrive home from work are
different from those of parents who leave their children in the care of adults at OSHC
services until they are able to collect them. Interactions among the groups convey and
produce knowledge that maintains and controls social circumstances. These
interactions are sites of cultural struggle or contestation between and among groups.
The contestations of knowledge production that occur are of interest to critical theorists
such as Habermas. It is within contestations that knowledge about the culture is able to
be examined.
The work of Frankfurt School critical theorists such as Habermas has been
influenced by Antonio Gramsci’s (1891-1937, an Italian Marxist) notion of hegemony
(Finlayson, 2005). The concept of hegemony is based on a term used by Gramsci to
describe how circumstances were controlled in a non-violent manner through political
and economic coercion. Gramsci theorised that power and domination were influenced
by more than economic determiners, and linked politics, ideology and economics.
According to Gramsci, hegemony consisted of political power that flowed from
intellectual and moral leadership within the society. Gramsci also postulated that
hegemony was able to be rationalised in the culture when the values and the norms of
the dominant group were considered the ‘common sense’ values of all (Finlayson,
2005).
Hegemony is the term used to describe how political and ideological circumstances
privilege one group to dominate another. Ideological domination is achieved by
institutions within society such as the family, the church, schools. Hegemony by
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ideological means is achieved more easily if the institution is more prominent in
society. Thus hegemony is the site of power struggles as one group is able to exercise
and maintain power over another group. The process is enacted primarily through
consensual social practices, social forms, and social structures. It occurs when the
dominant group supplies the symbols, representations and practices of social life in
such a way that the basis of social authority and unequal relations of power and
privilege remain hidden (Erik & Weigard, 2003; McLaren, 2005). In this way the
dominant group is able to exercise power in such a manner that the subordinate group
unknowingly participates in its own oppression. Social practices (established ways of
thinking and acting in society such as customs), social forms (capitalism) and social
structures (recurring patterns of social behaviours, for example, social roles, norms, and
kinship) permeate all aspects of society from the activities of individuals, through to
government legislation and formations such as class and economic structure that appear
beyond individual control.
The hegemonic process contains three key strategies. First, the dominant group
is able to frame the ways in which subordinate groups exist, for example by providing a
common world view and an ideology that has values and beliefs that support the
dominant group. Second, the dominant group provides ideas for subordinate groups,
which members internalise, and these ideas shape their view of society. The accepted
meanings about social practices and forms are often filtered through contradiction,
contestation and ambiguity. For example, popular culture’s portrayal of images of
children and how childhood is lived include images of children participating in
‘romantic’ adventures while walking home from school and also parents transporting
children to and from school in cars to keep them safe. To subordinate groups the ideas
appear “so correct that to reject [them] would be unnatural and a violation of common
sense” (McLaren, 2005, p. 78). Third, the dominant culture is not always successful in
maintaining power. There may be pockets of resistance. Resistance to dominant ideas
may occur in sites provided by the dominant culture. For example, education and
educational institutions provided by the dominant group are places where individuals
are engaged in knowledge production that can have positive and negative consequences
for the dominant group (Giroux, 2002).
The symbols and social forms that groups use to shape their lives from the
‘material and political environment’ are denoted as cultural forms, for example, schools
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and child care settings. Cultural groups can be constituted and mediated using a range
of cultural forms. Cultural forms are representative of the structural underpinnings of
the culture and are related to the “means of economic production, the mobilization of
desire, the construction of social values, asymmetries of power/ knowledge,
configuration of ideologies and relations of class, race and gender” (McLaren, 2005, p.
76). Marx originally linked culture to economic circumstances and deemed that the
economic circumstances produced the dominant and subordinate groups in society.
Horkheimer expanded the Marxist view and linked culture to the structure of social
relations that were related to age, gender and class formations that produce oppression
and dependency (How, 2003; McLaren, 2005). Habermas (1984, 1987) acknowledged
these links but wanted to investigate features of social relations that contributed to
social order. His theoretical framework is reconstructive and elaborated the features of
other social scientists (Finlayson, 2005). As well as the Frankfurt School theorists,
Habermas draws on Durkheim's understanding of moral consciousness and Parsons’
systems of norms and values to develop his own theory of communicative action which
explains how the production of knowledge and power are linked to culture (Finlayson
2005). Habermas (1984) theorised that:
The integration of members of society that takes place via processes of reaching
understanding is limited not only by the force of competing interests but also by
the weight of systemic imperatives of self preservation that develop their force
objectively in operating through the action orientations of the actors involved.
(p. 398)
Habermas’ interest in social knowledge production was that it shaped the society and
further, that it shaped itself to shape society. The social knowledge was linked to
culture (Habermas, 1987b).
The Process of Critique
Early forms of critical theory were characterised by two features. First was that the
theory was drawn from the notion of criticism, and second, that it focussed on human
culture. Criticism meant uncovering hidden assumptions by challenging the activity of
society using the claims that society makes about itself using the actual activity of the
society (Abercrombie, Hill & Turner, 2000; How, 2006). The process of critique can be
traced back to Enlightenment in the eighteenth century (Finlayson, 2005; Hammersley,
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1995). This style of thinking was founded on a sense that individuals lived in a false
and unjust world and needed to consider how they could right the injustice. The process
of critique allowed consideration to be given in these areas. Members of the Frankfurt
School used Hegelian philosophy to build the notion of critique and analyse the culture
(How, 2006). The process of critique involved the generation of knowledge about all
aspects of societal circumstances. Critique was then applied to human activity, linking
human history to human self awareness and emancipation. Critique attempts to draw
information from a range of sources in order to discern the state of affairs. The heart of
critique for critical theorists is to reach a point where they uncover the unjust
circumstances occurring within the culture.
The process of critique provides insights about social arrangements involving
culture and power. These insights offer understandings about the maintenance of
inequalities between the dominant culture and the other groups (Hammersley, 1995;
Kincheloe, 2004; McLaren, 2005). Interest in “the relationship between the economic
life of the society and the psychical development of the individual” (How, 2006, p. 17)
meant that critical theorists viewed the individual as being acted upon as well as
shaping life circumstances. Habermas (1987) included personality with reference to
personal and social identity as part of the structural components that contribute to
society. Further, social formations such as age, gender and class create and maintain
divisions in groups in society. These social circumstances privilege or restrict access to
the knowledge production and transmission that occurs within the culture.
Thinking To and Fro
In order to take into account the multiple variables that can produce power struggles
among cultures, critique and knowledge production about social reality are reliant on
dialectical thought, a type of thinking borrowed from Hegel and Marx (Finlayson,
2005, How, 2006). This process is a central characteristic of critical theory. Critical
theory allows researchers to engage with the practice of thinking, focusing
simultaneously on both sides of a social contradiction (Hammersley, 1995; How,
2005). Dialectical thinking places emphasis on the whole, ‘the bigger picture’, as being
greater than parts or specifics of a situation, and highlights the parts as contributing to
the whole. It is not a simple binary of opposites. Its form cannot be separated from its
logic. The dialectical contradiction can be linked to multiple considerations as the
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process for analysis involves complex activity. Thinking about a subject, object,
process or product can create knowledge and ideas that are used to further interrogate
the matter which is under consideration. The dialectical process involves thinking
which “in the grasping of opposites in their unity or of the positive in the negative, that
speculative thought consists” (Hegel, The Science of Logic, p 56). When contradictions
are exposed using dialectical thinking, the process reveals information and actions that
make way for new ways of thinking.
Habermas (1976, 1984, 1987b) uses dialectical thinking in his analysis of the
interactions between individuals and society. There are complex layers to the
relationships between human activity and human knowledge that generate paradoxes
(Agger, 2006; How, 2006). The paradoxes are contradictions of power and privilege.
Habermas understands that there are features of interactions that are in some sense in
opposition, yet still directly associated with the context (How, 2006; McCarthy, 1978).
Dialectical thought links the activity of everyday life with the logic and forces that
shape the broader societal context such as “science and technology as emancipatory or
destructive; culture as stimulating or tranquillising; art as progressive or regressive”
(How, 2006, p. 4). When using dialectical thinking for analysing a situation, the
emphasis is not solely on historical continuity and development but includes
discontinuities and tensions of the context. The process forces sociologists, social
scientists, and researchers to consider societal influences before considering human
agency and struggles because the dialectical process requires that individuals and
groups understand how they fit into their circumstances.
Critique involves reflection. The backward and forward thinking of the process
creates a tension that results in reflective activity (Kemmis, 1985). Reflection is
sometimes referred to as self criticism as it interrogates the thinking process.
Dialectical thought produces new knowledge which is used to frame and question
further thinking. Jameson (1971) describes the process as “thought about thinking
itself, in which the mind must deal with its own thought process just as much as the
material it works on, in which the content and the style of thinking suited to it must be
held in the mind at the same time” (p. 45). Dialectical thinking and the process of
critique provide the critical research tools for gathering data and analysing social
circumstances such as when OSHC services operate in school settings.
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Habermas and Communicative Action
Habermas published a number of theoretical works. In particular, the theoretical
stance adopted in The Theory of Communicative Action (1984, 1987b) and
Communication and the Evolution of Society (1976) link to language and
communicative action to form the basis of subsequent theoretical positions (Crotty,
1998). The outcome positioned critical theory with a rationalised intent. He reached
this position through a theoretical framework focussed on the way that knowledge was
produced. The focus is the distinction between work and interaction, “the two
interrelated processes by which human beings come to terms with external nature and
internal or human nature” (Outhwaite, 1995, p. 16). Habermas suggests that the critique
of society should focus on communicative competence and in so doing analyse the
understanding of situations, power and phenomena:
If we assume that the human species maintains itself through socially
coordinated activities of its members and that the coordination is achieved
through communication-and in certain central spheres through communication
aimed at reaching agreement-then the reproduction of the species also requires
satisfying the conditions of a rationality that is inherent in communicative
action (Habermas, 1984, p. 397)
Speech acts were evidence of the interaction that occurred to exchange knowledge for
cultural reproduction, social integration and socialisation (Habermas, 1984, 1987b).
Analysis of communicative acts provides information about the intent and the intended
consequences of the interaction. Further, Habermas postulates that theoretical critique
had the potential to engender change for the individual and to eradicate inequality
(Outhwaite, 1995).
Habermas’ (1984, 1987b) work provides a theoretical framework that embraces
dialectical thought and locates the ‘locus of rationality’ in interactions among
participants in the social circumstances which is particularly useful to the current study.
These theoretical constructs assist in identifying conditions within the OSHC school
settings to investigate the locus of power, how it became established and how it is
maintained. This section has a brief overview of selected themes used by Habermas to
theorise about social systems. The themes of rationality, sense and socialisation,
communicative action, Lifeworld and System were used in the analysis of the
circumstances for OSHC in schools.
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Rationality
The concept of rationality is central to the Theory of Communicative Action
(Habermas, 1984). Communicative rationality is based on the notion that when a
speaker makes a claim the linguistic utterance, as well as the intent, is to be understood
by the speaker. If something is rational it can be defended (Habermas, 1984). The
rationality of the interaction makes it valid. Habermas (1984) describes rationality as a
“problem-solving action” or “comprehensible” (p. 12). The act of communication is
rational when it is directed towards and achieves a consensus. Irrationality occurs when
the communication does not achieve consensus, rather the communication is strategic.
Strategic communication is linked to power relations as it is without the sincerity of
consensual action.
The early work of Habermas involved critique of the ideology of cultures
(Edgar, 2006). His work analysed the origin and motivation of the values of the culture
in relation to political and economic determiners, as he intended to analyse
contemporary culture to reveal the contradictions and tensions that masked deeper
problems within the culture and which were invisible to the wider society. These were
the problems that society was “unable as a society to bring to consciousness and debate
publicly” (Edgar, 2006, p. 72). In Habermas’ later work, he became more interested in
communicative action for sustaining the perspective and status of individuals and
groups (Edgar, 2006; How, 2003). Habermas’ (1984) assumptions were that individuals
learn about their identity from their basic relations with others. The emphasis within the
focus on the conditions for communicative action (Habermas, 1984, 1987) was on
“political inequalities” and the “distortion of the structural aspects of the social
systems” and the inhibition of communication (Edgar, 2006, p. 69).
As individuals engage in a communicative relationship, the aim is to reach
mutual understanding. However the communicative action will not be attained if
speakers are unable to express their ideas in a format able to “negotiate common
definitions of the situation” (McCarthy, 1978, p. 36). Communication processes are
threatened by misunderstandings or power-based imperatives that are shaped by
differing ideologies (McCarthy, 1978, p. 37), which means that it is difficult to achieve
the consensual understandings necessary for cultural reproduction, social reproduction
and socialisation (Habermas, 1987b).
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Making Sense and Socialisation
The goal of the communicative action is to generate knowledge that supports the social
reality. The generation of knowledge has a two-fold purpose. It produces various forms
of knowledge that transmit the culture and ideology of the society and socialises
individuals. Knowledge generated in the communication and thinking processes can be
categorised according to how it is used to interpret and generate further knowledge.
According to Habermas there are three types of knowledge – technical, practical and
critical (Habermas, 1984). Habermas suggests that different knowledge developed in
different contexts and served different human interests. These forms of knowledge are
not only linked to understanding but they are also linked to power. Power comes from
the ability to continue thinking about circumstances or situations to generate new and
different knowledge.
Each of the knowledge types is bounded by the context of language (Habermas,
1984). Habermas (1984) states that through the structure of language “autonomy and
responsibility are posited for us” (p. 314). Technical knowledge is linked to the
scientific position where there is an emphasis on laws, rules, predictions and control of
behaviour (Habermas, 1984) and it is aligned with the natural sciences. The framework
for this knowledge is geared around cause and effect explanations which are invariably
linked to the possibility of control (How, 2003). Habermas (1984) attributed some
status to technical knowledge, recognising that in certain circumstances that it, and the
controlling framework that went with it, were valuable to achieve a required outcome,
and at the same time permitted some actions and put limits on others.
Practical knowledge is evidenced in the human sciences and exemplifies an
interest in understanding everyday interpersonal interactions. This type of knowledge
offers the intersection of theoretical circumstances derived from historical traditions
with the circumstances in which the “life-practice” occurs (How, 2003, p. 52) and is
offered in the form of “legal and moral representations” (Habermas, 1984, p. 334). Like
technical knowledge, practical knowledge also has limitations on the perspective it
provided on social reality.
Critical knowledge involves reflection on ideology and aims to bring about
emancipation or transformation from circumstances that ideology has set in place
(Habermas, 1987b, p. 143). Habermas’ view is that understanding social reality
depends on the viewpoint from which the situation is approached (Habermas, 1984,
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1987). Human beings constitute their reality and organise their experience based on the
terms of knowledge guiding their interests (Habermas, 1984, 1987). The manner in
which individuals act within and upon their social world is guided by the constitution
of knowledge (Habermas, 1984). Technical knowledge and practical knowledge,
according to Habermas (1984), are not sufficient to describe the possibilities associated
with the human abilities to think. He posits critical knowledge as a view of knowledge
production for considering the in-depth of thinking and reflective activity in which
individuals engaged to understand their own situation and current circumstances. The
thoughts generated in this self-reflection process have the potential to promote changes
in thinking, action and practice and can transform understandings and circumstances
and alter behaviour. Gained through the reflection process, these insights are sometimes
referred to as emancipatory as they support individuals to recognise and understand
their own circumstances (Finlayson, 2005; How, 2003; MacIssac, 1996). Habermas
postulates that the addition of critical knowledge gives credence to the critical sciences
as a valid process for investigating social reality (Habermas, 1984).
Critical knowledge provided not only information about social reality; it also
positioned research activity as a valid source of knowledge. Habermas deems that
critical science was as useful as technical sciences (Habermas, 1984). Knowledge
produced in the technical realm was seen as privileged because it was linked to
rationality. Rationality was linked to reason and validity of ideas. Naming critical
interests as a cognitive process and a knowledge producing activity made it credible.
In summary, Habermas’ theorising focused on the link between knowledge,
power and domination. Those individual or groups endowed with the more credible
knowledge are deemed to have the power to dominate the social circumstance.
Communicative Action
Communicative action is a key feature of Habermas’ theoretical perspective. It centres
upon language and communication and according to Habermas (1984) meaningful
interaction among persons is the core of communicative action. Communicative action
is necessary for establishing or maintaining a social relationship. Investigations of
social reality involve analysis of the meaningful intent of the communicative
interactions between people. In this section I describe the four conditions that influence
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effective communication and briefly explain some of key terms related to the
theoretical position.
Communicative acts involve language in various forms such as words, gestures
or writing. Habermas suggests there is more to the communicative act than syntactical
or semantic structures in the expression of language. He devised his theory of
communicative action “to take account of the fact that we do various different things
when we communicate” (Edgar, 2006, p. 22). Communicative action performs three
functions. It conveys information; establishes social relationships with others and
expresses opinions and feelings (Habermas, 1984).
Communicative action is a “circular process” in which the participant/speaker
both initiates a “situation through actions for which he is accountable”, and is produced
by the traditions and social norms surrounding him and to which he belongs, that is,
“processes of socialisation in which he has been reared” (Habermas, 1991, p.135).
Through interaction and communication, individuals master society. This occurs
because individuals receive and produce knowledge about their circumstances.
Habermas (1984) claims an individual:
cannot therefore, interpret expressions connected through criticisable validity
claims with a potential of reasons (and thus represent knowledge) without
taking a position on them. And he cannot take a position without applying his
own standards of judgement, at any rate standards that he has made his own. (p.
115-16)
The meaningful interaction that occurs in a communication act between individuals is
linked to the circumstances of the individuals and the context in which it is expressed.
Habermas suggests that the knowledge production in communicative action requires
four conditions (Habermas, 1984, p. 278), each of which influences the effectiveness of
the communication. The speech in communication acts is impacted upon by the various
domains as seen in Figure 3.1. Communication Act is linked to four domains
(Wuthnow, et al., 1991). The schema is predicated on the knowledge that to explain
cultural forms requires acknowledgement of what is occurring in each of the domains,
and that no one domain is privileged over another (Habermas, 1984). For the language
act to be meaningful, the layers of complexity of the interactions of these four domains
need to be considered.
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The first domain is the world of external nature. This domain contains both
animate and inanimate objects that can be manipulated, for example, time to engage in
a conversation. Habermas (1979) stated that one can “adopt an objectivating attitude
not only to the inanimate nature but toward all objects and states of affairs” (p. 66). The
claims made in communication action are aligned with “facts” that are able to be
perceived in the external world (Wuthnow, 1991, p. 206). Receivers of the
communication are likely to make judgements about the communication based on what
is observable to them.
The second domain is the world of society. This domain relates to social norms
such as traditions, institutions and values. The features of this domain are recognised by
participants “as external objects or taken for granted features of life” (Wuthnow et al.,
1991, p. 206). This domain is closely linked with the external world as the effectiveness
of the communication depends on the relationship to the social norms or symbolic
patterns of society such as concepts of care, value of freedom, the feeling of love
(Habermas, 1979; Wuthnow et al., 1991).
The third domain is in the internal world. Only participants are able to access
this domain, which is concerned with feelings, wishes and intentions. The analysis at
this point focuses on how participants really felt about what they said. The final domain
is the domain of language. The grammatical, syntactical and semantic rules of language
are a feature of this domain. All four domains must be taken into account during an
interaction. All domains are considered in attributing meaning from the communication
action. Communicative action provides the “medium” for the reproduction of society
(Habermas, 1984, p. 337).
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The communication act is based on the presumption that when individuals
interact they understand each other. Habermas’ theory of communicative competence
described the situation in which the speaker and the hearer were able to engage in a
communication event that was meaningful. That is, the partner in the interaction would
presuppose the following criteria: use of the same language as the communicator,
understand the external world in a similar way; share the same norms and conventions
and understand the self expression used. See Figure 3.2 which lists specific features of
each of the domains that can be a source of commonality for speakers and hearers in
Language
World of Society
-Social Norms
Internal World
-Speaker
World of External Nature
Communication
Act
Figure 3.1. Communication Act is linked to four domains. (Wuthnow, et al., 1991)
67
Language
World of Society
-Social Norms
Internal World
-Speaker
World of External Nature
Communication Act
(In this study it is between OSHC Stakeholders)
Feelings Interpretations Self Awareness
Traditions Values Customs Family Gender Class
Face to face Newsletters Memos Internet Telephone Meetings
Physical space Industry/sector Economy Politics State Administration Civil services Popular culture Transport services
communicative action. Habermas theorises that the communicative action is important
to the reproduction of society as the knowledge required for the “preservation’ of
society was communicated through speech acts (Habermas, 1984).
Habermas (1984) states that “reaching understanding is the inherent teleos of human
speech” (p. 287) and that all speech acts have the goal or purpose for mutual
understanding (Habermas, 1984).
Habermas argues that developing people’s communicative capacities for
engaging in discussion is the basis of democracy (Agger, 2006). The notion of
meaningful understanding in a communicative act distinguishes between “freedom”
and “repression” within the interaction (Schnadelbach, 1991, p. 20). In communication
Figure 3.2. Communication Act – communication makes connections between social structure and the cultural patterns.
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episodes, ideal conditions can not be guaranteed and the communication process can
break down. The breakdown of the communication can impact negatively on the
individual’s capacity for quality of life. The act of communication has the potential for
two outcomes either communicative actions - meaningful understanding, or strategic
actions – success (Habermas, 1984, p. 333). In communicative action meaningful
understanding is consensual for both speaker and hearer. However, with strategic
action, success belongs only to the speaker as the focus on shared understanding is
destroyed as one individual tries to manipulate the other. The speaker manipulates the
hearer using language without them understanding the language being used or
consenting to it. The strategic action of the speaker may be underpinned by the desire
for power and/or money which can have negative consequences for the hearer. The
hearer is repressed by the communication breakdown. This situation results in the
dissolution of social structures such as quality of life, equal rights, self-realisation,
participation and human rights (Habermas, 1987b, p. 392). In his work, Habermas
alluded to the notion of systematically distorted communication which is a weak
communication event where restraint and systematic distortion impedes mutual
understanding (Habermas, 1987b).
The consensus that the individuals or groups achieved during a language
interaction determined which knowledge was seen to be dominant and, furthermore,
privileged. Habermas (1979) states that the individual may attempt to reconnect and
repair a communication breakdown. This involves two further processes. One is
consensual action where common assumptions are taken for granted and the other is
action oriented to reaching an understanding (Habermas, 1979, p. 209).
Communicative action highlights the need to establish shared understanding. It
is critical for researchers analysing social reality such as an OSHC setting to consider
the four domains (external world, society, internal world and language) when observing
communication acts. Characteristics of each of the domains provide insights into the
potential links between communicative actions and social structures. Observation of
communication acts provides information about the strength of the interactions between
stakeholders. The intent of communication acts shapes the social reality. When
individuals engaging in communicative acts are unable to reach mutual understanding
the communicative acts are weakened and distorted. Furthermore, the circumstances for
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the sense of self of individuals engaged in the communication act are shaped by the
process.
Habermas’ theory of communicative action is a social theory that blends
understanding the social systems with the ways in which social life is experienced by
individuals and groups (Kemmis, 1998). In the Theory of Communicative Action are
examples of circumstances in which the communication systems have been distorted
and how this has impacted negatively on the connections between the social structure
and cultural reproduction (Habermas, 1984, 1987b). Kemmis (1998) lauds the depth
and complexity of the theory. He describes it as offering “a stereoscopic view, able to
encompass both System and Lifeworld, and offer insights into the nature of any
dynamics of the tensions and interconnections between them” (p. 274).
Lifeworld and System
The concept of the Lifeworld is a core feature of Habermas’ theories in the 1970s
(Habermas, 1984, 1987b). The Lifeworld is deemed as the site of communicative action
and encapsulates the social interactions that occur in the everyday life of individuals.
Habermas viewed the Lifeworld as “part of a complex process of interactions through
which we use language to establish, maintain and repair social relationships with others
(Edgar, 2006, p. 89). It involves the home and family life. In contrast to the
‘Lifeworld’, Habermas labelled the ‘System’ as referring to bureaucratic organisation.
Figure 3.3. shows the relationship between the Lifeworld and the System. The dotted
line in between the Lifeworld and the System indicates the communication and
interaction that occurs to sustain each world. The Lifeworld and the System is an area
of significant activity as the structural components for maintaining society actively
shape the communicative actions oriented to mutual understanding and sustaining the
social and cultural knowledge to maintain society. These communicative actions help
socialise citizens so that the knowledge required to preserve society is transmitted. The
Lifeworld and the System influence and are manipulated by communication acts from
within the domains of the external world, internal world and social norms (as described
in Figure 3.2). The communicative actions sustain the social and cultural reproduction
of society (see Figure 3.4). These actions involve processes or behaviours that result
70
Obligations
Socialization patterns Educational goals
Legitimately ordered interpersonal relations
Legitimations
Social memberships
Motivations of actions that conform to norms
Motivations for actions that conform to norms
Interactive capabilities
Interpretive schemes fit for consensus
• Actions concealed • Quasi-natural reality
with autonomous internal logic that escapes human control
• Humans not responsible
• Meanings of actions open to view
• Autonomy, freedom • Responsible humans
Social & Cultural Reproduction – see Figure 3.4
Communication Acts – see Figure 3.2
Figure 3.3. The Lifeworld and the System is used to explain the relationships between every day life and the economy.
Figure 3.4. Reproduction Processes that maintain the structural components of the Lifeworld.
71
in maintaining society including interactions between groups or individuals that support
social membership and obligations to others (Habermas, 1987b). The System has
emerged from the Lifeworld as private activities transfer to the public domain, for
example child care has shifted from the family environment to institutions within the
community. The System requires organisation and administration to preserve its
activities. Communication acts are important to sharing the knowledge required to
formulate and preserve the System. However as the external and social worlds of the
domains of the communication act become more diverse it makes the reproduction of
the social and cultural knowledge more complex. Consequently, the line of
communication between the two worlds is potentially the site of contestation of
meaning-making interaction (see Figure 3.4. for the expanded view of the kinds of
communicative action that occurs between the Lifeworld and the System). If distorted
communicative actions occur they manifest in crisis, and the expected supportive
structural components are unable to function. This means that the communicative act is
unable to mutually benefit the individuals engaged in the interaction. Distorted
communication can have short term effects and dire long term consequences for
individuals or groups of individuals.
Colonisation of the Lifeworld
According to Habermas (1987b) societies became larger and more complex features of
the Lifeworld were “stretched to breaking point”. The opportunities for social
interaction within social structures were reduced in the new systems that emerged in
response to the growth in state and market economies, and communication and
interactions that had previously occurred in the Lifeworld were increasingly difficult to
maintain. Habermas used the term ‘uncoupling of System and Lifeworld’ (Edgar, 2006;
Finlayson, 2006; Outhwaite, 1994) to describe these changes. Hence the interaction
becomes focused largely on systematic rules to reduce the pressure on the Lifeworld.
The state bureaucracy, including health, education, and social services interfered with
the organisation and status of the family within the Lifeworld. This situation reduces
the autonomy of the family and the freedom of the individual. The manifestations of
crisis are viewed in conjunction with the decline in the Lifeworld due to increased
activity in the System as illustrated in Figure 3.5: Tug-O-War between the Lifeworld
and the System in the Colonisation of the Lifeworld. Uncoupling the Lifeworld and the
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System leads to a “colonisation” of the Lifeworld (Habermas, 1987b), as the functions
of the Lifeworld are absorbed into the System. The Lifeworld is governed by the
restrictions placed on it by the System (Habermas, 1987). The activities of the
Lifeworld are consumed by formal organisational administration of the System.
Colonisation is an undesirable outcome of the expansion of society. The
complexity of the large society impacts upon the ability of individuals to communicate
meaningfully with each other. In smaller groups, the individual’s communicative
competence was reliant on the personal relationship. There was a greater chance of the
individual knowing the other people, so it was easier to bargain or negotiate to acquire
what was needed for daily life. However in a larger society to achieve projects or the
activities of daily life it is necessary to coordinate with systems and the action of people
who do not know each other (Edgar, 2006). Habermas (1987b) states that this is a
burden to communication processes. Societies have organised systems to achieve the
desired efficiencies in communication outcomes.
Habermas (Edgar, 2006) views money and power as “the two important cues for
organising action without communication” (p. 18). As economic systems and
Pathologies – see Figure 3.6.
Figure 3.5. Shift between the Lifeworld and the System in the Colonisation of the Lifeworld.
73
administrative systems impinge on everyday life the success of communicative action
is reduced to “strategic action” (Habermas, 1984, p. 333). Strategic action involves an
individual treating another individual or a group of individuals as if they were objects,
something to be manipulated and controlled, which according to Habermas is
dehumanising and produces “morally flawed individuals” (Finlayson, 2005, p. 61). The
problem of colonisation of the Lifeworld arises when the systems of organising society
become oppressive to the individual’s freedom. The flux creates “anomie,
disintegration, alienation, demoralisation and social instability” (Habermas, 1987b, p.
143). The System takes over the responsibilities previously attributed to the Lifeworld,
which Habermas (Edgar, 2006; Eriksen & Weigard, 2003; Finlayson, 2005, Kemmis,
1998) states has negative consequences because the existence of the System depends on
the Lifeworld. The maintenance of society is more dependent on the social system than
on the individual or small face to face social groups (Kemmis, 1998, p. 278). Thus the
System renders the individual invisible (Habermas, 1987b). The merging of the System
and the Lifeworld is contingent on the communication acts that occur between and
among individuals and groups within the society (Habermas, 1987b). In
communication episodes the intent of the speaker and the listener are crucial to mutual
understanding, and to the social and cultural reproduction that sustains society
(Habermas, 1987b). However, if the Systems have been afforded greater control, the
communication between individuals and groups is distorted because the domains that
contextualise the communication do not allow consensual communication to occur. The
communicative action (see Figure 3.1.) manifests a crisis that disturbs the reproduction
processes (see Figure 3.6). The reproductive processes have negative consequences for
the individuals and groups within society when as members they do not view
themselves as legitimate contributing members. This situation may cause them to
withdraw their support and motivation for the organisations and systems that operate
within society. When communication breaks down dire consequences for the social
relationship between the individuals emerges.
The shifts between the System and the Lifeworld occur around communicative
acts (Habermas, 1987b). Changes in economic or social circumstances including
changes in the labour market have created imbalanced interactions between the
Lifeworld and the System. For example, the decline in the labour of males in heavy
industry and the increase in female labour in the services sector have created an
74
imbalance. This imbalance has ruptured the traditions associated with the forms of
educational opportunities and pathways leading to employment that have been
traditionally provided. The Systems are contained within the Lifeworld activity and
communication action is the focal point of the activity in the Lifeworld (Habermas,
1987b). However, depending on the outcome of the communicative act the focus could
shift more of the Lifeworld interactions into the System’s sphere,
decimating the Lifeworld. The decline of the Lifeworld reduces the autonomy, control
and responsibility individuals have within their life circumstances. And as the System
is sustained by the Lifeworld, the overall outcome is a very fragile circumstance. The
process for cultural reproduction, social integration and socialisation involving groups
and individual has been disrupted (see Table 3.1.). When communicative actions do not
reach consensual understanding socialisation processes are placed “under different
Unsettling of collective identity Crisis in
orientation and education
Anomie
Withdrawal of legitimation
Alienation
Withdrawal of motivation
Rupture of tradition
Psycho-pathologies
Loss of meaning
Figure 3.6.` Communicative action line with manifestations of crisis when reproduction processes are disturbed (Pathologies) (Habermas, 1987, p. 143)
75
conditions and [it] exposes them to different types of danger” (Habermas, 1987b, p.
387). Various crises occur depending on the intersection of the structural components
and the domains.
Structural
components/ Disturbances in the domain of:
Culture Society Person Dimensions of Evaluation
Cultural reproduction Loss of meaning Withdrawal of
legitimation Crisis in orientation
and education Rationality of Knowledge
Social integration
Unsettling of collective identity Anomie Alienation Solidarity of
members
Socialization Rupture of tradition Withdrawal of motivation Psychopathologies Personal
responsibility
Critique of the Theory of Communicative Action
Habermas has been eclectic in the development of his theoretical positions. His
thoughts about reason, language and communication are difficult to track as he has
continually revised and expanded these elements (Crotty, 1998). Habermas (1984,
1987) was determined to expand of the work of his predecessors in the Frankfurt
School to help abolish the causes of social oppression. He has been responsive to other
theorists’ critique of his work and he has also tried to use other theoretical perspectives
to fill in the gaps in his own positions (Finlayson, 2005; Kemmis, 1998, How, 2006).
The challenge is to consider the reformulations of Habermas’ critical theory in terms of
the new historical conditions, without sacrificing the emancipatory spirit (How, 2005;
Outhwaite, 1995).
There has been a variety of critiques of the work of Habermas. In this section I
discuss aspects of the Theory of Communicative Action that have been the focus of
criticism. The critiques add to the philosophical tenants of Habermas’ work and
therefore are relevant to the theoretical framework for analysing the circumstances of
OSHC and schools.
Axel Honneth (1999) lauds Habermas’ theory of communicative action as being
able to provide an analysis of social reality that exemplifies the negative consequences
of the domination of Systems and how the linguistic conditions inhibit social
Table 3.1. Manifestations of crisis when reproduction processes are disturbed (Habermas, 1987, p. 143)
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interaction. However, Honneth (1999) states that Habermas has neglected to
acknowledge the moral consciousness of individuals. Honneth describes the
pathologies of the colonisation of the Lifeworld and the System occurring as a result in
“violation of intuitive notions of justice, connected with respect for one’s own dignity,
honour and integrity” (Honneth, 1999, p. 329). Honneth (1999) uses “social disrespect”
(p. 329) to account for the feelings individuals experience when they don’t receive
recognition for the contribution they make to everyday life. However he proposes that
social disrespect is caused by the violation of identity claims acquired in socialisation
and not initiated by the linguistic process (Honneth, 1999).
Similarly, McCarthy (1978) questions the membership rules of the Lifeworld
and the System. He asserts that Habermas has not accounted for the human interaction
that occurs in the administration of the System. Habermas (1976) deems the interaction
within the administration bureaucracies as being coordinated via functional
interconnection rather than orientation of participants. McCarthy (1978) believes that
Habermas “takes the expansive dynamics of the System for granted in his analysis of
colonisation” (p. 137). McCarthy (1978) asserts the formal organisation in the System
is both systematically and socially integrated. McCarthy (1978) claims Habermas’
approach has a scientific rationale which is the antithesis of where Habermas said he
wanted it to be. Habermas (1984) had wanted his theoretical positions to be based on
normative structures rather than scientific principles. On another aspect of the
Lifeworld, Habermas views the political sphere as belonging in the Lifeworld and
being socially integrated. McCarthy (1978) questioned the “theoretical and empirical
adequacy of the state and the politics in the capitalist society” (McCarthy, 1978, p.
127). McCarthy (1978) suggested the political sphere appears to be systematically
rather than socially integrated and that politics are more akin to the System rather than
the Lifeworld.
Both Honneth (1999) and McCarthy (1978) draw attention to the individual.
Honneth (1999) suggests that because individuals feel that they are unrecognised they
are unable to contribute to a “healthy, intact form of society” (Honneth, 1999, p. 332).
He states that lack of recognition is intertwined with economic role and status
(Honneth, 1999). Honneth’s analysis (1999) does not contain in-depth study of
particular social groups but it provides a framework for considering the continuing
conflicts and consequences for women.
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Habermas and the postmodern theorists
Habermas postulates that a just society, if it is going to function effectively for all
citizens, needs to have certain universal rights such as equality, rule by law and
democratic participation. Habermas was theorising about society in a period termed
‘modernity’ in which social structures had changed. Society was characterised by
technological, political and ideological changes. It was a period in which the
government and private concerns were overriding previously public functions.
Habermas attempted to offer explanations about the way in which modernity produced
a range of processes such as individualisation, bureaucratization and rationalisation that
“constituted the modern world” (Best & Kellner, 1991, p. 3) and were ills for society.
He suggested that these circumstances needed to be rectified if appropriate socialisation
was to occur.
Habermas’ ideas were challenged by a group of theorists, including Lyotard and
Foucault, known as ‘postmodern theorists’. They found fault with Habermas’ theory as
it contrasted to their position, which was that notions of universality and consensus
were regressive and did not support democratic participation (Best & Kellner, 1991).
Their debates with Habermas drew attention to theorising about the development of the
individual and the sources of power in society that shape everyday life. Lyotard
(1984a) suggested that it was important to preserve differences to avoid potential
repression and manipulation by sources of power. Lyotard was concerned that a united
perspective, such as expounded by Habermas, had the potential to make individuals
feel undervalued and marginalised. However, Habermas continued to stress that
consensual understanding had the potential to alleviate repression.
The polemics between Habermas and the postmodern theorists raised ire and
challenges for each to defend their positions (Best &Kellner, 1991). The postmodern
theorists found plenty to critique in the work of Habermas, including rejecting his
stance on rationality and reason. Nonetheless, there were some similarities in the basic
underpinnings of the approaches discussing the complexity of society (Best & Kellner,
1991). Habermas responded to the postmodern perspectives of multiple differences
with the Theory of Communicative Action where language is viewed as a fundamental
form of social action (Powell, 2002). The impact of linguistics became an area of
common ground, particularly for Habermas and Lyotard.
78
While postmodern theorists deconstructed the social circumstances, they are not
known for providing solutions for improving for social circumstances. By comparison,
Habermas’ theory strives to ‘reconstruct’ the social circumstances in order to make it
easier consider the complex social changes that are occurring. His comprehensive
critical theory of Theory of Communicative Action attempts to “map the new forms of
social development and the relationship between spheres like the economy, culture,
education and politics” (Best & Kellner, 1991, p. 301). This theory analyses the social
reality and provides approaches for emancipatory change in a given society
.
Invisible Women
Like the early critical theorists Horkheimer and Adorno, Habermas was deemed to be
patriarchal and dismissive of the oppression facing women as a legitimate topic for
study (Agger, 2006; Outhwaite, 1994). Agger (2006) suggests that gender politics were
invisible to male theorists and gender issues were located in the domestic sphere that
was outside their realms of analysis. Accordingly Habermas’ Theory of
Communicative Action focussed on the capitalist economy and the public
administration system with minimal recognition of the systems for child rearing that
occurred in the home. Therefore the transfer of childrearing to the public domain
meant that it remained invisible, as it was even less understood as a function of the
public systems than it was within the realms of the private world of the home (Fraser,
1985).
To investigate social reality and the process of social change requires analysis
of aspects of individuals’ intimate lives “involving sexuality, childcare, housework and
authority relations” (Agger, 2006, p. 102). Agger (2006) reports that the feminist
theoretical argument that the “personal is political” (p. 102) has grounded feminist
work in the notion that the circumstances for women unfold differently from male
theory. Critical feminists such as Fraser (1985) view the private and the public spheres
as inseparable. Fraser (1985) used Habermas’ notion of Lifeworld and Systems to
theorise about feminized themes within social theory. She stressed that the relationships
between the Lifeworld and Systems were gendered relationships, claiming that classical
capitalism was a gendered activity where the male breadwinner was provider and
protector for his wife and family. Fraser (1985) described the administrative and
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political systems that emerged from the Lifeworld as based on this ideology. McCarthy
(1978) stated that there were similarities between the organisational structures of the
System and the Lifeworld. It could be concluded that the feminised themes of the
Lifeworld transferred into the structures of the System. For example the invisible work
of ‘caring’ undertaken by females in the Lifeworld received understated recognition
within the System.
Child rearing is not afforded attention or status in the Lifeworld nor in the
System. Lack of recognition of child rearing is a stumbling block in accepting
Habermas’ approach to societal analysis (Fraser, 1985). However Fraser (1985) states
that this feature is able to be analysed using Habermas’ theorising. Fraser (1985) uses
Habermas’ theorising about the symbolic and materialistic reproduction of society to
suggest that child rearing is a dual aspect activity. Child rearing is important to society
from both perspectives. However, the labour of child rearing has been rendered
invisible in the family. Therefore when the care of children was moved outside the
home and into the public domain, there was no precedent to afford those who care for
children greater visibility than in the home environment. Child rearing had understated
identity in the family and therefore it was not in a position to develop a collective
identity within state administration (system) and the economy.
The complexity of the role and responsibility of child rearing is an anomaly
within capitalist society. Child rearing as a component of social theory is an important
for the study of OSHC. OSHC is outsourcing of the care of school age children by the
family into organisations within the System. Fraser (1985, p. 107) suggests that the
family should be considered as an economic system and in so doing links the structural
features of the Lifeworld and the System to the family. Habermas’ theory of
communicative action includes the symbolic and cultural reproductive processes that
underpin the structural features of the Lifeworld and the Systems have the potential to
be disturbed by distorted communicative actions. The transition of child rearing and
care from private (family) to the public sector can be linked to the shift of social
organisations from the Lifeworld to the System. Consequently, Habermas’ theory can
be used to provide a lens for the critical analysis of child rearing and care for primary
school children as a part of the Lifeworld and the System, as an examination of OSHC
services.
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Habermas (1984, 1987) claims in the Lifeworld and in the processes of the
communicative action are the “ideals of equality, universality and inclusiveness” (p.
60). These features imply the moral edge that locates Habermas’ theory within the
realms of critical theory. Habermas’ work focuses on understanding the complexities of
social reality; however it retains a critical ambience to theorising, which is concerned
with improving the life circumstances for individuals and groups. It is circulatory logic
but you need language for interaction and you need interaction for language. Either
way the societal analysis of Habermas and Honneth build a more complex framework
on which to view social injustice. Habermas’ work focuses on understanding the
complexities of social reality; however it retains a critical ambience to theorising,
which is concerned with improving the life circumstances for individuals and groups.
Summary
Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action (1984, 1987b) focuses on the socio-
structural features that are responsible for society. Using the tools of critique and
reflection to analyse the communication between groups and individuals within society,
decisions can be made about the “systemic connection between specific experiences of
disrespect and the structural development of society” (Honneth, 1999, p. 332).
Habermas (1987b) theorises that when distorted communication occurs, crisis
described as pathologies manifest. This situation impairs the social reproductive
processes that impact on social structural components such as the “transmission of
knowledge, patterns of social membership and the formation of identity” (Habermas,
1987b, p. 144). The circumstances effect the cultural reproduction, social integration
and socialisation of individuals and society. Pathologies such as withdrawal of
legitimation and motivation, being without a collective identity and alienated are
identified and considered in the context of possible transformation (Habermas, 1987b).
Very little is known about the complexity of the OSHC stakeholder
relationships, particularly those of OSHC coordinators and school principals, and their
relationships with each other as well as with children, parents, management
committees, other OSHC employees and school staff. The multiple stakeholders in
OSHC each have their own interests that they bring to bear on the OSHC service.
Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action provides a framework for gathering data
and will enable analysis of the deep structures involved in OSHC settings. For both the
81
researcher and the researched in this study, analysis of knowledge production that
occurs through communicative actions will enhance understandings of the social reality
of OSHC and schools.
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CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY
Critical ethnography was chosen as the research methodology to examine what happens
when OSHC services and schools share premises. Critical ethnography had its origins
in explanations of social reality that provide insight into the complex relationships
between groups of humans and society (Anderson, 1994; Gordan, Holland & Lahelma,
2001; Jordan, 2003). It emerged as a research methodology that blended critical theory
and ethnography. This approach is founded on the belief that social structures are
unjust and that it is crucial to expose, critique and transform the associated inequalities
through the process of research. The theoretical framework, Habermas’ Theory of
Communicative Action (Habermas, 1984, 1987b) based on knowledge generation that
is an active, dialectical process that is influenced by the historical, political, economic
and cultural circumstances of both the researcher and participants (Anderson, 1989;
Barton, 2001; Hammersley, 1995; Trueba, 1999). Accordingly, the research methods
for gathering data are tools that allow circumstances to be examined from multiple
perspectives. Critical ethnography is used to examine culture within a larger historical,
political, economic social and symbolic context.
The research sites are two OSHC services located in Queensland schools –
Currajong State School (SS) and Jarrah College. The services were located in a
community between the capital city of Queensland and the Gold Coast. This chapter
provides an overview of the research methodology of critical ethnography. It describes
the research design, including how data were collected, coded and analysed. The
chapter concludes with a discussion of the ethical considerations and limitations of the
study.
Critical Ethnography
Critical ethnography has been described as conventional ethnography with a political
purpose (Lather, 2003; Thomas, 1993). Critical researchers argue that all members of
cultural groups may be, in some ways, experiencing unnecessary repression, but that
not all these acts are necessary or beneficial to social growth and harmony (Thomas,
1993). Conventional ethnographers study the culture to describe it, whereas critical
ethnographers study the culture to change it (Anderson, 1989, 1994; Foley, 2002;
Hammersley, 1998; McLaren, 1995, 2000; Thomas, 1983, 1993; Van Maanen, 1988).
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Critical ethnography, then, expands and deepens understandings of social existence that
are often ignored by traditional ethnographic research (Anderson, 1989, 1994; Gordon,
Holland, & Lahelma, 2001; Hammersley, 1992; Lather, 1998, 2003; Smith, 2002;
Thomas, 1993). The notions of power and oppression in the social setting are of
particular interest to critical researchers. As critical ethnography is more responsive to
the power and oppression found in cultural conjunctures, it is a useful approach for
examining the “culturally hegemonic practices” found within the complex and
multilayered terrain of society (Trueba, 1999, p. 594).
Researchers who choose critical ethnography aim to facilitate change because,
through investigation, participants are provided with greater insight into the existing
state of affairs. In this way, critical ethnographers “describe, analyse and open to
scrutiny otherwise hidden agendas, power centres and assumptions that inhibit, repress
and constrain members of a culture” (Thomas, 1993, p. 2). The critical ethnographer’s
voice can be that of the “transformative intellectual” (Giroux, 1988, p.151) who has an
expanded awareness and is in a position to challenge ignorance and misapprehensions
(Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p. 115).
A variety of positions describe critical ethnography (Anderson, 1994; Atkinson,
Coffey & Delamont, 1999; Atkinson, Coffey, Delamont, Lofland & Lofland, 2001;
Springwood & King, 2001). These descriptions are characterised by “diversity,
controversy and conflict” (Atkinson et al., 1999, p. 470). Recent advances in critical
ethnographic methodology are seen not as rejections of previous approaches, but are
embraced within the collection of positions about critical ethnography (Atkinson et al.,
1999). Critical traditions, such as feminist and post-critical perspectives, and research
tools, such as oral histories and collaborative research, have broadened critical
ethnography as a research methodology (Barton, 2001).
Critical ethnographies are organised around four key principles (Barton, 2001).
The first is that critical ethnography documents the dialectical process of examining
“the nature of oppression and the process of empowerment” (Barton, 2001, p. 907).
Data gathering and analysis focus on macro issues of power, ideology and culture as
well as the micro circumstances (Jordan & Yeomans, 1995). The second key principle
is the collaborative nature of the research process, which aims to ensure that
participants reveal what they think, not just what they think researchers want to see or
hear (Jordan & Yeomans, 1995; Trueba, 1999). Together, the researcher and the
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participants engage in “processes that respond directly to their understandings,
situations and concerns within co-operative, reciprocal and mutually respectful
relations” (McLaren & Giarelli, 1995, p. 301). Participants are encouraged to
understand their actions and the historical, social and political context in which they are
acting (Lather, 2003; McLaren & Giarelli, 1995). The third principle is a warrant to
ensure that the research is valuable to the participant and the researcher (Katz, 1997).
The fourth key principle is that the researchers are reflective practitioners, aware of the
historical and cultural influences that shape beliefs and values, and that constitute and
regulate the power relationships and the material conditions within the research site
(Guajardo & Guajardo, 2002; Jordan & Yeomans, 1995; Soto & Swadener, 2002;
Thomas, 1993).
One difficulty in using critical ethnography is that research issues begin very
broadly and narrow only after some data have been gathered. Critical ethnographers
require flexibility in their thinking, because the issues may not be revealed until
considerable questions have been asked. Data gathering is flexible, iterative and
continuous (Hesse-Bider & Leavy, 2006), and the data gathering and analysis occur
concurrently (Lofland & Lofland, 1995). Thomas (1993) states that critical
ethnographers do not select topics that are different from other perspectives, but “rather
the topic [is] framed in a way that mines the subject field more deeply” (p. 37). In the
framing the topic, the ethnographic researcher acts as an active creator, rather than a
passive recorder of narratives and events (Thomas, 1993, p. 46). This means that the
discourse in which results are written is as important as the language of the text of the
field notes. There is power in the language that the researcher uses to label and give
meaning to the experiences being investigated.
As I have participated in OSHC and schools in a number of roles, or
encountered “a world firsthand” (Agar, 1986, p. 63), I searched for a research
methodology that acknowledges former insider status and my privileged access.
However, to investigate the hegemonic practices in a taken-for-granted reality, it is
important to appraise the circumstances as both “insider” and “outsider” (Roper &
Shapira, 2000). The data gathering process of critical ethnography challenges
researchers and participants to critique the circumstances of OSHC services and
schools from more than one perspective.
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Design of the Study
In this study, critical ethnography is used to investigate the circumstances of two
OSHC services and two school settings. In particular, the study examines the roles of
the OSHC co-ordinator and the school principal. This section provides the descriptions
of the field sites and the participants. It describes data collection techniques, followed
by a description of the data analysis processes.
The Sites and the Participants
This study examines two OSHC services that were attached to primary schools in the
heavily urbanised area south of the capital city of Queensland. One school, Currajong
State School, was operated by the State Education Authority. The other school, Jarrah
College, was operated by an independent board. In each program, the OSHC services
were staffed by a coordinator, assistant coordinator and assistants. As required by
Section 32 of the Child Care Act (2002) the coordinator and assistants are engaged by
the approved school age care service provider to undertake supervision of children in
the school age care service. The Child Care Regulations (2003) state there must be at
least one carer for every 15 children and, of the carers required, there must be at least
one qualified assistant for each 30 children (Section 30, Child Care Regulations 2003).
The qualified assistant is required to have qualifications such as a Certificate III in
Children’s Services or equivalent (as specified in the Regulations).
The Growth of OSHC Services at Currajong State School and Jarrah College
The OSHC services at the research sites were established in response to localised needs
for child care services for primary school children. The services had been established in
response to the need for care for children of working parents. In the early 1990s when
both services were established they constituted one or two adults informally caring for
a small group of children within the context of the school setting. Currajong service
began as afterschool care with two adults and 20 children. The impetus for the service
was a request from the community. The Currajong service was sponsored by the
Parents and Citizens Association. Similarly, Jarrah began operation for three hours each
afternoon with a teacher aide being given extended hours to supervise up to 20 children
(Annual Magazine, 1990). The Jarrah service was administered by the school board.
The school board viewed OSHC as an additional service for parents. The continual
86
expansion of the operating hours of the services was at the request of parents. Parents
were requesting care before school and during vacation periods.
Currajong State School OSHC service
Currajong SS OSHC is part of a larger system of OSHC located within schools
administered by the State Educational Authority (see Figure 4.1. which has a chart of
the relationship between the stakeholders involved with the OSHC service). The school
provides educational services for children from Preschool to Year Seven. Currajong
P&C employed a coordinator to oversee the operation of their OSHC service over 14
years ago (See Figure 4.2. Timeline of some of the key events that have impacted on
the service). Valda, the coordinator, has been with the service for almost the entire
period of the operation of the OSHC program. When Valda began working at the
service, she was in the role of an assistant. She took over the responsibility as
Coordinator nine years ago. Since its inception, the service has been located in a variety
of spaces within school buildings. At the time of data collection, it was situated near the
back gate of the school grounds in a purpose-built structure located beside a
demountable classroom that was used as a music classroom. The single room building
contained a kitchen, separate office facility and two toilets. The program used the
outdoor facilities available within the school grounds – oval, tennis courts, adventure
playground, and the covered play space area.
Currently, the service provides care for approximately 65 children each day and
operates a split shift of care during school terms. Morning shift is from 6:30 a.m. to
8:30 a.m., and the afternoon shift commences at 2:45 p.m. and concludes at 6:00 p.m.
During vacation care, the routine changes to open at 7:00 a.m. The service closes
during the summer vacation for a period of four weeks. Table 4.1 depicts hours of
operation and numbers of staff in attendance at Currajong OSHC, as well as opening
times and staffing arrangements.
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State Education Department
Currajong State School
Principal (Greg)
Parents & Citizens Association
President (Michael)
Treasurer
Outside School Hours Care(Valda)
Assistant Coordinator(Janine)
Assistants
Deputy Principal(Madonna)
Legend:
■ Interviewed
■ Informal conversations
■ Other staff
Figure 4.1. Adm
inistration of Currajong State School and O
SHC
Service
88
1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005
2003
P&C become licensee of OSHC
1992
Valda commences as coordinator
OSHC shared room with Mother’s Club
(35 chn)
1989 circa
OSHC established by Greg and P&C
Valda commenced work as an assistant
2000
Child Care Act 2002
Accreditation introduced
2000
Purpose built OSHC facility
(70 chn)
2006
Martyn becomes president of P&C
Hall built
1995
National Standards in OSHC (not mandatory)
2006
Uncapping of funded OSHC places
Growth of service
(50 chn)
Figure 4.2. Timeline of the key developm
ents for Currajong O
SHC
service
89
Currajong Hours of Operation Coordinator and
Assistant coordinator Assistants
Before School Care 6:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
1 Coordinator
2
After School Care 2:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
1 Coordinator
1 Assistant Coordinator
4
Vacation Care 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
1 Coordinator
1 Assistant Coordinator
5
Jarrah College OSHC Service
Jarrah College (see Figure 4.3. Administration Jarrah College including OSHC staff) is
an independent school managed by a Board of Directors. It provides educational
services to children from kindergarten to Year 12, embracing primary and secondary
schooling, which is different from Currajong SS. The college has several layers of
administration as shown in Figure 4.3. due to size of the student population. As well as
the Heads of the respective schools, there is a bursar who is responsible for the
financial management of the school. The Jarrah OSHC service has been operating for
about 14 years, similar to the Currajong SS OSHC service (See Figure 4.4. Timeline of
key developments for Jarrah OSHC). Whitney, the coordinator, has been employed in
the OSHC service for 9 years. The service has always been located in the preschool
classrooms. It has use of a storeroom in one of the preschool classrooms and the
coordinator shares office space (located in the kindergarten building) with the learning
support teacher. The service provides care for about 140 children each afternoon. Since
the school introduced a kindergarten class in 2004, the service has been split into two
sections: the Early Learning OSHC and the Primary OSHC. The Early Learning
program provides daily care for up to 48 kindergarten and preschool aged children in
the Kindergarten classrooms. It is staffed by an Assistant Coordinator and three
Table 4.1. Hours of operation and numbers of staff in attendance at Currajong OSHC
90
assistants. The Primary program is rotated through various classrooms in the primary
school on a term-by term basis. The service is staffed by the Coordinator, Assistant
Coordinator and six staff rostered on a daily basis. The team of assistants was drawn
from a team of approximately 22 assistants who were casually employed individuals.
The service operates before and after school care, and unlike Currajong OSHC, it is
open all year round except for the public holidays between Christmas Day and New
Year. The hours of operation of each of the sections is linked to the staggered school
hours. The Early Learning Program is open from 7:00 a.m. till 9:00 a.m. when the
Kindergarten and Preschool classes commence. The Primary program operates from
7:00 a.m. till 8:15 a.m. when the primary school classrooms are opened for children to
enter, see Table 4.2. Hours of operation and numbers of staff in attendance at Jarrah
College for opening times and staffing arrangements.
Jarrah College Hours of Operation Coordinator and Assistant coordinators Assistants
Before School Care • Early Learning • Primary
7:00 a.m. - 9.00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
1 Coordinator 1 Assistant Coordinator 1 Assistant Coordinator
2-3 4-5
After School Care • Early Learning • Primary
2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 3:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
1 Coordinator 1 Assistant Coordinator 1 Assistant Coordinator
2-3 6-7
Vacation Care 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. 1 Coordinator 2 Assistant Coordinators
8-10
The OSHC services at the research sites were established in response to localised need
for child care services for primary school children whose parents worked. Both the
Jarrah and Currajong services began as an informal arrangement within the school
environment. Each service consisted of one or two adults caring informally for a small
group of children within the context of the schooling setting. Currajong service began
as afterschool care with two adults and 20 children. It was sponsored by the P&C, as
Table 4.2. Hours of operation and numbers of staff in attendance at Jarrah College
91
parents wanted an OSHC service similar to what was available in other places.
Similarly, Jarrah began operation for three hours each afternoon with a teacher aide
being given extended hours to supervise up to 20 children (Jarrah College Annual
Magazine, 1990). The Jarrah service was administered by the school board. The school
board viewed OSHC as an additional service to parents. Following requests from
parents who required child care, both services increased their operating hours to include
before school care and vacation care
The response to the increasing requests for child care places at the services was
linked to individual administrative systems between the OSHC services and the
schools. These administrative requirements were based on availability of child care
benefits (FACSIA, 2004) and physical space available.
9292
Jarrah College
Headmaster
Principal Senior School
PrincipalPrimary School
(Dylan)
Bursar (Shane)
Head of Junior Primary
Head of Early Learning
Outside School Hours Care (Whitney)
Early Learning: K-Pre(Jodie)
Primary: Years 1-6 (June)
Assistants Assistants
Head of Senior Primary
Board of Directors
Legend:
■ Interviewed
■ Informal conversations
■ Other staff
Figure 4.3. Adm
inistration Jarrah College including O
SHC
staff
Figure 4.4. Tim
9393
1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005
1997 Whitney begins as coordinator, 2 preschool classrooms (80 chn)
1992 OSHC in new preschool classroom. Coordinator not a teacher aide.
1989 circa OSHC 16-18 chn in classroom
2002 Child Care Act 2002 Accreditation introduced
2001 Dylan, new principal, 4 preschool classrooms (120 chn)
2004 2 locations Early Learning (48 chn) Primary (80chn)
1995 National Standards for OSHC
2006 Uncapping of funded OSHC places
94
Overview of Data Collection Methods
The four data sources included semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders,
participant observations of settings, informal conversations and analysis of key
documents. Specifically the data collection strategies were:
• Three semi-structured interviews (duration 60-90 minutes) at two monthly
intervals with each of the two OSHC co-ordinators;
• Two semi-structured interviews(duration 30-45 minutes) four months apart with
each school principal;
• One semi-structured interview with the President of the Parents and Citizens
Association, licensee of the OSHC service at Currajong;
• One semi-structured interview with the Jarrah College Bursar;
• Informal conversations with participants, details of which were recorded as
fieldnotes. The informal conversations were typically unscheduled meetings
that happened when I phoned or visited the services to make arrangements for
the participant observations sessions;
• Participant observations recorded as field notes about the operation of the
services. The participant observation sessions included ten audio-taped sessions,
five at each site; At the Currajong site the participant observations and informal
conversations occurred over a seven month period from October, 2004 to April,
2005 and at the Jarrah site over an 11 month period from April, 2005 to
February, 2006;
• Field notes contain information about participant observation visits, details from
informal conversations and reflective thoughts about theoretical readings and
reflective cogitation; and
• Documents such as parent handbooks, OSHC newsletters for parents, school
newsletters.
These methods, including a rationale for their use, are discussed in the next
section of this chapter. A summary of the interviews conducted at Currajong is
presented in Table 4.3. Table 4.4. depicts interviews conducted at Jarrah College
OSHC. The tables also include the dates on which the interviews were conducted.
95
Participant Position Number Dates
Valda Coordinator 2 22/10/04 14/12/04
Janine Assistant Coordinator 1 07/03/05
Greg Principal 1 01/11/04
Madonna Deputy Principal 1 07/03/05
Michael President, P&C 1 12/08/05
Participant Position Number Dates
Whitney Coordinator 3 08/04/05 28/07/05 17/02/06
Jodie Assistant Coordinator 1 08/04/05
Dylan Principal 2 11/04/05 14/11/05
Shane Bursar 1 28/04/05
Data Collection Methods
Four methods were used to collect the data. These included semi-structured interviews,
informal conversations, participant observations, and documents. The breadth of data
collecting activities was necessary to provide sufficient material that would be
consistent with a critical ethnographic approach. These were chosen because they
provided many opportunities for the researcher and participants to engage in dialectical
relationships and actions. Data from an assortment of sources are essential to
understanding the historical, social, economic, political and cultural circumstances in
which OSHC services and schools operate. Data collecting techniques conducted over a
significant period provides the researcher and the participants time to engage in the
Table 4.3. Number of semi-structured interviews with participants at Currajong SS OSHC site
Table 4.4. Number of semi-structured interviews with participants at Jarrah College OSHC
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dialectical and reflective processes that have the potential to transform thinking and
action in circumstances.
Data were collected using a digital audio-recording device. The audio-
recordings from the semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and participant
observation visits were erased from the recorder once they had been burnt to a CD disc.
Semi-Structured Interviews
With a narrow focus for the research and a limited time frame, “in-depth interviewing”
is a useful tool for gathering data (Legard, Keegan & Ward, 2003; Miller & Crabtree,
2004). The in-depth interview technique is designed to generate narratives that focus on
some fairly specific research questions (Legard, Keegan & Ward, 2003; Miller &
Crabtree, 2004). Effective in-depth interview research preserves the multivocality and
complexity of the lived experience (Miller & Crabtree, 2004).
Semi-structured interviews allow researchers to create a feeling of natural
involvement, an interaction between two people (McQueen & Knussen, 2006). They
are more like a conversation. As well as asking simple questions, difficult and sensitive
questions can be asked in an attempt to elicit responses that focus on the breadth of the
participant’s experiences. The knowledge generated in the semi-structured interview is
about the individual’s perspective. Within critical ethnography there is a valuing of “the
right to voice in one’s own language and through one’s own experiences” (Trueba,
1999, p. 594). For example, the coordinators were more likely to make frank responses
to interview questions if they felt they were not being interpreted by the school
principals.
The semi-structured interview is a “partnership on a conversational journey”
(Miller and Crabtree, 2004, p. 187) and usually begins as a hierarchical relationship as
the interviewer sets the scene, asks the initial questions and follows the traditional rules
of an interview. However as the interview progresses, participants work to develop a
relationship and construct meaning together, and so the hierarchy may shift and the
rules may change (Holstein & Gubrium, 2003; Legard, Keegan & Ward, 2003; Mason,
2002a; Miller & Crabtree, 2004).
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Naturalising
Assigning competence
Activating narrative
Getting the details
Getting deep
Toning down
Closing
Figure 4.5. The steps in the interview process (Miller & Crabtree, 2004, p. 199)
The interview begins with some rapport building biographical questions and this initial
stage involves three steps (see Figure 4.5.). The first step of naturalising, is when the
researcher becomes familiar with the setting. The second step, assigning competence,
occurs when the interviewer and the participant provide biographical details that set the
later conversation in context. The third and final step, activating the narrative, occurs
when both the interviewer and participant begin to talk about the context of the
research theme (Miller & Crabtree, 2004). In order to ensure that the data are
trustworthy and reflect the perspectives of the stakeholders, material is constantly
checked during the conversation, particularly to ensure that research values have not
been imposed through asking leading questions or making subtle misinterpretations
(Thomas, 1993). Researchers ask questions that pertain to the area of interest, but do
not restrict responses by asking questions that did not “dig deep enough”. Flexibility in
asking probing questions is important so that issues or themes can be pursued to gather
“thick descriptions” (Geertz, 1973). The interviews are not controlled verbal
exchanges, as in each interview there are multiple layers of messages being conveyed.
Viewpoints are expressed and clarified as informants present their experience and
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understanding of the topic (Mason, 2002a). Collecting verbal data means that the
content can be clarified immediately (Lawson, 1985).
Prior to each interview, I contacted participants to ensure that they understood
the purpose of the interview and that the appropriate consent had been obtained. The
interviews with co-ordinators were conducted on-site at each OSHC services at times
that suited the participants. The interviews with the principals were conducted in each
of the principal’s offices. This arrangement provided the opportunity to make
observations and become more familiar with the setting, and also aimed to encourage
the participants to feel more comfortable (Holstein & Gubruim, 2003; Miller &
Crabtree, 2004).
Establishing a good rapport with participants in an interview is essential
(Gerson & Horowitz, 2002; Legard, Keegan & Ward, 2003). Creating the right rapport
depends on being able to establish a relationship of trust, respect and credibility. The
interview process is a valuable data collection tool because usually participants are
comfortable with the interview as a communicative event (Silverman, 2003; Miller &
Crabtree, 2004). Stakeholders within the OSHC sites rarely used written documentation
to convey information to each other. Interviews between the co-ordinator and the
principal, or the co-ordinator and the teaching staff were usually in the oral format as
they communicated with each other about the “sharing of spaces” in OSHC (personal
communication, W. Redhead, March 10, 2004). The format of using interviews as the
source for data allowed me to examine their understandings about the sharing of the
spaces in a manner in which was familiar to them. Appendix A contains samples of the
kinds of open-ended questions that were asked of the participants during the semi-
structured interviews. However, it was particularly challenging when interviewing
principals and the representative from the Parents and Citizens Association as these
participants had not had many opportunities to discuss their role and their perceptions
of the OSHC service. Because of the increasing pressure of public accountability for
OSHC services, it seemed that the participants, on occasions, felt under-confident or
suspicious of motives about participating in an interview. I needed to establish my
credibility while ensuring it was not at the expense of gathering the data (Legard,
Keegan & Ward, 2003).
Undertaking these individual interviews enabled participants to say what they
wanted without feeling that they could be compromised. The body of the interview
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contained open-ended questions that elicited narratives detailing the informant’s
conception of the identified domains (getting down to details – see Figure 4.5.), for
example, how do you share this space between OSHC and the school classroom; why
do you share the space; what is the difference between sharing the space and having
your own space? Prompts and probes were used to expand the responses (getting deep).
Probes to expand and deepen understandings included hypothetical situations, playing
the devil’s advocate by asking about special incidents, or posing the ideal (Merriam,
1998; Miller & Crabtree, 2004). I tried to avoid the use of leading questions. Data are
jeopardized if the questions used during the interview process are too standardised
(Gerson & Horowitz, 2002; Merriam, 1998; Miller & Crabtree, 2004). However, if I
felt that I had overstepped this protocol, I recorded notes in my field journal to be used
in parallel with analysing the interview data. The dialectical dialogue between the
informants and me became a creative search for mutual understanding about OSHC
services and schools.
Within a semi-structured interview, a number of different types of techniques
were used. Some required me to listen as an outsider, and others required the sharing
information; some have an open ended discourse whereas others have a forced choice
of questions. Using a variety of techniques allowed me, as researcher, to maximise the
amount of information gathered.
At the conclusion of the interview I found it useful to linger for 5 – 15 minutes
for closing small talk that set the tone for empowerment and good relations (toning
down and closing) (Miller & Crabtree, 2004). This strategy allows participants to give
impressions of the interview and, sometimes, is a source of unexpected new
information.
Negotiating interview times with key stakeholders was different in each site. At
Jarrah College, the Headmaster devolved the responsibility of coordinating the research
project and the interview to the Principal of the Primary School. Interviews with
Dylan, Principal of Primary School and Shane, Bursar, were arranged through
negotiation with the college administrative support staff. At Currajong SS, it was
difficult to contact and schedule an appointment with the principal (Greg). After the
initial brief meeting with Greg to seek permission to undertake the research, it was
three months before I managed to undertake the first semi-structured interview. I made
arrangements to return for a follow up interview but when I tried to make these
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arrangements I found out that Greg was on leave. When Greg’s leave period was
extended, I decided to request as interview with Madonna (deputy and acting
principal). At this site, both Greg and Madonna had indicated that they would arrange
the interview with Michael, the president of the P&C but this undertaking was not
followed up. After several attempts and further unmet requests to arrange the meeting, I
asked the coordinator of the service to arrange for me to meet with Michael (President
of P&C). Six months after the initial attempts to arrange a meeting, I finally had a 90
minute interview with Michael at a coffee shop located near the field site.
Informal Conversations
Informal conversations are a valuable tool for collecting information (Silverman,
2003). Often the implicit nature of a conversation allows for the flow of more in-depth
information. There is also the flexibility to explore topics as they arise and greater
opportunities for clarification of ideas. Conversations are rarely used in isolation as the
sole means of collecting data, but often as a source of data in conjunction with
participant observation (Merriam, 1998). Informal conversations can be used to learn
more about a situation and to formulate questions for subsequent interviews (Merriam,
1998, p. 75).
In this study, informal conversations occurred with the OSHC co-ordinators
mostly when planning visits to the OSHC programs during a telephone call. These
conversations were about a range of issues including staffing, pragmatic details about
arranging and rearranging space and furniture for other users of the space, and working
with parents. Details were recorded in my fieldnotes journal. These understandings
were then used to formulate questions for interviews with principals, the bursar and the
representative from the Parents and Citizens Association.
Participant Observation
Participant observation provides direct experiential and observational access to the
insiders’ world of meaning while other research methods “are limited to reporting
about what people say they do” (Gans, 1999, p. 540). Genzuk (2003) states that
“researchers not only see what was happening but ‘feel’ what it was like to be part of
the group” (p. 3). In the two research sites I adopted the role of “observer as
participant” (Merriam, 1998, p. 101), and I wore a digital recording device to help
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capture as much information as possible about the circumstances. The strength and
weakness of this data collection strategy relied directly on my skill, discipline and
perspective as a researcher (Genzuk, 2003; Sherif, 2001). This approach allowed me to
experience the field site for myself as I joined the study population in the organisational
setting of the OSHC service (Atkinson & Coffey, 2003; Gans, 1999; McLaren, 1995;
Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). My research activities were known to the staff, children and
parents in the setting, but my participation in the routines and activities of the OSHC
program was secondary to my role as “information gatherer” (Merriam, 1998, p. 101).
I was able to be aligned with a number of key stakeholders in OSHC settings as
I had worked in schools as a teacher and an administrator, in OSHC as a co-ordinator,
and had long experience as a parent using OSHC services. The variety of roles I had
undertaken in OSHC settings was an asset to my social identity and self presentation
for the process of participant observation (Harrington, 2003). As Sherif (2001) points
out, the more researchers’ social identities are similar to those of the participants, the
less likely they are to receive deceptive information. I was concerned that the research
process of asking questions about how the space is shared in OSHC services may be
seen as disruptive by raising issues and putting forth interpretations that may not have
been a concern, or viewed as “not the norm” (Ropers-Huilman, 1999, p. 29). I tried to
frame the questions in the context of what had previously been discussed. I also made
sure that I recorded the questions that I used so that I could analyse how they were
asked. Ropers-Huilman (1999) asserts that “when we map certain practices and
discourse through our witnesses accounts, we have an obligation to note our own
locations in that mapping” (p. 29).
Participant observation typically generates fieldnotes to record researchers’
reflections. Participant observation, and the richness of the descriptions contained in the
fieldnotes, contributes to the interpretation, analysis, reliability and verification of the
research.
Fieldnotes
Fieldnotes are a long established method of data collection in ethnographic research
(Arthur & Nazroo, 2003). They are used to capture primary data from participant
observations and in interviews to complement issues for consideration such as the
“immediate context of the interview… thoughts about the dynamic of the encounter,
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ideas for inclusion in later fieldwork and issues that may be relevant at the analytical
stage” (Arthur & Nazroo, 2003, p. 133). Fieldnotes were maintained diligently and
described the development of the fieldwork and the analysis, including descriptions of
the observations from the field, and personal reactions and sensitivities (Arthur &
Nazroo, 2003; Emerson, 2001; Hammersley & Atkinson, 1983). The fieldnotes
contained information about negotiating access, entry and rapport during the data
collection process that were useful for describing researcher relations (Harrington,
2003). The notes written about the research circumstances can be “evocative” and
capture complexities that are not available from interview or direct observation
(Emerson, 2001, p. 134). Fieldnotes are also a valuable tool in the validation process.
Researcher reflection, introspection and self-monitoring expose all the phases of the
research to continual questioning and re-evaluation (Emerson, 2001; Lofland &
Lofland, 1995; Merriam, 2002). Lofland and Lofland (1995) suggest researchers spend
as much time writing notes as the time spent observing and “write promptly” (p. 91).
Critical ethnographers need to devise efficient means of recording their notes so that
they can find information easily. The notes should contain time, place and purpose.
My research journal contained regular field note entries from OSHC sites, as I
was in regular contact with OSHC services, OSHC peak bodies and the Community
Resource Officers of the QDoC as part of my professional role within my place of
employment. There is no right way or correct format for fieldnotes; but they contain
much detail to provide thick descriptions of the data and about the data collected. The
flexibility of writing fieldnotes allowed me to probe ideas and concepts as I was
observing or contemplating in the field. Fieldnotes were also written about fieldnotes,
as I reflected on the data gathered in the form of fieldnotes. In recording field notes, to
ensure that the terms used in descriptions have consistent meanings, I developed a
glossary of terms. For example, the terms used to describe the support workers in
OSHC such as assistant and leader were listed. Fieldnotes are useful for developing the
fieldwork activity and the analysis (Arthur & Nazroo, 2003). I wrote notes about how I
recorded and used the fieldnotes in the collection of data and the analysis. Enhanced
awareness of writing fieldnotes encourages ethnographers to be more attentive to
details while in the field (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 1995, p. 212).
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Documents
Documents as sources of data refer to a range of written, visual and physical material
pertinent to the study (Merriam, 1998). These data sources, though they have generally
been produced independently of the research study, helped me to “uncover meaning,
develop understanding and discover insights relevant to the research” (Merriam, 1998,
p. 133). Using documents verified, contextualised or clarified the data collected from
interviews and observations (Mason, 2002a). The ethical issues that related to the
observation and interviewing process also applied to the use of the documents. Some
documents can be private or confidential in form and it can be difficult to establish
informed consent (Mason, 2002b, p. 118). The owners or the keepers of the documents
are not able in every case to give permission to use the document because it implicates
other people.
In the past, document sources have been limited in OSHC services, as the staff
and management committees were not accountable. Recent legislative and accreditation
requirements have had an impact on the production of written artefacts in OSHC,
requiring services to produce policy handbooks, and records of programs and activities
planned for the children. The role of the researcher is not to criticise or assess the texts,
but rather to “analyse how they work to achieve particular effects” (Silverman, 2003, p.
152). Samples of the documentation, including newsletters, marketing information,
policies, and programming records were collected from the two OSHC services (See
Appendix B for list of documentation sources). Documentary analysis is particularly
useful when the history of circumstances have relevance (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). The
legislation and accreditation process introduced in recent times for OSHC brings with it
a certain level of documentation. The contextual history and production dates of
documents are vital to the researcher in the analysis process: for example, the website
information about the Jarrah OSHC service is not linked to the Primary School web
page; instead it is linked to the Support Services, listed with tuckshop and the retail
store.
Data Analysis
Data analysis in critical ethnographic research occurs continually throughout the data
collection process. The analysis began as I collected the data. There are certain, basic
tenets for analysing the data, but most of the analysis process relies on the skill and
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creativity of the researcher to search for connected ideas and themes (Lofland &
Lofland, 1995; Marvasti, 2004). Theory also plays a role in how qualitative data are
analysed. The rigour of the study draws on notions of validity and reflexivity. This
section provides an overview of the data analysis process. It describes how data are
sorted and coded, and also describes how the themes and categories emerged.
In critical ethnography, data analysis is simultaneously deductive and inductive
(Emerson, 2001), as the researchers constantly move between observation and analysis
to conceptually refine and reframe their research. As researcher, I analysed the data for
frequencies, types and structures of themes and ideas. Further, I looked for processes,
causes and consequences of activity and agency amongst data about and from
participants in the research site (Lofland & Lofland, 1995). The typology of this
information helps to identify the conceptual categories and topics in the field data. The
number of times particular issues, themes or concepts were mentioned by the OSHC
co-ordinators and the principals, prompted further investigation in future interviews or
conversations, for example, pragmatic arrangements or particular emphasis placed on
concerns about qualifications, recruitment and training of staff.
Analysis of the data from interviews, observations, documents and fieldnotes
requires “a mix of creativity and systematic searching” (Spencer, Ritchie & O’Connor,
2003, p. 199). Verbatim transcripts were made from the audio-recordings of the
interviews, participant observation sessions and from some of the informal
conversations in the OSHC setting. Coding with symbols and thematic charts are useful
tools for managing the voluminous amounts of data collected in an ethnographic study.
I printed the transcripts and fieldnotes from each of the participants and each of the site
visits on different shades of coloured paper to track the comments made by the
individuals involved in the study. This material was sorted onto four wall charts. These
charts (See Appendix F), constructed around four broad topics (power, space, family
and money) were further sorted into themes. This technique provides visual cues to the
frequencies of some themes and it also provides a visual typology of the source of the
themes.
After the first interview, I made notations on the transcripts about the data and
identified initial themes or concepts (Merriam, 1998; Spencer, Ritchie & O’Connor,
2003). These notes were re-read and I noted my reflections, tentative themes, hunches
and ideas. Preliminary data analysis generated themes and concepts that led to a
105
different or extended range of questions being asked in further data collection
interviews or conversations. The interview transcripts were also made available to the
coordinators and principals prior to the second interview. Participants were encouraged
to make changes or add additional comments to the transcripts of previously collected
data. For each participant, the second interview data was considered and the notes
compared with the first interview. The data was sorted and further themes and
categories were identified. Records of the situated nature of participant’s verbal
accounts and the fieldnotes of observations are critical to contextualising the content of
the audio-taped interviews. Investigation of the interviews also considers “how” the
researcher and the participant constructed the interview and “why” the responses are
constructed and presented the way they are (Silverman, 2003).
Multiple sources of data were used to inform the themes and concepts that were
generated. There was repeated movement between the data and the analysis –
classifying, summarising and synthesising the data and refining the concepts and
categories. Initially the themes and concepts remained close to the participant’s own
language and understandings but later some of these labels were replaced by more
abstract analytical construction (Merriam, 1998; Spencer, Ritchie & O’Connor, 2003).
Most of my observations and interactions were with OSHC co-ordinators. It is
important to consider the perspectives of the other stakeholders in the OSHC settings
when analysing data and to develop further aspects for investigation. The relationship
between the OSHC co-ordinator, the school principal and a member of the management
committee (who may also be a parent within the OSHC service) were not viewed as
linear and hierarchical. The traditional links between members of the culture were
drawn differently, allowing consideration of situations from multiple perspectives.
Researchers are encouraged to think “otherwise” about some conventional distinctions
in the organisational setting (Becker, 2001, p. 287). Keeping this in mind, the multiple
data sources were examined for key categories, themes and emerging patterns based on
the interactions between key stakeholders.
The interviews and participant observations occurred during a period of
systemic change for the OSHC sector. The economy was reliant on more women
returning to the workforce and as work hours did not usually coincide with school
hours, it meant that there was a demand for school age child care. The public
administration systems that funded OSHC also required an accountability that
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prompted the introduction of accreditation and licensing of services that included
standards for buildings, staffing and staff qualifications. Growth of the economy and
the public administration system associated with OSHC during the data collection
phase were considered in the data analysis process as incidental comments about
systemic changes collected during interviews, observation visits and informal
conversations were included in fieldnotes.
The growth of the economy and the introduction of the public administration
system for OSHC impacts on communication, as discussed in Chapter 3 (see Figure
3.2.). Likewise, changes in family norms and traditions, such as more women working
impact on social circumstances. The growth of the systems for operationalising OSHC
also affect structural components of the Lifeworld (Habermas, 1987b) such as
relationships between OSHC staff and school staff. Importantly, (see Figure 3.4) the
data were analysed for situations of distorted communicative actions with a particular
focus on the legitimations, obligations and social membership between the OSHC
coordinators and the school principals. If the structural components such as
legitimation, obligations and social memberships including honesty, loyalty and mutual
support are not able to direct communicative actions leading to mutual understanding
then the resulting activity forces a crisis (see Table 4.5). The crisis particularly could
sustain distorted communication and could manifest in a situation where the OSHC
coordinators and workers would consider themselves as not contributing to the
structural components for maintaining the Lifeworld such as socialisation of children
and therefore not having a role in the membership of society. For example, when a
crisis of distorted communication occurs related to OSHC not being considered as a
legitimate activity.
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Manifestations of Crisis when
distorted communication
occurs
Withdrawal of legitimation
(Society/ Cultural reproduction)
Unsettling of collective identity
(Cultural reproduction/ social
integration)
Alienation (Person/ Social
integration)
Structural Components for maintaining the
Lifeworld
Legitimations Obligations
Social Membership
(honesty, loyalty & mutual support)
Action Oriented to Mutual
Understanding
Renewal of knowledge
effective for legitimation
Immunization of a central stock of value
orientations
Reproduction of patterns of social
membership
Validity
One of the most significant challenges to critical ethnography is the issue of research
validity (Adkins, 2002; Anderson, 1989; Emerson, 2001; Jordan, 2003; Jordan &
Yeomans, 1995; Lather, 1986, 2003; McLaren, 1995; Ropers-Huilman, 1999;
Springwood & King, 2001). Critical ethnographers have adopted an agenda whereby
they locate the data they have gathered in “larger impersonal systems of the political
economy” (Anderson, 1989, p. 253), and they are explicit about the values that have
surrounded the data collection and analysis procedures.
The aims of the research are to produce accounts of the social relations and the
organisation which embeds the activities of the participants, and also to broaden
perspectives of the way in which the group of people coexist. There is a difficulty for
the researcher shaping the interviews and the observations, and reassembling it in a
form that is quite different to the original, as information is shaped to suit the purposes
of the researcher (Smith, 2002). Critical ethnographers (Anderson, 1989; Emerson et
al., 1995, 2001; Foley, 2002; Jordan & Yeomans, 1995; McLaren, 1995, Ropers-
Table 4.5. Manifestations that occur when communicative action with the structural components of the Lifeworld is distorted Note: from Habermas, J. 1987, The theory of communicative action volume 2, Lifeworld and system: A critique of functionalist reason. Beacon: Boston, p. 142-144.
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Huilman, 1999) are aware of the problems of this situation and try to avoid their work
being just a description. Interpretation and analysis requires continual reflection on the
data, constantly searching for images and metaphors that shed new light on familiar
objects (Merriam, 1998). One approach to assess whether the data accurately represents
the perceptions of OSHC co-ordinators, principals, and other participants involves
supplying the participants with copies of the research transcripts of the field notes. The
participants are asked to comment, verbally or by writing on the transcript, as to
whether they agree or disagree with the conclusions. “Used wisely” (p. 114),
participant validation can be useful for validity of data (Marvasti, 2004).
Another approach to asserting validity is to gather several perspectives about
the social phenomenon. In this research study, perspectives are sought from the variety
of stakeholders and documentation sources linked to OSHC services and schools. The
multiple perspectives add “complexity and depth to the data and the analysis”
(Marvasti, 2004, p. 114). The challenge for critical ethnographers is “to uncover the
multiple voices at work in a society that have been silenced” (Tierney, 1994, p. 99). In
OSHC services within schools, consideration also is given to the management and
auspicing bodies and the government policies and legislation that shape the social
circumstances. It can be difficult to unearth or make contact with these other
stakeholders. Communication between these other stakeholders and the OSHC services
is often by electronic means and not accessible to the researcher.
Thomas (1993) suggests the results of ethnographic research are never final, but are
always subject to rethinking. As I gained deeper awareness of the perspectives of
OSHC services and schools, I reviewed some of my techniques for interviewing and
data analysis, which then generated further fieldnotes as data to be analysed. In the
fieldnotes I recorded the discomfort of being a participant observer and experiencing
first hand the tension of spending the afternoon indoors due to the rain when Currajong
SS OSHC service was unable to carry out their usual routine; and the uneasiness when
the Jarrah College OSHC could not use their usual rooms for holiday child care, due to
classrooms being used for teaching purposes. In critical ethnography, data are grounded
in theoretical foundation rather than considered to be “an endless reiteration of the
researchers’ and participants’ subjective interpretations” (Dey, 2002, p. 4). Using these
strategies, critical ethnographers claim that the validity of their work is raised above
naturalistic research, and should be considered to be more reliable.
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It is crucial that analytical categories are not viewed holistically to the degree
that they became ideological and lead to the reproduction of a particular set of social
relationships (Anderson, 1989, p. 253). OSHC services and schools have relationships
because they exist in the same physical space. However, the categories for analysis are
to be drawn from “a world larger” (Anderson, 1989, p. 253) than care and education, so
that the research does not reproduce existing social forms but considers the situation
from a macro perspective. Critical ethnographers must be conscious of the “political
and ethical consequences of (their) own unstated assumptions … and those assumptions
which have unconsciously shaped the language of analysis which (they) have inherited”
(McLaren, 1995, p. 278).
Reflexivity
Reflexivity acknowledges that researchers and their research study are part of the social
organisation under investigation (Hamersley & Atkinson, 1983). The process operates
as dialectic between the researcher, the research process and its product, and was rooted
in the epistemology that defines critical ethnography (Adkins, 2002; Cant & Sharma,
1998; Jordan & Yeomans, 1995). As researchers situate themselves within the setting
being observed, participants need to be aware of researchers’ intentions and status
within settings. I spent a deal of time discussing with potential participants my
intentions, including voluntary participation and confidentiality, as well as obtaining
consent to research.
Ideally, researchers need to adopt an objective or politically neutral perspective
(Lather, 1986). This position may be difficult to achieve; hence researchers need to
make explicit their epistemological and ontological assumptions of the issues under
investigation (Dey, 2002, p. 3). To understand a culture, researchers need to begin by
releasing themselves from their own assumptions (Atkinson & Coffey, 2003; Foley,
2002; Thomas, 1993). As researchers approach each interview, they bring the
understandings and perceptions they have constructed from the previous interview to
the next situation. Further, ideological premises may distort or constrain the manner in
which researchers are able to interrogate the data gathered.
The process of reflection is significant to all aspects of critical ethnography. It
was particularly important that researchers challenge their own values and ideology
influencing their work, in the examination of the social implications of research
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findings, and how the outcomes are presented. Researchers need to lose the idea that
they possess a “timeless essence” and a consciousness that exempts them from
historical and political practices (McLaren, 1995, p. 285). They need to be able to have
the competence to reposition their conceptual understandings after reflecting on the
historical and political circumstances that have shaped their ideas. Further, they need to
make choices in their thinking that place them “outside the comfort zone and in danger
of a priori standard based on Western monocultural and universal constructions of
identity and difference” (McLaren, 1995, p. 291). Further, care and education are
fields of competing discourses (Moss and Petrie, 2002; Cameron, 2003; Cameron,
Mooney & Moss, 2002; Petrie, 2003) and therefore professionals from each sector have
ideological differences about the role of their work with children.
Even though I was well-known to some participants in the OSHC sites,
particularly the coordinators and assistants, it was crucial that I informed all
participants about the plans to gather research evidence. When ethnographic
researchers notate the social location and their personal biography when approaching
an interview, it allows for more reflexive and nuanced understandings of the complex
and contradictory ways researchers define who they are and their perceptions of the
situation and understandings being researched. As I have participated in OSHC services
in a variety of roles including worker, trainer and parent, it was imperative that I make
my research intentions explicit to the participants.
My perceptions altered as the research investigation unfolded. I had a long list
of assumptions about OSHC developed through the various roles that I had enacted in
relation to the sector. It was important for me to recognise potential distortion of my
ideological preferences produced about OSHC in my approaches to collecting and
analysing the data. These reflections were recorded as part of the fieldnotes, as well as
notes about the constant reflection, introspection and self-monitoring that occurred
while I was undertaking the research process. The research journal contained regular
entries, as I intersected with the OSHC sector as part of my role as a parent as well as
in my role of field placement co-ordinator for undergraduate students in a Bachelor of
Human Services degree. One of the strategies was to review the transcripts and
consider whether during the interviews I was thinking about the next question to ask or
the next issue to pursue, so that I was aware how the utterances linked or did not link. I
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reflected on whether I had “tuned out” at any stage during the interviews or the
participant observation sessions (Ochs, 1979, p. 46).
Due to the extensive contact that I have had with the OSHC services prior to
embarking on this research study, it was important to be open-minded about definitions
of OSHC, and also about the relationships between OSHC services and schools
including the associations between all the stakeholders. It was important to be
continually cognisant of making visible my own decision-making processes. For
example, I need to be able to acknowledge when and why during interviews and
conversations I chose to probe further with some questions. Within the fieldnotes
maintained during the data collection, my own epistemological position which
transverses the two discourses of care and education was made explicit. My viewpoint
that care and education are interlinked stems from my professional preparation as an
early childhood educator. In the field, critical ethnographers must have overt awareness
of their studies and be responsive to the competing discourses that structure the system
of “socially constructed human relationships” (McLaren, 1995, p. 274). Critical
ethnographers must realise the strictures caused by their own position and values in
attempting to broaden their understandings about aspects of social existence. In OSHC,
there are a range of stakeholders who contribute to the organisation and operation of
services. Each of the stakeholders will intersect with the researcher in different ways,
often determined by “the researcher’s own embodiment in theory/discourse and his or
her own disposition as a theorist, within the specific politics of the location” (McLaren,
1995, p. 274). As a researcher I often questioned by own ability and skill in listening to
the participants and other individuals in the settings. I aimed to ensure that I maintained
a high level of reflexivity throughout the research process by documenting my thoughts
on audiotape and in my reflective field notes.
Ethics
Ethical procedures are intrinsic to the methodology. In order for critical ethnographers
to “dig deeply” and take full account of the values and the historical situatedness in the
inquiry process, it is imperative to ensure that participants provide “fully informed
consent” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2004). hooks (2004) states that “all individuals have
the right to be treated as persons rather than objects and … to have their autonomy and
dignity respected” (p. 149). It is difficult for researchers to gain access unless
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participants are aware of the researcher’s status and intentions. It may be necessary to
reaffirm ethical consent as the research proceeds and provide additional or new
communication if the data analysis suggests that the research should follow a theme not
explicitly discussed in the initial ethical approval process. Researchers usually enter the
research site or interview with an open-minded sense of purpose and tend to work
inductively, which means that the focus of the research may shift (Hesse-Biber &
Leavy, 2004). The characteristic of flexibility of critical ethnography may sometimes
provide ‘obstacles’ to the research if informed consent procedures are difficult to
implement.
The multiple identities of researchers can sometimes impact on ethical
procedures. Researchers may unintentionally gather information that is disclosed to a
“friend” rather than a researcher. Further, if the researcher is already a “group
member”, for example, trainer, co-worker, or parent, prior to research being
undertaken, then those being observed may feel that they have less choice about
participation in the study (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2004). As I am well known in both of
the research sites, I met several times with the co-ordinators for a frank and open
discussion about the research design and procedure before I commenced the study. I
have on previous occasions negotiated with each of the sites about accepting
undergraduate student placements for field education. On some occasions the mutual
discussions have resulted in non-placement of a student, as the co-ordinators felt that
they were freely able to exercise their right of choice. Informed consent should be
applied to all individuals within the research site, ignoring the social structure and the
“sources of power”. In the OSHC settings it is important to make sure children and
parents, as well as the other stakeholders are informed about the research being
undertaken. The fieldnotes recorded sessions when I was concerned that I may have
breached an ethical position, so that I could reflectively investigate the data.
Ethics Approval Procedure
Ethics approval had been sought and granted from the Queensland University of
Technology Human Research Ethics Committee under the category “Expedited Ethical
Review - Checklist for Researcher” (See Appendix C: Ethics Approval). The potential
participants were approached by phone initially informing them about the study. A
follow-up information session involved a discussion and supplying an information
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package and a written consent form for the co-ordinator and principal (See Appendix D
– Information Sheets and Appendix E – Consent Forms). I attended the OSHC service
staff meetings and briefed staff about the study and the data collection process. Consent
forms were given to all OSHC staff (See Appendix D – Information Sheets and
Appendix E – Consent Forms). Consent was also sought from the parents of children in
the OSHC programs (See Appendix D – Information Sheets and Appendix E – Consent
Forms). Information was also included in each school’s newsletter so that all parents
were informed about my presence in the OSHC settings during the data collection
phase. Participants were made aware that participation was voluntary and that they
could withdraw from the study at any time if they chose.
Consent to embark on the research activity was given by the principal of
Currajong SS on behalf of the licensee of the OSHC the Currajong SS Parents and
Citizens Association. As previously mentioned the President of the P&C was difficult
to contact as I was unable to access the information required so that I could contact
him.
The audio-recordings recorded on a digital recorder were transferred as
computer files and were burnt to CD discs and stored in locked storage. The transcripts
of the audio-recordings do not contain specific identifying information and
pseudonyms have been used in reporting the data. The results of the investigation are
reported in such a way that individual respondents and services are not able to be
identified.
Limitations of the Study
Limitations do exist with the research design and the methodology of critical
ethnography, but awareness of these “potential problems” reduces the impact on the
outcomes of the research. Critical ethnography is open to criticism from both within
and outside the ethnographic tradition (Anderson, 1989; Jordan 2003). Criticism is
focussed particularly on the rapport and status in relationships between researchers and
participants (McLaren, 1995; Ropers-Huilman, 1999; Springwood & King, 2001). At
all stages of the process, particularly during interviews and data analysis there are traps,
such as narrowing the focus of the research when choosing certain themes and concepts
to pursue. There are many ways of organising ideas and concepts and transforming the
data into conceptual categories. In choosing to pursue certain themes there is a concern
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that the researcher may not choose the “right” data. The interview process is a
multilayered experience and there are obstacles to collecting appropriate data from a
number of perspectives and sources. The challenge for critical ethnographers is to
address the issue of validity. Prior experience by the researcher of the interviewing
process and contextual awareness, the types of questions, and the manner in which the
questions are asked place limitations on the validity and reliability of the data collected
(Holstein & Gubrium, 2003; Roulston, Baker & Liljestrom, 2001). Novice researchers
may be unable to maintain the focus on the research topic, formulate clear, open-ended
questions or use effective follow-up questions or probes (Roulston et al., 2001).
As the researcher, it was important for me to use the conversational resources to
generate data; but in reviewing the data I had to be more “insightful” about the
researcher’s part in constructing the data generated during an interview (Roulston et al.,
2001). My field notes kept my reflections on the process. Critical ethnographers
systematically consider the data to ensure that the analysis is reliable using techniques
such as reflexivity and ensuring that they do not analyse the situation only from the
perspective of the “dominant” form (McLaren, 1995).
The interview process has several limitations when used in conjunction with
critical ethnography. Interviews using open-ended questions are considered as forms of
social control as they may restrain the participants, especially if the researcher does not
seek elaborations. Situations where researchers ask only a few questions may be
difficult for the participants to interpret and make responses (Silverman, 2003, p. 92).
Researchers ought to be very aware of the situations when participants produce cultural
scripts (Silverman, 2003), such as when the content of the participants’ discourse may
not match the actual experience. The OSHC co-ordinator or the principal may make
statements that they think ‘fit the situation’ rather than offering a personal opinion.
Silverman (2003) recommends researchers avoid “analytic laziness” (p. 93) when
considering the status of interview data. For the researcher, it is important to examine
the diversity and themes of the data and not confine the analysis to predictable or
expected themes. The data need to be continuously combed to review the emerging
concepts and themes.
Due to the multitude of roles in which I have participated in relation to OSHC
services, it was important for me to be very explicit about the research questions and
my research role with the participants. Also, as I was more familiar with the staff in the
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OSHC programs than with the management of the services and of the schools, this
influenced the ambience of the interview process. Due to the familiarity, interviews
with the OSHC staff were very frank and honest. I also felt that because I had a
professional background, the principals, Greg and Dylan felt comfortable to discuss the
OSHC services with me. The interview with Madonna, the acting principal, was tense
in that she was reluctant to spare the time to talk with me and she indicated that she was
not familiar with my study. My contact had always been with Greg, Principal and he
had not provided Madonna with any information about my involvement with the OSHC
service and the research activity. Greg had taken a period of leave from Currajong SS
that was extended as he was seconded as principal to another school. During this period
Madonna was promoted from Deputy Principal to Principal. I recorded field notes, post
interview, and included details about the atmosphere of the interview.
As a practicum supervisor I had made many two-hour observation visits to
assess OSHC staff, TAFE and university students enrolled in tertiary programs. I had
developed the skills to be an unobtrusive participant observer, but I needed to
continually remind myself that I was there to gather data and not just be ‘part’ of the
daily activity of the service (for example become involved as a partner in the games
such as card playing with the children).
Summary
The two sites used for data collection were attached to schools. Each of the schools had
different management arrangements (as outlined in this chapter), but there were many
similarities in the relationships between the OSHC service coordinators and the school
principals and more broadly in the relationships between OSHC and society. OSHC
services grew from an informal community response for caring for children who were
unable to be collected by their parents at the end of the school day to the
operationalisation of OSHC services as part of a much larger system regulated by
government administration and the economic market.
The changed cultural conditions in OSHC services require investigation in order to
understand the complexity of the settings. The aim of the research is to examine the
circumstances, particularly the communication between the OSHC co-ordinators and
principals who share space in school settings. The critical ethnographic research with
the integrated data collection tools of interviews, informal conversations, documents,
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and participant observation provided an understanding of the complex situation in
which OSHC services operate. Critical ethnography uses dialectical thought to
investigate social situations such as where OSHC services and schools coexist. The
data analysis used the theoretical foundation of critical theory, acknowledging that
there are issues of power, equity and social justice when two cultures such as OSHC
and school coexist, and are located within the historical, political, social, economic, and
cultural fabrication of communities. The research design involved two OSHC sites,
Currajong SS and Jarrah College. The analysis of data gathered from these sites will
not be able to be generalised to all OSHC services but the material is transferable to
provide themes and ideas for further investigation (Anderson, 1989; Kemmis, 1991) as
reported in the subsequent chapters. The insights critical theory provides are not
exhaustive and can not necessarily be applied to all OSHC services however the
knowledge gained provides fuel for further investigations. This process strives to
engage the researcher in critical thinking to effect social change.
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CHAPTER 5: WITHDRAWAL OF LEGITIMATION
This is the first of three data chapters in this thesis. Each data chapter explores one of
three pathologies: withdrawal of legitimation, unsettling of collective identities and
alienation. While Habermas (1987) identified nine types of pathologies to describe the
effects of distorted acts of communication, I have focussed in this study on only three
of the pathologies, previously described in Chapter Three. These pathologies are
pertinent to the interactions between school principals and OSHC coordinators. This
chapter examines the communicative actions between the principals and the OSHC
coordinators to show how legitimation is withheld by the principal. This chapter draws
on workforce issues of recruiting and retaining staff to show how the principals worked
to withhold legitimation. Three examples are examined. The first example focuses on
the recruitment of staff. The second example examines qualifications of staff. The
chapter concludes with the third example which is an illustration of communicative
intent related to professional status.
Workforce Issues of Recruiting and Retaining Staff: The Principals’ Work in
Withholding Legitimation
I discuss the impact of the legislated changes at the OSHC services of Jarrah College
and Currajong School in regard to the hegemonic power of the school principal in
relation to staff recruitment and retention. Principals of schools are designated with
status to oversee the cultural reproduction of traditions and knowledge and the
socialisation of children outside the home environment. Their roles are legitimated by a
formal system of education linked to traditions and a coherence of knowledge (Moss &
Petrie, 2002). Society sustains the legitimacy based on formal procedures of the state
that posit and justify the norms associated with the education process (Habermas,
1987b). However, Moss and Petrie (2002) foreshadow considerable risks for the
functionality of OSHC services if schools are to “take-over” as the dominant partner (p.
178). The Principal, as one of the stakeholders in the OSHC service has the potential to
exercise “imperium”, that is supreme power, without due regard for the consequences
of his actions for the legitimation of OSHC (Moss & Petrie, 2002, p. 178). Staff in the
OSHC service may defer to the authority of the principal in matters relating to staffing
and use of resources, even though he is not formally responsible for the OSHC.
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Pinching Staff: Luring Staff Away From the OSHC Service
Selecting and training staff for the OSHC programs was an ongoing challenge for the
OSHC coordinators, requiring significant time investment. However, the principals
tended to ignore this time-consuming commitment when they recruited their school
staff from the OSHC staff. To illustrate how OSHC staff were lured away by the
principal, I examine the struggles faced by the OSHC coordinator at Jarrah College as
she tried to maintain the staffing requirements for operating an OSHC service.
The increased demand for school age child care services has meant that the
issues of recruitment and retention have been ongoing for Jarrah and Currajong
(Currajong, PO2:10/11/04; Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05; PO4:30/05/05). Both coordinators of
the OSHC, Whitney and Valda, were employed full-time and have been at the service
for more than nine years. Further, more than one third of the staff at Jarrah and
Currajong OSHC services had been working as assistants in OSHC for more than three
years (Currajong, PO2:10/11/04; Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05, PO4:30/05/05). However, all
assistants were employed on a casual basis. Even though some staff had been working
at the services for longer than three years, there was a degree of instability in the
staffing arrangements due to the continual recruitment of staff. Additional staff were
required at the OSHC for two reasons. Extra staff were required to supervise the
additional numbers of children attending the services. Further, the mandatory
requirements of licensing (Child Care Regulations, 2003) and accreditation (NCAC,
2003) meant that more staff were required to reduce the staff child ratio to the
mandatory requirements. Increasing the overall number of staff at each of the services
meant that the portion of staff who worked for more than three years had decreased.
Within the pool of employees, were newly recruited individuals who had no previous
experience of working in OSHC.
There were many examples throughout the data collected at Currajong and
Jarrah where the OSHC coordinators and staff felt marginalised and of low status, and
lacking a collective identity (Valda, I1:22/10/04, I2:14/12/04; Whitney, I1:08/04/05,
I2:28/07/05; FN:30/05/05; IC:10/03/05; Greg, I1:01/11/04; Madonna, I:07/03/05).
Whitney, the coordinator, was solely responsible for the difficult task of finding
assistants to work in the OSHC service. As part of having the total responsibility for the
staffing of the OSHC service, Whitney was responsible for ensuring adequate
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staff/child ratios were maintained, and that staff were suitably qualified to meet the
legislative requirements. Thus a significant part of Whitney’s responsibilities involved
selecting and training new staff to work in the service. For the eight month period of
data gathering, Whitney had inducted more than six new staff. The principal
acknowledged this, stating: “To be truthful I don’t actually employ the staff in school
care … for the normal, if I can use that term, school care worker the coordinator and
the two assistant coordinators are involved [in the interviews]” (Dylan, I2:14/11/05).
Dylan appeared unaware that Whitney was singularly responsible for the recruitment
and training of staff as he indicated that the assistant coordinators were part of an
interview panel for selecting OSHC staff. However, Whitney was continually planning
to recruit as she was so desperate for staff. Even the traditional recruitment protocols of
advertising, interviewing and orientating were not used: “They [school administration]
put an ad in the paper, we only got five applications, none of them suitable” (Whitney,
I1:08/04/05; IC:22/04/05).
Advertisements had been placed in metropolitan newspapers but very few
responses and applications had been received. Recruitment in the OSHC sector is more
difficult than other areas of the child care sector (Cameron, Mooney & Moss, 2001;
CSMAC, 2006; EFILWC, 2006; Moss, 2006a; Rolfe, 2005). The limited hours of
OSHC work, compared with the long day care settings, was a deterrent to attracting
staff (CSMAC, 2006): some who seek casual employment look for work that could be
undertaken during school hours (Goward, 1998; HREOC, 2005) and that does not clash
with their family responsibilities. For such applicants, employment in OSHC services
would not meet their criteria.
To provide the licensing authority with evidence about her attempts and
difficulties associated with recruiting and retaining staff, Whitney kept a journal.
During the first semi-structured interview, Whitney said: “I haven’t got two group
leaders at the moment. I have been keeping a journal [of the difficulties getting staff]”
(Whitney, I1: 08/04/05). Whitney was very anxious about meeting the staffing
requirements attached to the accreditation and licensing processes and the number of
children in attendance meant that two group leaders were required. Further, continuity
of employment and capable staff would help ensure that the guidelines of the
accreditation process could be met (FACS, 2005). Whitney said “we have just
advertised as Ruby (OSHC Group Leader) is no longer with us and I have had a few
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[applications] for primary [OSHC] but nothing for down here [at Early Learning] yet”
(Whitney I1:08/04/05). The challenge of finding and retaining suitably qualified and
experienced staff was an ongoing and a constant concern for the coordinator.
The challenge of keeping staff was made even more difficult when they were
lured away to the school. Dylan regularly recruited teachers’ aides for the primary
school from the pool of OSHC assistants that Whitney had employed and trained. He
reported “we have secured some really good teachers’ aides from our school care
program” (Dylan, I1:01/04/05). Dylan regularly made comments to Whitney about the
availability of such staff and how well Whitney had ‘prepared’ them:
We have employed a lot of [school care workers]. Whitney sees her role now as
to prepare the teacher aides for me. . . . She [Whitney] says ‘she is really good;
I bet you have got your eye on her’. I go ‘yes’. … It is not the training ground
but it has proven to be in my short time here, that a number of ladies who work
with Whitney in school care have been very capable and competent and I have
given them what we call relief work in the primary school and they have shown
themselves to be equally adept in the teacher [‘s] aide role. (Dylan, I1:14/11/05)
During each visit to the setting, Whitney confided to me that one of the main
difficulties she had with staffing was the loss of trained staff from the OSHC service to
the primary school, where they were used as teacher aides (FN:02/02/05; 10/03/05;
02/04/05; 03/06/05; 30/05/05). On the third participant observation visit to Jarrah
College, Whitney said: “You wouldn’t like to include in your scenarios the problems of
shared staff would you?” (Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). Dylan’s lack of awareness of the
difficulties of recruiting OSHC staff created significant dilemmas for Whitney when
she attempted to take annual leave. Whitney said:
Well the latest one is that I have just got someone trained to help fill the gaps
while I am away on holidays. I just did the staff roster for the seven days I am
away. I have done all my staffing up till then, training people for what they will
be doing while I am away. But I have just found out that one of the aides in
preschool is going to be away doing her prac and Anna [OSHC assistant] has
been asked to fill in and she was going to be one of the key people for the time
that I am off. So apart from the fact that it is a problem, a new young staff
[member] is very different to a new older more mature staff member who has
obviously got it. It just leaves me in a bother. (Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05)
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Even though the issue of the principal ‘pinching’ staff had been discussed on other
occasions, Whitney was particularly distressed about the loss of staff during this visit
(Jarrah PO3:05/05/05). She had been due to take annual leave and had trained staff to
replace her while she was away. In particular, Whitney had spent a considerable
amount of time with Anna to ensure that she had opportunities to undertake aspects of
the administrative tasks associated with OSHC. Whitney scaffolded Anna’s
opportunities to learn about these tasks. Whitney’s alternative to Anna was to recruit a
new staff member. Without consulting Whitney, Dylan spoke to Anna to offer the
position as a relief teacher aide for a period of a month in the primary school. Whitney
found out about the changes when Anna told her she would be unable to work the
following month in OSHC. Dylan’s direct approach to Anna about replacing the
teacher aide undermined the working relationship Whitney had established with Anna.
To the remainder of the OSHC and school staff, it signalled a power struggle
(Habermas, 1987b) between Whitney and Dylan (Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). It portrayed a
disregard for the functioning of the OSHC service. The principal’s control in this
situation resonated in a negative manner with Whitney and with all the OSHC staff as
an example of the lack of legitimacy he attributed to the service (Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05).
It also added to Whitney’s frustration about the legitimacy of the OSHC service as part
of the wider society in the inequity between the salary and conditions of individuals
who worked in children’s services. The teacher aides in school settings had more
favourable work conditions and were paid more than the assistants who worked in
OSHC services.
The contrast between these excerpts from Whitney and Dylan highlight the
mismatch between their respective understandings of the situation, and the
dysfunctional communication that occurred between them (Habermas, 1984). Most
evident here is the central role that Dylan attributed to Whitney in her work as
coordinator of the OSHC. According to Dylan, Whitney saw her role now as to prepare
teacher aide staff for the primary school. In other words, Whitney’s primary role was
not to coordinate the service for children and families, but to act as a conduit to funnel
capable staff from the service into the primary school setting. At Jarrah College
(PO:22/09/05), OSHC staff had also been employed as teachers when they graduated
with their professional teaching qualifications. This suggests an additional role for
Whitney, and one that she appears to be taking on in a good natured and supportive
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way, despite her unhappiness about the outcome of losing staff. Whitney had found
Dylan’s style of leadership and management more palatable than the previous primary
school principal. She stated “I am really pleased with how things are. I really have
nothing to compare with other than how things used to be” (Jarrah, PO3: 05/05/05.
Whitney accepted situations created by Dylan such as the ‘pinching’ of staff even when
it had a huge impact on her ability to take annual leave.
Whitney did not communicate her concerns to Dylan, and therefore he did not
consider her situation. Similar to Lyons’ (2003) findings that staff acceptance of poor
working conditions in long day care centres contributed to their marginalisation, the
coordinator’s acceptance of practices that were not supportive of the OSHC program,
led to marginalisation of the service through a lack of recognition of the legitimacy of
the service itself. What transpired was that the service became a site for the legitimate
conduit for recruitment of staff to the primary school.
The principals’ views of accepted patterns and standards of child-rearing of
primary school aged children mean that the OSHC program cannot be legitimated
because OSHC is a contested space between the legitimated spaces of school and
home. Legitimation of activities related to socialisation and cultural transmission are
achieved when the State recognises certain representations as worthwhile. For example,
Habermas (1987b) describes society as recognising the professional approach to
childrearing as being achieved through a “formal system of education free from the
mandates of the church and family” (p. 147). As such, OSHC services are newly arising
situations that have not connected easily with existing traditions and knowledge
associated with education in schools (Moss & Petrie, 2002). Subsequently, OSHC
services have found it difficult to achieve the professional status associated with
childrearing outside family circumstances, and therefore have not achieved
legitimation. The lack of legitimation of services has had unproductive outcomes for
recruiting and retaining staff to work in the sector.
Dylan seemed almost unaware of the additional workload for Whitney in
recruiting and training new OSHC staff, only to have them ‘pinched’ at the moment
they are “capable and competent” (Dylan, I1:14/11/05). He used a back handed
compliment to indicate Whitney’s capacity to acquire and train new staff. Furthermore,
he devalued their contribution by giving them relief work to begin with, which is a
‘taste’ of another potential work situation that is accompanied by much better
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conditions (such as work during school hours and increased wages). The possibility of
further work existed if the recruits meet the standard Dylan required. Whitney had to
find and prepare more staff to replace the staff Dylan had coerced to work for the
school. Dylan acknowledged the responsibility of this role, and said
… Just when Whitney thinks I[she] am [is] going to be short, someone comes
in, almost off the street and answers prayers. (Dylan, I2:14/11/05)
During the interview Dylan discussed how he used the OSHC service as a ‘training
ground’ for the teacher aides for classroom support. This created significant
complications for Whitney because she was continually recruiting and training new
staff. As coordinator, Whitney was not alone in dealing with this issue. Many OSHC
coordinators had reported similar situations to the National Children’s Services
Workforce study (CSMAC, 2006). High turnover of staff has a detrimental effect on
the quality of care provided by the service (Misko, 2003; Moss, 2006a; Moss & Petrie,
2002). However, the most difficult aspect was dealing with the sense that staff had
gone to a ‘better’ job in the school classrooms. Dylan’s back-handed compliment about
the training of the teacher aides is strategic communication with Whitney and, as
Eriksen and Weigard (2003) suggest, a perlocutionary use of language to obtain
Whitney’s trust. Dylan’s aim in the communication is seemingly not to reach mutual
understanding about the circumstances of employment of staff in OSHC, but to achieve
strategic communication (Habermas, 1984), a one-sided result that ensures that the
staffing needs for the school are prioritised.
The role of a teacher aide was given more status than the social labour
(Habermas, 1984) attributed to the position of an OSHC assistant. When comparing
the work hours required for the roles of OSHC assistant and teachers’ aide, Dylan
commented: “It is nice to arrive at eight with their children and do their aide job and
leave at three when they have finished their aide job” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). He used
the word “nice” to describe the conditions of employment for teacher aides and is
implying that to be an employee in OSHC is the opposite of nice. Even though Dylan
referred to the small groups of employees in the context of OSHC and school, he also
demonstrated his prevailing attitudes that privilege the role of school in the lives of
children, and marginalised the individuals who have to stay behind at the end of the
school day. Dylan also commented that the combination of school and OSHC could be
detrimental to children: “I think if they are going home at 6 o’clock and they have
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been here since early morning, they have had it” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). Dylan’s
comments imply an attitude that rates staying in the school setting after school has
finished as an unpleasant activity.
Embedded in Dylan’s comments are attitudes about the roles and
responsibilities of women in the child rearing processes. In Dylan’s communicative
actions with Whitney and the wider school community, these values are communicated
to society (Habermas, 1984). The view is that maternal instinct for care work practiced
by women is innate (Moss, 2006a), which fosters images of OSHC staff as a
“substitute mother” and “assumes that little or no education is necessary to undertake
the work” (p. 24). Dylan ascribes to a prevailing view that Moss (2006a) describes as
“not discussed openly” but “entrenched in many societies” (p. 34). Fraser (1985)
argues that the child rearing work of “activities and practices which in our society are
performed without pay by women in the domestic sphere” (p. 100), should be afforded
more status; as child rearing activities make a strategic and economic contribution to
society. Child rearing activities involve material reproduction through procreation and
symbolic reproduction transmitted through language and social norms. The symbolic
reproduction involves the socialisation of the young, cementing group solidarity and
transmitting cultural traditions (Habermas, 1984). For example, the social skills
children learn about teamwork or preparing and sharing a meal together, are useful
skills for future citizenship and making a productive contribution to society. The
symbolic activities undertaken in child rearing activities should not be understated
(Fraser, 1985) and used to legitimate the separation of child care and schooling. These
contrasting images of child care workers create difficulties for communicative actions
(Habermas, 1984) between the principals and OSHC coordinators about the
professional responsibility associated with the care of children outside the home
environment.
Employment in OSHC services is seen as temporary work by society and even
the workers themselves (Moss, 2006a). The value placed on OSHC work, low pay,
limited hours of work and lack of professionalism, characterise the OSHC worker and
contribute to the notion that it is temporary (CSMAC, 2006, Moss, 2006a, Rolfe, 2005).
Dylan’s approach to recruiting OSHC staff for the primary school as either teacher
aides or teachers had normalised the temporary nature of work in OSHC. The continual
recruitment from OSHC fostered the notion that the service was a ‘stepping stone’ into
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seemingly secure and stable employment as a member of the school staff.
Subsequently, this situation reinforced the low status of the work of caring for children
(Pocock, 2006a, 2006b). Dylan had positioned himself with the power to dominate the
employment practices of the OSHC service. Staff in the OSHC service viewed Dylan
as having the power to make decisions about their employment prospects as the role
and decisions of the OSHC coordinator were overshadowed by him (PO3:05/05/05).
The OSHC coordinator was marginalised by Dylan by not being included in
interactions about staffing changes that impacted on the administration of the OSHC.
Her managerial decisions and input into the organisational systems were overridden by
Dylan, making it difficult for Whitney to operate a successful OSHC service.
The problems with communication processes underpin many of the issues in
operationalising OSHC services. Problems with communication processes are
especially evident when the cultural knowledge of individuals does not allow for
mutual understanding to arise with new circumstances. This has particular relevance to
the changing responsibilities associated with the care of school- age children outside
home and classroom environments. As Fraser (1985) suggests, economic and cultural
processes associated with a capitalistic economy do not account for the responsibility
of child-rearing. In particular, economic policies do not acknowledge the complexities
associated with child-rearing responsibilities of mothers being recruited and retained in
the workforce (OECD, 2002; Pocock, 2006a). The communication processes required
to operationalise circumstances of institutional care of children outside school hours
involve a wide range of stakeholders. Interactions between the key stakeholders can be
fraught with problems, and include the ‘contested’ circumstances of OSHC (Moss &
Petrie, 2002; Smith & Barker, 2000). Communication that occurs without
understanding and consensus is distorted and has the potential to violate the humanity
of those involved (McCarthy, 1978). When distorted communication occurs between
individuals, it manifests in unsettling the development of the sense of collective identity
of OSHC services, and limits the legitimation of the knowledge generated during the
interaction (Habermas, 1987b).
The college had initially established the OSHC service with teacher aides
operating the program (Jarrah College Annual Magazine, 1990). However, as student
numbers had grown in both the school and the OSHC setting, teacher aides were unable
to combine roles of teacher aide and OSHC coordinator and assistants. The hours
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required to fulfil the combined roles of teacher aide and OSHC coordinator; or teacher
aide and OSHC assistant, exceeded both the physical possibilities and employment
conditions. Shane (Jarrah College, Bursar) commented on the status of the teacher aide
role in the school setting compared with the work of an OSHC assistant: “We have less
and less of them [individuals who were employed as OSHC assistants and teacher
aides] because the effort required for teachers’ aides has increased over time and it has
it made it prohibitive to be both in most year levels” (Shane, I:28/04/07). Over time,
this ancillary position had become clearly delineated into two roles, of which the
teacher aide position had a higher status amongst the school hierarchy than the assistant
in OSHC because of the valuing of education over care (Moss & Petrie, 2002), and the
work conditions, which at the time, did not include a legislated framework (Habermas,
1984) for operating.
At a similar time to the introduction of licensing and mandated qualifications
for Queensland OSHC services (QDoCS, 2002), teacher aides were encouraged but not
directed to obtain qualifications. At Jarrah College, this situation created another
circumstance in which the OSHC staff were made to feel inferior to the school staff
(FN:30/03/06). The OSHC staff were not provided with the same financial support
from the school administration to gain qualifications as were the teacher aides.
Qualifications required for the role of OSHC assistant and teacher aides were the same
level (Certificate III) in the Australian Qualifications Framework (DEST, 2005). There
is also a significant cross-over of competencies between Certificate III Children’s
Services (required for OSHC) and Certificate III Educational Support (required for
teacher aide work). Shane’s comments about “the effort required for teacher aides” (I:
28/04/07) refers to the increased hours of work and to the increased level of training
associated with the position. The school had a partnership with a private provider of
vocational education training for the teacher aide qualification (Dylan, I1:11/04/05).
Teacher aides, existing staff and new recruits, were able to access the training at no cost
to them because the school administration paid the associated training costs. However,
staff in the OSHC were not eligible to be part of this arrangement. Their training needs
were overlooked by the school administration, particularly when the qualifications were
a mandated requirement for licensing of the OSHC service. This raises further
questions about the use of the OSHC service as a “training ground” and about the
sincerity of the communication between the school principal and the OSHC
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coordinator. As OSHC staff had to pay for their own training, the training activity of
the OSHC service deflected economic costs from the school to individual employees in
the service. Subsequently, it was an additional enticement for individuals to move from
the role of assistant in OSHC to teacher aide in the school setting.
The principals lured the OSHC staff to work for the school with the promises of
work hours that made a work-life balance more achievable. The principals’ actions
here, and even their justifications for these recruitment practices, suggest that they did
not constitute the OSHC as a legitimate activity as they wielded power without due
regard for the status and activities of either the coordinators or the OSHC programs.
Shallow Strategic Alliances
On the surface some interactions between speaker and hearer can appear to be
achieving meaning making outcomes. However upon closer examination these
interactions can be sorted into either consensual or strategic alliances (Habermas,
1984). Such were the interactions between the OSHC coordinator and principal at
Jarrah where Whitney was reluctant to challenge the school principal about pinching
staff because he had afforded her other privileges and arrangements that made it easer
to share the facilities (IC:04/05/05; PO5:22/09/05). Whitney felt that if she unsettled
the relationship between herself and Dylan by expressing concerns about the
difficulties caused by luring staff to work in the primary school, her requests for
support, such as building maintenance issues or difficulties with parents would be
rejected.
Whitney expected that the school administration would privilege OSHC as a
service helping the school to maintain its client base (Barker et al., 2000). If the
children who needed OSHC withdrew from the school population then the financial
viability of the primary school could be placed in jeopardy. Whitney viewed the school
and OSHC as a collaborative partnership (Jarrah, FN:22/03/05). She implied that by
working hard in OSHC, she was helping maintain the school. By working hard,
Whitney was referring to the effort put in to meet the needs of children and parents, and
to establish positive relationships with teaching staff (Whitney, I1:08/04/05;
I2:28/07/05).
The fact that there is an understanding [from Dylan] that it [OSHC] is hard
[work] and also understanding I guess, letting me know that you [Dylan,
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principal], know [s] and [that I] work very hard to do the right thing by the
teachers. … And so it is a two way thing. (Whitney, I2:28/07/05)
Whitney had expected a reciprocal understanding from the school administration,
particularly Dylan, regarding the strategic alignment of school and OSHC services to
support families. Whitney hinted that Dylan’s commitment to please parents by
providing additional supports to entice families to choose the school for the education
of their children, would in turn also advantage the OSHC service (Whitney,
I2:28/07/05).
The increasing response to meet the demand for OSHC services projected an
image of coordinated actions on behalf of Jarrah College administration. Generally,
Whitney felt that she could achieve some consensual understandings in her regular
communication with the principal (Habermas, 1984). She assumed that the principal
and she had similar frameworks of understanding, because Dylan reported he
understood parents’ needs for OSHC (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). The college ethos placed a
priority on parental requests. As an independent school, they were dependent on
parental support. Whitney was aware that more than 50 percent of parents relied on
OSHC to care for their children while they were working (Jarrah, PO:05/05/05). In
some circumstances parental income was to secure financial gains used to pay the
school fees (Dylan, I1:11/04/05; Whitney, I2: 28/07/05). Whitney relied on the
principal’s sense of value of OSHC to the lives of children and families to legitimate
the service to the wider community.
For some children and families OSHC had equitable status to school as an
institution within society. Whitney had assumed that Dylan would be impartial in his
support of the teaching staff and OSHC service. She said “I don’t think there is any
sense that we don’t belong or we shouldn’t be here” (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). Habermas
(1987a) states that the more systems that are in place in society the harder it is for the
society to reflect on the activities within and between systems:
The higher level of intersubjectivity of public processes of opinion and
consensus formation take the place of higher level subject of society as a
whole… it is questionable whether under these changed premises it still makes
any sense to speak of a society exercising influence upon itself. (Habermas,
1987a, p. 357)
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In Habermasian terms, the features of society are prioritised. Consequently, one could
suggest that it is difficult for OSHC services and also for the wider society to reflect on
the value and impact of child care. The difficulty comes from the entanglement of the
issues.
Within the current economic system, there is pressure for increasing numbers
of women to contribute to the labour force. Women have been encouraged to return to
the workforce because of shortfalls in the labour supply required to sustain the
productivity of the Australian economy. Economic and social policies have been
focussed on getting women into the workforce but little attention has been given to the
complexity of child rearing responsibilities (Goward, 1998; HREOC, 2005). Returning
to the workforce requires families to “outsource” the care of their children. OSHC
services have taken up some of the responsibility of caring for children after school, but
little attention has been focused on the significance and value, the operational
requirements, and the consequences for children. The economy has been prioritised
over the interests of individuals. In Habermasian terms, the “macrosubject” related to
the public processes of the economy overrides the needs of the individual (Kemmis,
1998, p. 299).
In relation to OSHC, the focus of the government agenda has been about
ensuring that women return to work to contribute to the economy. Women’s
contribution to the socialisation of children and families has been overlooked. The
pragmatics of OSHC settings and the interests of stakeholders of OSHC services, be
they children and families or OSHC and school staff, have not been emphasised.
Henceforth, Dylan, in his role as principal, may have found it difficult to expand his
advocacy for the OSHC due to his understanding of the role and responsibility
bestowed upon him by the public system of education and schooling (cf. Habermas,
1984). If Dylan had placed more emphasis on OSHC, it may be seen that he placed less
value on school:
I am not opposed to anything that is being done with school care, but then did
anyone think to involve the Minister for Education on how it would impact on
shared spaces with classrooms? And the answer is probably, NO. (Dylan,
I1:11/04/05)
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Dylan viewed himself foremost as an educator without the responsibility of children in
the time period between home and school. In contrast, Whitney appears to expect that
the individual needs of families would have prompted Dylan’s support of OSHC:
The hierarchy [school administration, including Dylan] see us as a service that
the school provides that we [the school] couldn’t do without, and I think there is
an acknowledgement that there are quite a number of families who are here who
wouldn’t be able to access the school if it wasn’t for OSHC, because they have
to work to have their children here. (Whitney I2: 28/07/05).
Whitney relied on Dylan to lobby the school administration on her behalf, to advocate
for the role of OSHC in children’s lives. Whitney had the impression that Dylan saw
the OSHC services as valuable to parents (Whitney, I1:08/04/05). However
circumstances such as the ‘pinching’ of staff challenge the notion that Dylan is
supportive of the OSHC service. Further, should Whitney not acquiesce, there may be
retribution in the form of denying the service much needed resources and access to
space. The OSHC service would not be able to use the equipment such as construction
sets, building blocks and home area furniture, nor would they be able to access the
audiovisual equipment, computer laboratories and the swimming pool.
Increased Space and Work Conditions but at a Cost
The negotiation that occurs to achieve meaning in communication episodes can be one-
sided. One person can secure the upper hand or the power to direct the interactions. In
this section I examine how power relations were able to dominate the access to
resources. Securing space for OSHC within an existing organisation is a difficult task
for OSHC coordinators as they have to promote the legitimacy of OSHC in order to
convince other users of the space to give the service access. Within school settings, the
principal and the teaching staff have been unwilling to relinquish space (Seligson &
Allenson, 1993) to activities that were not related to what they understood as their core
business. At Jarrah College, Whitney was challenged by the complexity of the
circumstances involved when she secured increased space and improved work
conditions.
Whitney had found Dylan’s style of leadership and management more palatable
than the previous primary school principal, particularly in relation Dylan’s willingness
to respond to her request for support. On another occasion Whitney reflected that there
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had been positive changes in the support provided for the OSHC service since Dylan
had become principal (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). During participant observation visits,
Whitney had described how her past requests to the school administration for support
for the operation of the OSHC service were rejected. The limited space available and
the constant negotiations for space for OSHC services made for unpalatable work
conditions (FACS, 2005; Gammage, 2003). She referred to the difficulties she had
negotiating with the previous primary school principal (Whitney, IC:10/03/05;
I2:28/07/05) for additional staffing, and physical resources. Whitney also referred to
the improvements in the work conditions of the OSHC staff and the increased play
space for the children since Dylan had taken over as principal (Whitney, I2:28/07/05;
IC: 26/07/05). She was fearful that she may lose some of the things Dylan had
negotiated for on behalf of the service, for example, “having the second room” (Jarrah
PO3: 05/05/05). Whitney described the space conditions in previous years as being
cramped (Jarrah PO3: 05/05/05). However, this year Dylan had transferred the ballet
classes to other rooms to create additional space. Whitney was pleased with the
spaciousness of the new arrangements. She said
They can just come and go and spread out now and we have the key to that
room so that if they want to ‘veg’ out in that room it is just fine, they can still be
in the room with the carpet on it in the main [room]. They really have all that
space. (Jarrah PO3: 05/05/05)
The children and staff were able to spread out and play games, which meant that
children were unlikely to feel cramped and without personal space.
Curiously, the additional space was also a complication for workforce issues,
as the additional space had meant that Whitney had to plan carefully in relation to
staffing levels so that mandatory child/adult ratios were achieved. She had to employ
additional staff and was already finding it difficult to recruit and retain staff, especially
with Dylan luring staff to the primary school. However, Whitney was not able to
discuss these concerns about staffing issues, as she did not want to jeopardise the
strategic alliance between herself and Dylan.
Within the busy environment of the OSHC service it was very difficult for
Whitney to strategise about how to promote the professional identity of herself and the
OSHC staff. Osgood (2006b) suggests that the intense workload for children’s services
practitioners means that they are ‘too busy and preoccupied meeting standards to
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wrestle with their professional identities” (p. 6). Whitney’s reliance on Dylan to
promote the legitimacy of OSHC did not have a sound basis. She appeared unaware of
the difficulties of the power impacting on her circumstances, and therefore she was
unable to “challenge and negotiate” to establish the identity of the OSHC professional
(Osgood, 2006b, p. 7), and the validity of the service to society. Dylan’s description of
the hierarchy of the administration of OSHC placed Whitney last. He referred to the
Headmaster, followed by the Bursar and the Primary School Head, and lastly, the
OSHC coordinator (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). In the school administration team, Dylan
aligned himself with Shane, the Business Manager. Shane is explicit about the status of
OSHC in relation to the school: “My observation, it would be, the classroom priority is
always paramount. That is our mission. OSHC and those sorts of things are
complementary service to the core service of providing education” (Shane, I:28/04/05).
Shane’s point here is that the OSHC is a complementary service to that offered by the
school. His perspective can be understood in terms of the recency of the provision of
OSHC services, along with limited knowledge and understanding about OSHC services
and how they are aligned with child rearing and childhood; whereas schools have been
around for more than one hundred years (Petrie, 2003). The dominance of schools as an
institutional presence in the lives of children and families contrasts with the nominal
status of OSHC. One might expect that OSHC services would draw some status from
being located in schools. During an interview with Dylan, he commented that OSHC
was a “critical resource” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). He also said “it is often a consideration
when enrolling their children in the school that we actually do run a school care
program, before and after school and vacation care” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). Whitney
expected that the support that Dylan provided for OSHC such as comments about the
value of the services to parents, or increasing the physical space available in which the
service could operate, would help privilege the OSHC service. However, there are
examples to counter this situation.
There were many examples where the indifference to the legitimacy of the
OSHC by the school administration was evidenced, and five are provided here. First,
Dylan’s stated support came with an affronting sting through the use of terms like “a
load” and “school care” to refer to the service (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). These terms
fostered negative attitudes. The term ‘load’ suggested something that was an unwanted
burden. A second example of indifference was Dylan’s incorrect reference to the
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OSHC as “school care” (I1:11/04/05; I2:14/11/05). This term does not occur elsewhere
in documentation about the service, either in school materials or the legislative
frameworks (Child Care Act 2002). His inability to refer to the service by its correct
title was not only further evidence of his indifference towards OSHC, but also implied
that OSHC was a lesser activity than school. His ignorance of the large numbers of
children using the service is a third example of indifference. Dylan remarked “I thought
school had started or something. I couldn’t believe that there were so many children
here [at OSHC] in the holidays” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). The fourth example is the
indifference afforded to the OSHC by the school administration, which was
exemplified by Dylan’s view that the principal was in charge. In the following
statement, Dylan said “in this school, school care is run by ultimately the headmaster
who then delegates it to the various people” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). A final example
relates to the invisibility of the service. In response to a question about reporting on the
activities of OSHC, Dylan indicated that the School Administration did not require any
reporting about the OSHC service (Dylan, I2:14/11/05). All these examples suggest
indifference by Dylan to the legitimacy of OSHC, which is highly likely to be reflected
by the school administration. Whitney’s interactions with Dylan about improving the
conditions for OSHC were marginalised by this indifference. These were shallow gains
and did not signify a commitment to the legitimacy of the OSHC. Habermas (1984)
states the legitimacy of systems hinge on their status in the broader economic and
social circumstance of society. The legitimacy of the profession of caring for school
age children and of OSHC services hinges on how it is afforded status by society, and
not on how it is seen by those who use it.
Qualifications Quandary: Principals, OSHC Staff and Professional Training to Work
with Children
In the divisions of social labour within society, professional qualifications indicate the
status and legitimacy of the social institution (Habermas, 1984). In this section the
qualifications of the staff in OSHC services are examined. The training which
underpins the qualifications for OSHC staff and remuneration of the labour associated
with OSHC are also explored.
Legal frameworks are used as a measure of the responsibility required to
legitimate systems to operate in society (Habermas, 1987b). Prior to 2002 in
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Queensland, OSHC services had operated without any legal framework. Without any
legal responsibility it was difficult to sustain the sense in society that OSHC was a
legitimate activity. An example of a legal framework is the Child Care Act 2002.
Included in the Child Care Act 2002 were mandatory qualifications for OSHC staff.
This was the first time qualifications were required for staff in OSHC. An examination
of the qualifications of staff in OSHC services in Queensland demonstrates the
historical and cultural circumstances that contributed to the formulation of the
qualifications (Misko, 2003). When mandatory qualifications were introduced they
were framed in a way that was not equitable to similar levels of staff roles in the long
day care sector. The skills and knowledge required for responsibility for groups of
primary school children was undervalued mainly because the OSHC staff roles
appeared to be linked to societal norms of children returning to the care of their parents
at the end of the school day, rather than to management of large groups of children in a
formal setting.
In Queensland, the legislative requirements are that for every thirty children,
two staff are required. At least one of those staff needs to be qualified with, as a
minimum, Certificate III in Children’s Services (Child Care Act 2002). However the
second adult does not require any qualifications. The introduction of the legislation and
the mandatory qualifications put pressure on existing OSHC staff to become qualified
(Misko, 2003). However, the qualifications required for OSHC staff remained lower
status than their counterparts in long day care.
The format of the qualifications required for OSHC were based on generic
abilities for supervising groups of children. It was practical/technical knowledge
(Habermas, 1984). The base level qualifications mandated in the Child Care Act 2002
include qualifications drawn from the National Children’s Services Training Package.
The competency based training of the Children’s Services Training Package does not
include the development of the skills of critical reflection (National Training
Information Service (NTIS), 2007). Skills of critical reflection are essential for
constructing knowledge about one’s self and about the world, and for self preservation
(Habermas, 1987b). For child care workers, Sumsion (2005) states that linking the
notion of caring with critiquing social, political and economic structures (p. 46) has the
potential to enhance professionalism. The more knowledge one has about the world and
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how the systems within it operate, the greater the potential to engage in communicative
actions that result in meaningful interactions (Habermas, 1987b).
Examples from Currajong OSHC and Jarrah OSHC are now discussed to show
how the two principals, Greg and Dylan, (and Madonna, Currajong, Acting Principal)
regarded the OSHC staff and their professional training to work with children. During
the research interviews, the principals described the employees of OSHC services as
needing to know about child development and child behaviour; but this knowledge was
not considered as critical as it was for classroom teachers (Greg, I:01/11/04; Dylan,
I1:11/04/05). Greg and Madonna also viewed teachers’ work with children as being
more professionally responsible and knowing more about the development of children.
Teachers were deemed to have to assess and evaluate children’s performance, which
attributed them a power-base (Kemmis, 1998). In contrast, the activities of OSHC were
seen as being informal and play based, where staff were more involved in surveillance
than contributing to the development of children. This view did not equate with the
criteria for OSHC programming (Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie, 2002) which required
that activities in which children participated would be engaging and contributing to
socialisation and civic understandings.
The various stakeholders involved with OSHC had different expectations about
the focus and subsequent roles of staff in OSHC services. The role of staff at OSHC
had ‘contested responsibilities’. The principals linked the OSHC activities to the
informality of the home environment where limited guidance was provided by adults.
Dylan stated:
I like the way here we take them outside to play. I am a great believer in play
and getting out. That was a thing that we did when I got home from school we
always went out for a while and ran around and kicked the ball and that whole
fresh air thing. (Dylan, I1:11/04/05)
Greg also mentioned the priority for outdoor physical activity as the kind of experience
children should have at the conclusion of the school day. OSHC programs were
described by Greg:
I believe it is not a place where you go and have a strong structured program. I
believe kids work hard at school between 8.30 and 2.30. … Now this is a time
to relax and have free time there, and as long as they are doing the right things
and following the rules, they are enjoying some games or enjoying the
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computer, or enjoying some physical activities or whatever. I think that that is
really important and that it enhances what we do in the actual classroom. (Greg,
I: 01/11/04)
Neither Dylan nor Greg referred to the programming in OSHC in similar ways to the
school curriculum. The principals referred to the school program as underpinned by a
curriculum which legitimated the teacher and student activity. The school educational
curriculum was able to provide evidence of the learning activities in which the children
engaged. The principals valued the teachers’ work with children as being more
legitimate than the play activities of the staff in OSHC services.
The principals’ understandings of the kinds of experiences encountered by
children in OSHC settings were not as important to them as the knowledge and
practices provided in the school settings. The principals saw the OSHC staff in the role
of ‘minders’, rather than engaged with children. For example, Greg viewed the
activities that occurred in OSHC as not necessarily contributing to children’s learning:
[You] have a curriculum that you actually have to teach and get through. [You
need to] know and how to teach and how to scaffold your learning within the
classroom. Whereas the OSHC program tends to be more of a flexible play
type, play based approach. I think that that sort of a program probably does not
need the same sort of careful evaluations and assessments. (Greg, I:01/11/04)
When asked about the differences in qualities between school teachers and OSHC staff
who worked with children, Dylan stated that the OSHC staff required flexibility in their
availability to work: “flexibility in working hours, that would be critical” (Dylan,
I1:11/04/05). He suggested that arrangements for working may be more important than
being a good practitioner with children. Dylan’s response to OSHC was pragmatic and
conveyed his understanding that OSHC staff did not require professional qualifications
- they just needed to be there. Dylan reinforced this idea when he said:
Obviously with teaching and learning [in school classrooms] I am looking for
really good practitioners. People who interact well are great in the classroom,
dynamic in the classroom. You need someone dynamic in school care but I am
not sure it’s a major prerequisite as it may be in the classroom. (Dylan,
I1:11/04/05)
Similarly Madonna’s comments indicated the differences for her between OSHC and
school: “I think if you employed teachers in OSHC you would actually ramp up the
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level of student satisfaction with what they were getting and the parent satisfaction”
(Madonna, I:07/03/05). She linked satisfaction with legitimacy for service. The
satisfaction would legitimate children’s time in OSHC. The role and responsibilities
associated with child rearing may be deemed invisible (Fraser, 1985), whether it be in
the home environment or in OSHC services. However, in discussing social theory,
Fraser (1985), stresses the notion of socialisation and social labour to highlight the
breadth of the experiences provided for children under the guise of child rearing. Fraser
(1985) emphasised that socialisation activities contained in child rearing activities must
not be underestimated, nor should these activities be considered only the domain of
education (Habermas, 1987b). The limited legitimacy proffered to OSHC by school
principals influences the broader societal knowledge and understandings about the
validity of OSHC services.
The direct recruitment of OSHC staff from the school parent body further
weakens the status of the service and the legitimation of the OSHC activities, because
the work is seen as not needing specialised skills and knowledge. Habermas (1987)
suggested that purposeful activity in society is organised through legitimate power
which utilises specialised professional knowledge. The establishment of the Currajong
OSHC was instigated by members of the school P&C. The principal had supported the
P&C’s interest in establishing an OSHC service (Greg, I:01/11/04) and Greg had
helped to source staff for the service by placing advertisements in the school newsletter
and asking some of the school parents to be involved. He asked Valda if she would be
interested in working at the service (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Valda had been a very willing
and regular parent helper in her children’s classrooms. At the time of the establishment
of the OSHC service, there were no legal requirements to guide the process of staff
recruitment. Staff in OSHC services were deemed to be replacing the role of parents
(Kennedy & Stonehouse, 2004; Piscitelli & Mobbs, 1986). In contrast, the recruitment
of staff in schools was much more rigorous than OSHC. Schools had been afforded the
specialised task of the education of children. Specialist professional staff were required
for this form of child rearing outside the home environment to ensure that cultural
reproduction and social integration was to occur (Habermas, 1987b). However, groups
of children in an institutionalised setting in OSHC do not parallel with the
characteristics of the parenting role in the transition from home to school. OSHC staff
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required a set of skills and understandings that were different from parents if they were
to manage the complexity of an OSHC service.
It was a circulatory circumstance that contributed to the limited numbers of
professionally skilled staff in OSHC and reinforced the idea that the OSHC services
were not legitimate. The inadequate numbers of professional staff in OSHC services at
Currajong and Jarrah reduced the opportunities for sustaining valid activities for
children and families. It also reduced the pool of professionals to promote the status of
staff who work in the OSHC sector. Without valid activities being offered it was
difficult to attract staff with the professional qualifications that would preserve the
status of the activities being offered. Valid activities contribute to maintaining society
through socialisation, social integrations and cultural reproduction (Habermas, 1987b),
and contribute to the expansion of the social labour associated with the preservation of
identities and systems within society (Habermas, 1987b). Limited numbers of staff
with suitable professional qualifications for OSHC would inhibit and discourage
services from promoting and recruiting staff with professional qualifications.
Consequently, this situation reduced the numbers of professional staff interested in
joining the OSHC workforce. The lack of professional thinking contributes to
undervaluing work with children. An under-professionalised child care workforce is
unable to contribute to the debate and discussion about public policy about the
provision of child care, particularly OSHC services (Brennan, 2004; Moss & Petrie,
2002; Pocock, 2006a; Sumsion, 2005). In their research about the children’s services
workforce, Moss and Petrie (2002) described staff required for OSHC services as being
“highly trained and critical and reflective practitioners” (p. 146). They report that these
qualities were indicative of the professional responsibilities essential to developing and
interpreting the legal frameworks required to coordinate children’s services, including
OSHC services.
OSHC workers that Valda knew were very reluctant to undertake training
because they saw it had little relevance to their role (Valda, I1:22/10/04; IC:20/10/04).
Valda mentioned that she and a Currajong colleague, “were going to do it together, but
then she said she thought it was a waste of time, and I’m not doing it” (Valda,
I1:22/10/04). Historically, the underpinning knowledge and competencies for child care
qualifications had an overt focus on caring for children less than five years of age
(Children’s Services Training Package, Australian National Training Authority). The
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qualifications were related to working in long day care centres with babies, toddlers
and preschool children. The Child Care Regulation 2003 listed vocational
qualifications from the Children’s Services Training Package that had limited focus on
OSHC services. With the introduction of legislative requirements for school age care
services, the state government offered training strategies to help OSHC workers gain
qualifications. One strategy was to use Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). This
strategy was detrimental to the status of the workforce, as it was perceived as an easy
way by some workers to gain a qualification (Whitney, IC:03/04/06). It also reinforced
a notion of low skill (even though that was not the intention of the RPL process)
(Personal Communication, Robyn Munro Miller, National Out of School Hours
Association, May 19, 2007). At Jarrah OSHC, this strategy had created division
amongst the staff, as one of the staff who gained the qualification using this process
was belittled by other staff (Whitney, IC: 03/04/06).
In more general terms, the children’s services training did not have the status
afforded to the professional preparation of school teaching staff. It was a similar level
of training to that of teachers’ aides. Within the school setting, the staff in OSHC could
have been viewed as having support roles like teachers aides as they had a similar
qualification. The OSHC staff could also have been seen to have had limited capacity
for responsibility, because they had only achieved certain levels of vocational training.
The characteristics of the vocational training, as opposed to professional training, could
have framed the diverse understandings of the OSHC coordinators and staff, and the
principals and teaching staff in such a way that it made consensual communication
difficult. The principal assumed that he had the upper-hand in conversations with the
coordinator because he had professional qualifications and status deemed to be the
‘norm’ for working with children outside the home environment. When Greg asked for
copies of Valda’s planning (Greg, I1:01/11/04) and Dylan pinched staff that Whitney
had trained (Dylan, I1:11/04/05; Whitney, I2:28/07/05), the principals were assuming
they had an authoritative role in the operation of the OSHC service.
Critical reflection encourages individuals to look back on experiences, analyse
them and change interactions or practices (Habermas, 1987b). As such critical
reflection is a useful strategy for enhancing knowledge and understanding about ways
of working in children’s services. The issues such as work practices, advocacy for
children and families that emerge during critical reflection would more than likely
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underpin understandings that would provide coordinators with the impetus to have “a
voice” (McLaren, 2005). The opportunity to speak out about repressive issues could
liberate coordinators from the oppressive circumstances in which they work.
Developing the skills of critical reflection would encourage OSHC staff, particularly
coordinators, to construct an expanded knowledge framework that would underpin
communication with the school principals. The coordinators would then have more
confidence in their level of understanding about the role and responsibility of OSHC
services. The OSHC coordinators could be more strategic in their communications with
management committees and school administration. Sumsion (2006) stated that
improved work conditions, pay rates and public recognition would only occur if child
care staff had the confidence, commitment and skills to engage in “critical imagination,
critical literacy, and critical action” (p. 4). Developing these skills requires educational
programs for OSHC staff that are more than the competency based training programs
that are currently offered.
Low Pay, Low Training Priority
Low wages has perpetuated a cycle of oppression for child care workers (Ackerman,
2005; Brennan, 2004; Lyons, 2003; Moss, 2006b, Sumsion, 2005, 2006). In the United
States, Ackerman (2005) found that child care workers were further prohibited from
undertaking training due to the fact that they find the costs associated with purchasing
training exorbitant, and that limited access to professional training restricts career
progression. Ackerman (2005) reported on a vicious cycle that perpetuated low
confidence and limited leadership skills for staff in child care services. Likewise,
Sumsion (2005) reviewed studies of Australian child care workers in long day care
centres experiencing similar dilemmas. The OSHC assistants who worked limited hours
for low wages exhibited similar characteristics (Currajong, PO1:22/10/04,
PO3:22/11/04; Jarrah PO3:05/05/05). Janine (Currajong, Assistant Coordinator) was
undertaking a Diploma of Children’s Services (mandated qualification for coordinators
of OSHC services) (Janine, I:07/03/05). She was finding it difficult to pay for the
training, which was in part a consequence of her low wage (Janine, Currajong
PO3:22/011/04). For OSHC staff, low wages limited their opportunities to commit to
training. Due to the oppressive circumstances in which they work, OSHC workers
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needed confidence and leadership skills to ensure that they are not further marginalised
by the dominating power of the school principal.
Under the State Government Training Strategy for OSHC workers, it was more
cost effective for staff such as Janine to apply for RPL. Janine did not have any
qualifications when she began working at Currajong OSHC. She had not participated in
the process of acquiring knowledge and understandings about the group care of
children prior to entry to the OSHC workforce. Janine was working in a takeaway shop
and undertaking various other types of informal but paid work when she started work at
OSHC:
I always babysat. Valda was one of my best customers in the morning and I
kept asking her do you have any work? And one day she said ‘yep come in'. I
was really keen and you didn’t need any qualifications back then. (Janine,
I:07/03/05)
With the introduction of the mandatory licensing of OSHC services, Janine was
required to obtain the required qualification. She had decided to use the RPL process to
gain the qualification. Janine waited until she had undertaken tasks in executing her
work in the service and then applied for RPL. She stated “I have about 14” (Janine,
I:07/03/05) competencies from the Diploma of Children’s Services that she had to
complete before she met the requirements of the qualification. Janine was going to
replace Valda as coordinator of the service when Valda took recreation leave for a
period of four weeks. When she was in charge of the service, Janine anticipated she
would be able to demonstrate the management competencies required to complete her
qualification. She said “It’s got a lot of the management [competencies] [and] with the
coordinator going away [it] is going to make it so much easier for me to be able to do
them” (Janine, I:07/03/05). The depth of understanding about the management
competencies gained relied on the opportunities that were presented during the four
weeks. Janine was without a significant mentor during this period to help her reflect on
the learning that was occurring. Questions about professionalism (Sumsion, 2005)
could be raised about the validity of this process as a learning experience for
developing the leadership skills required in child care services.
The RPL format depends on the rigour of the processes of the institution
granting the vocational qualification. On the surface, using RPL could be deemed to be
an easy way for Janine to become qualified. The whole process is very different from
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the format of gaining a professional qualification in education. The competencies listed
as part of the qualification had more to do with the surveillance of children, rather than
the symbolic and materialistic reproductive processes aligned with knowledge about
childhood and the social, economic and political framework in which OSHC services
are situated (DEST, 2006). These experiences in training and education contribute to
making it difficult for coordinators and principals to find common ground in which to
engage in communicative action about the legitimacy of OSHC services.
Working in OSHC was Janine’s second job. She had been working in the same
situation of having two jobs for eight years. When asked about her work circumstances,
Janine responded by describing the difficulties:
R: Would you ever give the other job up?
J: Eventually, but money wise I can’t afford to at the moment. We only have
after [school] care and vacation care and we have nothing in between. I need the
morning work to fill it up. (Janine, I:07/03/05)
Janine indicated that if she had the choice, employment in OSHC would be her only
job. However the limited hours of available work in OSHC services meant limited
income. Janine bemoaned the situation, stating that she relied on the second job so that
she could work in OSHC. She said “It has been hard getting [using public transport]
from one job to the other. It is hard with two jobs. If I only had one job it would be ok,
but with the two it has just made it difficult” (Janine, I:07/03/05). As previously
mentioned, Janine’s reticence to undertake training was due to financial reasons.
Firstly, the ability to pay for training on a low wage was a barrier, and secondly, the
commitment to undertake training for a role that was not a full time position was a
deterrent.
Valda and Janine were recruited to work in OSHC without any formal
qualifications. However, after Valda had been working in the service for three years she
participated in a pilot for a vocational qualification for OSHC (the qualification did not
continue to be offered) (Valda, I1:22/10/04). When asked about how she gained her
vocational qualification Valda responded: “I’d been here [at Currajong OSHC] a little
while, it [Certificate III in Outside School Hours Care] came out and I just wanted to
get paperwork to say that I did know what I was doing” (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Valda
placed a greater emphasis on working than she did studying. In prioritising entry to the
service, she considered that parents who were working had a greater need for the
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service that parents who were studying. She ensured that children with working parents
were offered a place before children with parents who were undertaking study: “I tend
to go with working before studying. I know the thing [guidelines from FACSIA] says
working or studying but parents who are working need to go to work” (Currajong
PO4:08/12/04). Her personal experiences may have shaped her approaches to the
relationship between qualifications and working when allocating places in OSHC.
Valda’s diminished commitment to study and reflective practice could be deemed as
contributing to the broader community perception that OSHC did not require an
identity in its own right. Valda was unaware that her lack of emphasis on professional
knowledge may have had an unfavourable effect on promoting the functionality,
intentionality, legitimacy, and collective identity (Habermas, 1987b) of the OSHC
service. The regard for undertaking a specialised professional qualification prior to
taking responsibility for managing an OSHC service is potentially undermined by
devaluing ‘study’ as a way to acquire legitimacy and credibility.
Ladies and Girls are Not Professional Role Descriptions
In this section I discuss one of the difficulties of ensuring that OSHC was viewed as a
legitimate activity in the eyes of the schools and the broader community. The
terminology used to describe the OSHC services and staff by the school principals and
administrators rendered their perceptions of the low professional status of the activity.
In particular, the terms used by the principals to describe the staff denoted the lack of
professional status attributed to the roles of staff in OSHC. During data collection I
noted that the principals from each site referred to the OSHC staff as “girls and ladies”
(Greg, IC:01/10/04; I:01/11/04; Dylan, I1:11/04/06; I2:14/11/05). Girls and ladies are
words used to describe gender rather than professional work roles. These feminised
terms do not describe the professional, legal and ethical responsibilities associated with
children in a system of formal care or education. It could be considered offensive to use
these terms to describe employees. The feminised terms used to label the OSHC staff
are linked to the notions of family and domestic circumstances. The word ‘girl’ is
linked to children in home environments, and accordingly not attributed any skills or
specialised knowledge as part of the formal systems of society (Fraser, 1985). The
perception of child care staff as unqualified is further reinforced by the references to
them as ‘girls’ and ‘ladies’ as opposed to specialized terms that denote a professional
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status (Cameron, 2003). Petrie (1991) stated that within society the “woman’s primary
role as care worker at the same time reflects and maintains the lower status of women”
(p. 528). Petrie (1991) is affronted by the invisibility of women’s care work, and
expressed dissatisfaction with the unequal way in which society manages school age
care (p. 536). The references to OSHC staff as ladies or girls rather than as workers,
impacts negatively on OSHC being viewed as a legitimate service to society.
At Currajong OSHC service, the terminology Greg used to describe the OSHC
staff was a visible attribute that reinforced the sense that staff did not have specialised
practical –professional knowledge. Greg (Principal, Currajong SS, I:01/11/04) by
referring to the staff on a number of occasions as “girls”, demonstrated his
understandings about the kind of role and responsibilities the staff had within the
OSHC service. In contrast, he referred to the school staff as teachers. Greg ascribed to a
view that OSHC replaced parental supervision at home, a “taken for granted” (Petrie,
1991 p. 529) notion associated with the invisibility of the work that caring for school
age children entails. Greg viewed the OSHC service as a supervised play space for
children. He said that he thought the use of “girls” made the service more inviting for
children to attend. He referred to the girls as being more “relaxed” than teachers,
having “flexible attitudes” and stated that they were easier for the children to
communicate with than other adults (Greg, I:01/11/04).
Greg’s lack of knowledge and experience in the day to day aspects of operating
an OSHC limited his understandings of what is required. Greg did not attribute
professional skill and knowledge about children to the OSHC staff. The differences
between Greg’s interpersonal world and the circumstances of OSHC made it difficult
for him to interact with Valda about OSHC. Communicative actions and consensual
understandings rely on connections between the social and cultural aspects of the
interpersonal world of the speaker (Habermas, 1979). Greg’s lack of interest in OSHC
including the professional qualities of the staff made it difficult for Valda to seek
support from Greg when workforce issues arose. Greg stated: “I do not supervise those
girls up there” (Greg, I:01/11/04). He did not involve himself in the recruitment and
retention of the OSHC staff. The status Greg afforded to the OSHC staff existed in
marked contrast to the esteem in which he held the teaching staff of the school. As
principal, Greg appraised the staff of the school on a regular basis but not the OSHC
staff. He ensured that teaching staff were meeting agreed outcomes for children’s
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learning and supported staff in professional development. Greg stated that he had little
to do with the child care staff (Greg, I:01/11/04) which paralleled Gifford’s (1992)
recommendations for the involvement of principals in child care. Greg displayed a
negligible interest in OSHC staffing and the links with delivery of quality OSHC
services for children and families. The lack of acknowledgement of the staff contrasted
to his intense interest in the financial management of the service (Greg, I:01/11/04).
Valda appeared unaware of the consequences of Greg’s limited interest in the
service as a professional service to society. When Valda was asked about the use of
“girls”, to describe the staff she acknowledged the term as a friendly gesture
(Currajong, FN:12/12/04). Valda valued the use of the term as part of Greg’s interest in
the OSHC service. She was aware of the potential effect of the use of such gendered
terminology on withdrawal of the legitimation of OSHC. As Petrie (1991) suggests,
gendered terms perpetuate the view that OSHC is linked to unpaid, low status activities.
At Jarrah College, the OSHC staff included women returning to the workforce
after a period of caring for children. Amongst the college community the OSHC service
was known for recruiting from the parent body (FN:11/04/05). Dylan described the
staff as “have[ing] children here” (Dylan. I1: 11/04/05). At least one quarter of the
assistants at Jarrah OSHC had children who attended the college. Dylan referred to the
OSHC assistants as “ladies” and viewed their work in OSHC as an extension of the role
they undertook in their parenting role (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). Petrie (1991) noted that
descriptions of the roles of OSHC staff that she collected during her research were
similar child rearing roles to the home environment. Surveys of staff in OSHC services
in England indicate that the expectations of their role by the wider community lacked
professional status (Moss & Petrie, 2002; Petrie, 1991). Both Jarrah and Currajong
services encouraged applications from women with no previous formal training to
utilise the knowledge and skills gained while caring for their children to secure a paid
working position in OSHC (Currajong, PO4:08/12/05, Michael, 12/08/05). This
recruitment strategy reinforced the notion that OSHC was not a legitimate professional
role.
In marked contrast to the terminology used by the principals, parents referred to
the OSHC staff as teachers (Currajong, PO3:22/11/04, Jarrah, PO:22/09/05), which
conferred a responsibility similar to the formal education system. The accreditation and
licensing requirements mandate that OSHC staff have professional responsibilities
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beyond that of parents. However, the qualification requirements were minimalist in
comparison to the professional qualifications required for individuals working in
services such as education and health. Without professional terminology and
qualifications it was difficult for the OSHC coordinators to attain a legitimacy that
would promote the collective identity of OSHC.
The face to face communication that occurred between the OSHC coordinator
and the principal were limited (Valda, I2: 14/12/04; Whitney I1:08/04/05), when
compared to the communication that transpired day to day concerning the
administration and operation of the OSHC service. The interactions that did occur
between the two parties were brief encounters however they had significant influence
on the OSHC staff and services. The communication between the coordinator and
principal can be distorted by political-legal and economic systems of society
(Habermas, 1987b). If distorted, these communicative actions which are at the core of
social life are at risk of being ineffective in sustaining relationships between OSHC and
schools, and between the coordinators and principals. Deviation from the normal
processes of communication results in the creation of pathologies. Habermas (1987b)
describes pathologies as detrimental to the culture, society, and individuals, as they
manifest negatively on society and individuals. As part of this manifestation, the need
for consensual and mutual understanding in communication is superseded. In this
situation, the coordinators, OSHC staff, teachers and school principals are less likely to
cooperate with each other with a sense of honesty, truth and integrity. Individuals
“simply ‘get on with the job’ as it were without requiring a justification for what they
are doing” (Kemmis, 1998, p. 277).
Understandings of how the communication process can be distorted are
evidenced in Gammage’s (2003) description of OSHC services. He points out that as a
result of problematic communication among the key stakeholders, particularly OSHC
coordinators and principals, the services are caught in a cycle of being unable to move
beyond a position of low prominence and unclear purposes. In other words, the OSHC
services are used to “getting on without a great deal of obvious support” (Gammage,
2003, p. 1) in that there is a lack of mutual and consensual understanding. The
imperatives of the State administrative processes and the economic system, and the
potential for complexity of arrangements between the stakeholders in OSHC services,
provide the context for communication to become quite dysfunctional. As a
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consequence, OSHC services, and subsequently OSHC coordinators, are likely to feel
marginalised. Further, there can be a withdrawal of legitimation of OSHC services as a
social system.
Summary
According to Habermas (1987b), socialisation of individuals and cultural reproduction
of society are dependant on the communicative processes that occur between systems,
for example between schools and families in society. Individuals and groups rely on
interactions with others to shape their sense of themselves and their roles and
responsibilities in society.
OSHC services are another example of systems where socialisation and cultural
reproduction occurs. Legitimating OSHC services is difficult when the actions of
principals work against viewing OSHC as a norm in the current economic climate. The
tenuous alliance between Jarrah and Currajong schools and their respective OSHC
services did little to support the sustainability of socialisation and cultural reproduction
of society. The withdrawal of legitimation (Habermas, 1987b) by the school principals
resulted in serious troubles for the OSHC coordinators in retaining staff and recruiting
new staff. In each site, the principals’ comments and actions did not promote the
service with the coordinators and the wider community. Consequently, the status of
each service was not sanctioned by the principal as legitimate activity, unlike the status
and value assigned to classroom teaching. The examples of the principal luring OSHC
staff away from the OSHC service to work in the school, regarding the OSHC service
as requiring only staff who are not professionally trained to work with children and the
recruitment of parents in this capacity weakened the status of the service and the
legitimation of the OSHC activities, because the work is seen as not needing
specialised skills and knowledge. Further, the principals’ descriptions of the staff
situated them as lacking legitimacy and professional recognition as staff members
providing a valued service for the school and community which compounded the
circumstances of not being valued as legitimate and impacted on the domains that form
the framework for communicative action that occurs (Habermas, 1987b). Not being
seen as a legitimate activity had negative consequences for the coordinator and staff of
OSHC services. Viewing OSHC services as legitimate activities requires that staff
develop the skills that would enable them to have a more powerful voice in determining
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their work conditions and the status of the sector. As a consequence of the principals’
withdrawal of the legitimation of the OSHC services, the OSHC coordinators were
marginalised.
The next chapter focuses more specifically on the unsettling of the collective
identity of OSHC coordinators and services.
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CHAPTER 6: UNSETTLING COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
The collective identity (Habermas, 1987b) for OSHC is an evolving notion as child
care for school aged children grows in size and significance to families and the
community. A collective identity is characterised by a sense of belonging and a
willingness to defend and assume risks for the group and is developed through
consensual interactions that support collaborative activity. The collective identity of an
organisation relies on the self-identity of individuals within the organisation to
cooperate to uphold practices and work together for the mutual gains for the group.
However, distorted communication can manifest in unsettling collective identity as the
willingness to fulfil obligations is lopsided, with one stakeholder dominating.
This chapter examines the situation at Currajong OSHC service to show how
distorted communication such as occurred between the principal and the OSHC
coordinator manifest in unsettling the collective identity of the OSHC and the self
identity of the coordinator and staff. On the surface, the communication between the
OSHC coordinator and the principal appeared congenial. However, closer examination
of the communication processes revealed interactions that impacted on the OSHC
coordinator and contributed to disturbing the communal distinctiveness of the OSHC
service.
OSHC Services in Makeshift Spaces
As OSHC services are sited in the main in schools, I argue that the dominance of the
school and the associated school principal has prevailed in the operational procedures
particularly in relation to the venues. It was difficult for the OSHC to claim a collective
identity when the service did not own resources and equipment, nor did it have a
cohesive mandate for the responsibility undertaken on behalf of parents. In this section
I examine the challenges faced by Valda, coordinator as she attempted to retain a
suitable venue for the OSHC service. I also review the communication between Greg,
Currajong principal and Valda and their strategic actions in relation to the OSHC
service, physical resources and financial matters. The service at Currajong was similar
to other OSHC services in Queensland schools which were unable to pay rent, used
whatever space was made available to them, were staffed by volunteers and operated
on shoestring budgets (Arnold, 2002; HAFS, 1997).
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Building the OSHC Empire … School Strikes Back
The sense of ownership of a physical space would help to define the collective identity
of the OSHC. It would be a visible sign that OSHC service existed. Owning the space
where OSHC is conducted would mean that the coordinator and staff could leave
materials and establish areas within the service that allows for the engagement of
children in experiences that appeal to their interest and needs. The problems of
temporary lodgings were compounded by the number of times the Currajong service
had moved from classroom to classroom.
In the Beginning
Like many other services in Queensland schools the Currajong services had insecure
tenancy. When Valda commenced work at Currajong OSHC (See Figure 4.2. Timeline
recording the establishment of the Currajong OSHC service, Chapter 4), issues of
insufficient indoor play space, inadequate kitchen and toilet facilities, and the lack of
running water were major concerns. The situation was made worse by the number of
times the service had shifted venues. Also, the venue was used for a series of different
groups of users and modifications made for older children did not suit the toddlers
attending the playgroup (FN:22/10/04). During the interview, Valda spoke of her
despair in relation to the venue:
We started off in a demountable but it was up the back here. We shared the
music room [with] the music teacher. And then we went from there to [another]
demountable … One of the old demountables that actually used to be at the end
of the toilet block, [it was] the admin block. Just [near] that white building that
is the toilets and the cleaner’s building. Just at the end there. It actually came
out [was removed]. Now it is garden there. ... We were in there for a few [three]
years. And from there we went down to one of the preschool rooms that wasn’t
being used [for two years]. So we shared with the mothers’ club, and the P&C
started up a playgroup. So the playgroup was in there as well. And then from
there we went to this tiny little classroom up the top of the car park, and we
shared that with the music teacher as well. It was like a double classroom, but it
was really like one and half classrooms because there was a storage area and a
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little kitchenette there. And then they ended up having to make half of it into a
classroom. So we had the LOTE [Languages Other Than English] teachers and
we had the music teacher and us all using this half of a room. Not even half a
room up there. It was terrible. (Valda, I1:22/10/04)
After many moves the reduction in room size was the final straw for the coordinator,
Valda. The school principal had allocated the OSHC service to a venue that was half
the size of the previous space and, in addition, the room had to be shared with the
music and the LOTE teacher. The space was inadequate for the growing numbers of
children who were attending the service (Valda, I1:22/10/04) and had grown from 35 to
50 children attending each afternoon (FN:22/10/04). At this point, Valda instigated
plans to secure a purpose built facility for the OSHC program because she did not want
to endure the cramped conditions any longer.
At Currajong, the coordinator limited service delivery to the seventy places
registered with the Department of Families and Communities (Valda, I1:22/10/04).
During the twelve years of operation the service had increased the number of places
available when additional places for child care benefit were released by the Australian
government (FACS, 2004). However, the coordinator was conscious of the physical
space available. The Guidelines for National Standards for School Age Care (1995)
was used as a benchmark for space requirements per child. Even though there was a
waiting list for the service the coordinator restricted the service to the purpose-built
construction for OSHC. The requests for additional space with the principal of the
school were returned with shallow offers, such as the use of the nearby music room that
was never able to be used during term time due to art and music classes and other
activities that were occurring in there.
A Building for the OSHC Service
Valda initiated a plan of action that resulted in the building of a purpose-built venue.
Valda had received minimal support from the school administration. During the first
ten years of the operation of the Currajong service, the school administration had little
involvement in the management of it, except for asking the service to shift venues.
Currajong School Acting Principal, Madonna, commented about Valda’s involvement:
“Valda had had full control of the whole situation prior to that [introduction of Child
Care Act 2002]” (Madonna, I:07/03/05). Valda had been the driving force to build the
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structure; she saw it as her responsibility because she was coordinator of the OSHC
service. She also had the original idea. It took approximately three years from Valda’s
initial idea for a special building for OSHC till the purpose-built facility was ready for
use (FN:22/10/04).
Valda’s first concern was sourcing funds for the building. She pointed out that
her intention was to be self sufficient and not rely on the school or the school P&C for
further support or funds. The OSHC service operated on a break-even budget so there
were no surplus funds to use (Valda I1:22/10/04). Valda’s response to an interview
question about how the funds were raised described how she approached the P&C for
advice about how to start the process of seeking funds. Valda rallied the OSHC
subcommittee of parents whose children attended the OSHC service to support her. She
sourced funds to build the facility (Valda I1:22/10/04). The P&C did not offer to
sponsor the fund raising activities but provided some advice about applying for external
grants to fund the initiative (Valda, I1:22/10/04). There were small grants available to
make modifications to existing structures, for example, building kitchens.
At first I went to the P&C because I wasn’t at first sure how to go about it
[applying for grants]. We got a Gaming Commission [grant]. I think it was about
$15 000 we got from the Gaming Commission. And then we [OSHC sub
committee] were selling tickets and doing fund raising at OSHC with all the
parents. I realised that we could get grant money and we got $7 500 for a kitchen
… And then we got a fairly substantial amount and I think it was about $45 000.
(Valda, I1:22/10/04)
Valda had the plans for the building drawn and had obtained contributions of labour to
defray the cost (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Valda described herself as the driving force
behind the organisation which led to the construction of a purpose-built facility (Valda,
I1:22/10/04).
The funds for the building were secured by Valda without placing any financial
burden on the school or the P&C. During her interview Valda said that “it ended up
costing us $78 000, a lot of money… we were lucky that we had the money and we
didn’t have a debt” (Valda I1:22/10/04). Valda had combined funds from the
Department of Communities ($45 000), fundraising ($7 000) and Gaming Commission
($15 000). These funds were short of the cost target, but Valda described how she
accessed additional funds that were part of the OSHC financial portfolio. She disclosed
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information about the use of the funds, saying “It was actually using some of our long
service leave and everything, which you are not supposed to do” (Valda, I:22/10/04).
The funds being accumulated for her long service leave were used to subsidise the
building so that there was no debt attached to it when it was completed.
Valda had started to develop an identity for her and the OSHC services through
the construction of the building. The availability of the money meant that Valda was
able to make decisions on behalf of the OSHC service. She was able to give input into
the design of the building so that it suited the needs of the children and staff, and the
activities of the OSHC program. For example, the kitchen bench which divided the
room was designed in such a way that children could participate in food preparation
without actually being in the kitchen area (Currajong, PO1:22/10/04). Valda designed
the building with a focus on the recreational and care needs of primary school children.
In Habermas’ (1984) terms, having the money might be called the force to dominate the
situation. Financial strength provided a source of power.
Valda’s access to financial support provided the opportunity to initiate the
building of the OSHC facility and develop an sense of a collective identity for OSHC,
however, this opportunity was short lived as Greg, the school principal intervened. He
was able to short-circuit Valda’s attempts to secure adequate space for OSHC activities.
The land used for the OSHC buildings was within the grounds of the school. As
principal, Greg called himself the “site supervisor” (Greg I:01/11/04). He assumed
responsibility for the building on behalf of the Education Authority and had the
bureaucratic power to restrict the activity of the OSHC service. Social services in
welfare systems (such as OSHC services) are dependent on bureaucracies and the
infrastructure of existing community organisations as they have no resources of their
own. It is very difficult for emerging organisations to set their own agenda when they
have to make do with the resources that are available to them. This situation pre-empts
the capacity to interpret their needs and activities (Fraser, 1985). Gaining secure space
with the building still did not give the OSHC service freedom to be responsible for its
activities, or an identity in its own right. The OSHC service was able to afford the
building for the indoor environment but was dependent on the school to provide the
land for the building and the outdoor play space.
Despite initiating and driving the project, the location and building materials for
the purpose-built facility were not matters that the OSHC coordinator authorized. After
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the challenge of raising funds to pay for the building was successfully achieved, the
coordinator and principal negotiated the placement of the new building, and the
construction of the building itself. Both Valda and Greg noted that Valda needed
approval from the principal (Greg) about the position of the OSHC building (Valda
I1:22/10/04, Greg I:01/11/04). In his interview, Greg, pointed out that he had insisted
that the structure be erected in the back corner of the school grounds and that he did not
want it to be a “grotty old modular building” or something made of “timber or
aluminium” (Greg, I:01/11/04):
I wanted it to be close to the school and I wanted it to be a thing that was [the
same] sort of building [as the school] as well. I did not want it to be timber or
aluminium and … she [Valda] went for the brick and I think that worked out
really well, it just blended in a lot more. (Greg, I:01/11/04)
Greg’s insistence on the location of the OSHC service in the back corner of the school
grounds meant that it was invisible to the school community. He wanted to subsume it
within the school grounds. Doing this meant that it did not have a separate identity.
During Valda’s first interview, she recounted her version of Greg’s involvement
in the building process. According to Valda, Greg intervened when it came to choosing
the builder: “Greg wanted the State Building Authority to build it” (Valda I1:22/10/04).
She assumed that the reason he demanded that the State Building Authority build it was
“so that they would service it [the building]. I suppose [that means] fix it up when it
was needed” (Valda I1:22/10/04). Valda stated that Greg’s demands contributed to the
increased costs of the structure: “We had all these other tradesmen come in with these
cheap quotes but Greg wanted the State Building Authority to build it” (Valda
I1:22/10/04). The cost of the building constructed by the State Building Authority was
nearly double the anticipated expense (Valda I1:22/10/04). However, as the building
was to be constructed in the grounds of the school, Valda had to conform to
requirements of the school principal.
The OSHC service was unable to use the building to establish a collective
identity. The sense of ownership and esteem, and associated collective identity of
OSHC was marginalised by the bureaucratic power of the principal. The negotiations
that had occurred in relation to the erection of the purpose-built venue were directed
initially by Valda. She had invested her time voluntarily to ensure that the negotiations
for finance and the building were achieved as quickly as possible (Valda I1:22/10/04).
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Valda’s expectations were analogous with Greg’s actions and comments about
maintenance (FN:14/09/04). In the first two years, daily cleaning and requests for
maintenance were authorised by him through the system of the State Education
Authority (FN:14/09/04). However Valda did not anticipate that Greg would then
instigate charges for cleaning and maintenance of the newly built facility. Greg said
that he had organised through the P&C an annual charge of $11 000 to the OSHC
service for rent and maintenance for use of the building (FN:14/09/04). Greg said: “we
collect for cleaning and maintenance. I tend to leave that with the P&C because it is all
our money … it [cleaning] comes out of our school budget” (Greg, I:01/11/04).
Madonna, the acting principal, was more forthright about the financial arrangements.
She said:
We were able to get it cleaned by the State Education Authority, which wasn’t
then a direct cost to our school more that it was to the State Education
Authority, and then we were able to bill them [OSHC] for cleaning. It meant
that all of a sudden it became a way for us to actually to see some financial
benefit to the P&C. (Madonna, I:07/03/05)
The principal and acting principal, Greg and Madonna, were keen to take advantage of
the potential financial income to the school. The fervent involvement of the school
principal and acting principal in the financial matters was in marked contrast to their
tepid support for all other aspects of the OSHC service. The principal was able to
maintain hold of the financial affairs of OSHC through the advisory role he held with
the P&C (Education Queensland, 2007). Additionally, the school principal made other
subtle demands on the manner in which Valda operated the service in at least two other
cases. One example was the system of presenting him with documentation detailing the
program of activities of the service (Greg, I: 01/11/04). This requirement was not
essential to legislation or accreditation requirements. The other example was in relation
to priority of access to the service, which is discussed later in this chapter.
The OSHC staff undertook additional activities to sustain the operation of the
service, however they were financially exploited. In contrast to the limited
involvement of the school administration, OSHC staff volunteered their time to attend
meetings and activities to develop the strategic operation of the OSHC service
(FN:22/10/04). The OSHC staff were paid for face to face contact with the children but
not to organise fundraising or for meetings with the school administration. At the
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Currajong OSHC, in addition to the low wages, the staff were also undertaking
significant other work to sustain the operation of the service. The actual costs to operate
the service included more than the face to face delivery. These additional management
costs were not part of financial considerations. Valda had spent a lot of her own time in
organising the construction of the building to house the OSHC service (Valda,
I1:22/10/04). Her contribution had reduced some of the management costs associated
with building the OSHC facility.
The purpose-built venue for OSHC had the potential to be a physical
representation of the service. Valda exhibited a strong sense of ownership of the
building, possibly because she had placed herself at personal financial risk in gathering
funds to build the facility. She had used the funds that were accruing for her long
service leave and superannuation (Valda, I1:22/10/04). If she did not recoup these
funds in following years she would have lost her entitlements. Valda viewed the
building as a visible sign of the collective identity of the OSHC service and her status
as coordinator of the service (Valda, I1:22/10/04, Currajong, PO1:25/10/04). However,
a matter of contention was the issue of the permanent status of the venue. During
interviews and observation visits, Valda did not once refer to the building as belonging
to the school. This was in contrast to the statement by Greg when he said: “[when] it is
on our land anyway it becomes [belongs to] the State Education Authority. I can use it
as I see” (Greg, I:1/11/04). Greg had also commented about Valda’s sense of
ownership: “She does not own it even though it seems like that because she has been
there for so long” (Greg I:1/11/04). Valda reported that her husband had said that she
exhibited an unsubstantiated possessiveness, remarking: “I don’t know what’s wrong
with you [Valda] it’s just a job, it is not your money” (Valda, I2:14/12/04).
Overcoming dependence on others and the discomfort of sharing space with
assorted other groups and teaching staff, as well as having a collective identity as an
OSHC service appeared to be Valda’s priority in gaining a venue to house the OSHC
service (Valda I1:22/10/04). In 2000 the purpose-built venue for OSHC became
operational (see Figure 4.2. Timeline recording the establishment of the Currajong
OSHC service). It was built to the specifications contained in the National Standards
for Outside School Hours Care (1995). Valda expected that once the OSHC service
was located in its own building she would no longer draw on the resources of the
school (Valda, I1: 22/10/04), that she would have independence from the bureaucratic
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system. Valda said “We paid. We were lucky that we had the money. And we didn’t
have a debt” (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Contrary to Valda’s desire to be independent of the
school, her relationship with the school and the principal became more subordinate.
Once the purpose built venue for OSHC was constructed it was no longer the property
of the OSHC subcommittee, but the property of the State Education Authority. The
school principal had decided that he had liberty to use the OSHC building whenever it
was needed. In a subsequent interview when asked about ownership of the building,
Valda responded:
If you spend over a certain amount of money you get so many years tenancy.
They can’t kick you out. I think ours is ten. They can’t kick us out but they can
still use the room when they want. (Valda, I2:14/12/04)
The OSHC service had a venue that was built to suit their needs but the tenancy was
tenuous. Like other OSHC services, they were required to share facilities (Gammage,
2003; Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie, 2002). At Currajong, the service had to share with
who ever asked.
Valda had the understanding that anyone who wanted to use the building had to
get her permission to use the space. She said that the principal sent anyone who wanted
to use the building to ask her (Valda, I1:22/10/04; Currajong PO1:25/10/04). She
indicated that her sense of security about the tenancy of the OSHC facility was
reinforced by the statements made by the principal: “Of course the principal says that if
you want to use this room you have to come and ask me” (Valda I2:14/12/04). She
recounted the procedure used by the music teacher to negotiate to use the space: “she
come [sic] and asked me if she could use it” (Valda I2:14/12/04). Conversely, Greg, the
principal stated: “I can use it [OSHC building] as I see, but it is just manners and good
common sense to actually negotiate with people” (Greg, I: 01/11/04). Madonna, acting
principal, also said: “that if we [the school] wanted to use the space every single day,
we could” (Madonna, I: 07/03/05). She described two criteria, financial viability and
value by school community that are used to evaluate the continuation of the tenancy of
OSHC services operating in the building. Madonna said:
We are not going to boot OSHC out of there and say we are not having it any
more, unless there is [sic] problems with the financial support and if it [OSHC]
was no longer valued by the school community. (Madonna I:07/03/05)
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These comments contrast with Valda’s assertions about the security of tenancy for the
OSHC service.
The communication between Valda and Madonna was fraught with
misrepresentations. Valda found it more difficult to communicate with Madonna than
with Greg on issues concerning OSHC and school (Valda, I2:14/12/04). It was very
problematical for Valda and Madonna to reach consensual understandings as they drew
on different life experiences to shape their understandings about OSHC. To Madonna,
OSHC is linked to income for the operation of the school whereas to Valda the service
was about the safety and interests of children and families.
The communication between Valda and Madonna was convoluted due to
contextual features of the domains of the external world and the social world
(Habermas, 1984). When they spoke to each other it was difficult for them to achieve
consensual meaning-making as they had different sets of knowledge in the domains
(Habermas, 1984) of the external world and the social norms and traditions that framed
their interactions about OSHC. Madonna’s understanding of the kinds of activities that
children would undertake while at OSHC was different to Valda’s (Madonna,
I:07/03/05). It was difficult for Valda and Madonna to understand where each other
was positioned about OSHC. In addition Madonna and Valda had different outcomes
associated with the OSHC service. It was increasingly difficult for her to get her point
of view across to Madonna. Unlike Valda, Madonna viewed OSHC as a commodity,
something that people needed and that could be turned in a commercial activity
(Pocock, 2006a). Valda had very different understandings about the social norms and
traditions involved in caring for school age children than Madonna. It was particularly
difficult for Valda without a large empirical research base validating OSHC to engage
in self reflection and refute the actions of the principal whose actions were legitimated
by the traditions of school (Halpern, 2006; Moss& Petrie, 2002). The principal was
able to maintain hegemonic power over the OSHC service.
Valda was unaware that the acting school principal promoted the OSHC service
as using a wide variety of spaces within the school. Madonna (I:07/03/05) made claims
that the OSHC used much more of the school than the specific OSHC facility.
However my observation visits did not support Madonna’s claim (Currajong,
PO1:25/10/04; PO5:08/03/05). The OSHC service used the designated building and on
a daily basis the service used the small outdoor playground. One wet afternoon some
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staff and children used an undercover area (FN: 08/12/04, 08/03/05; Currajong,
PO5:08/03/05). Very few other school facilities were used. Distorted claims about the
use of facilities raised questions about the strategic intent of Madonna’s interactions
with Valda and other OSHC stakeholders. These speech acts manipulated
communicative actions between participants (Habermas, 1984) and positioned
hegemonic power with the principal.
The OSHC service had contributed to the resources available for use within the
school as it was a flexible space that could be used for a variety of school functions
such as morning teas for the Korean students, as a music classroom (Valda,
I2:14/12/04) and for special events such as Year One Orientation days (Valda,
I2:14/12/04). The school had acquired the use of additional space without drawing on
the capital funds from the State Education Authority. The mutual obligations between
the school and the OSHC facility did not align equitably. The school had gained
another building for its use both during the day and at night after OSHC had vacated,
whereas the OSHC service used the playground out of school hours. The school
seemed to be able to gain priority over the use of spaces. It was able to maintain a
dominant position in relation to social identity (Snow, 2002) in supporting primary
school aged children outside the home environment, which made it difficult for OSHC
to develop a collective identity of its own. The school claimed the OSHC service yet
marginalised the significant role it undertook in relation to the wellbeing and
upbringing of children.
The coordinator and the principal were in regular communication, but limited
consensual understandings and cooperative behaviour though mutual obligations meant
that the collective goals were not achieved. The dichotomy between the education
systems and the child care sector contributed to the disconcerting context. The
pathology of these circumstances of limited mutual obligations had consequences for
the undertakings of the OSHC service and the OSHC staff. This situation contributed to
the problems associated with the withdrawal of legitimation of the service, as discussed
in Chapter 5.
More Demands for OSHC Service, More Room Required
The introduction of licensing and accreditation for OSHC services had the potential to
legitimate OSHC services and support the development of a collective identity. There
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was a sense that these standards would improve conditions and the quality of practices,
and raise the status of the OSHC. However due to the complexity of the arrangements
for OSHC services, the introduction of mandatory requirements provided more
challenges for OSHC co-ordinators. In this section I discuss the events that heralded
significant changes to the management of the Currajong OSHC service. These changes
made it more difficult for Valda to operate the OSHC service, especially with the need
to expand the venue to accommodate increasing numbers of children who were
attending. The changes also made it more difficult for the OSHC service to develop its
own identity as the school maximised the financial gains to be made from OSHC while
marginalising the activities.
The changes occurred due to the intersection of two unrelated events. First, the
introduction of the Child Care Act 2002 and the associated Child Care Regulations
2003 which included the requirement that licences for Queensland OSHC services be
held by an incorporated organisation or P&Cs. Within the legislation there were also
more stringent requirements about the amount of indoor space required for the numbers
of children attending the service, so the number of children able to attend was directly
related to the floor space of the OSHC venue. Second, at a similar time principals in
schools were given more responsibility for the budget processes within their schools
(Dempster, 2001). Principals were looking for alternative forms of funding to ensure
that initiatives within schools could be maintained. These two events further impacted
on the identity of the OSHC coordinator and the service. The OSHC service, which had
the potential to generate a surplus of funds, was part of the P&C’s financial portfolio.
The role of the P&C was to support or assist in the financial provisions or resources
that would benefit the students of the school, as advised by the principal of the school.
Therefore an organisation such as the Currajong P&C which managed the financial
affairs of the OSHC service was able to direct funds on the advice of the principal of
the school. The priority for financial concerns of the school was able to overshadow the
needs of the OSHC service.
Since the establishment of the service, the management processes associated
with the operation of the OSHC service had been left to the coordinator and the school
principal (Valda, I1:22/10/04; Greg, I:01/11/04). The operational processes had been
managed by Valda as coordinator of the service. As previously mentioned, her sense of
identity as coordinator included being responsible for the service. The introduction of
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the mandated regulations meant that this was no longer possible. In 2002, when the
Queensland State government regulated child care through the Child Care Act (2002),
incorporated bodies such as P&C executives could be the legal bodies involved in the
governance of OSHC services. At Currajong the P&C were the designated licensee of
the OSHC service. During the interviews Valda and Greg referred to the changes that
had occurred to meet the requirements of the licensing process. There was some
variation in their accounts. Greg said:
We have become a bit more structured because I was concerned that it tended to
be Valda and I, and the P & C were sort of on the side. But in fact if anything
happened it would be the executive of the P& C that would have to wear all the
responsibility. So I said you guys need to know more about what is going on. …
Valda is only an employee … the P & C is the sponsor body and they really
need to know more about what is happening. (Greg, I:01/11/04)
Greg said that he had to encourage the P&C to become involved in the overall
management of the service (Greg, I:01/11/04). The financial management, including all
bills for approval and payment, was transferred from Valda’s control to the P&C
treasurer. However, Valda did not attribute the management changes to the legislation,
instead she described the changes as linked to financial reasons:
… when they [P&C] realised how much money was there they [P&C] sort of
just took over … I had been doing it and they [P&C] hadn’t been interested and
then all of a sudden ‘you’re just the employee’… I was told [by Greg] ‘You’re
just the employee. We are the owner. We run it’. (Valda, I1:25/10/04)
Greg played a role in conveying the information about the changes to both the P&C and
to Valda. Even though Valda’s comments projected the P&C as informing her about
the changes, it was Greg who orchestrated the communication between Valda and the
P&C (Greg, I:01/11/04; Madonna, I:07/03/05). This is another example of Greg’s
strategic communication, as previously mentioned in relation to the construction of the
OSHC building. These strategic actions result in distorted communications that impair
the self-preservation of the participants in the social action (Habermas, 1984). Greg’s
interactions with the other OSHC stakeholders enabled him to maintain power in the
situation.
The constituency of the P&C executive is fluid in that members are voted in
annually, and so the turnover of members and the subcommittees meant that the
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continuity of the day to day administration and management of the OSHC was left to
Valda as coordinator. This was very unsettling for Valda as there were some bills that
were not paid on time, for example the bakery bill (Valda, I1:22/10/04; I2:14/12/04).
Valda became aware of this situation when at the beginning of one week the bakery did
not leave the bread order required for afternoon tea (Currajong, PO4:08/12/04). The
inaccuracies with bill paying made Valda anxious enough about the financial
management of the service that she discussed it with Greg (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Even
though Valda was the coordinator, it became apparent that she deferred to Greg on
many occasions when it came to the overall legal and administrative aspects of
maintaining an OSHC service (Valda, I1:22/10/04; I2:14/12/04). Valda had a sense that
Greg valued the OSHC service in its own right and the fact that he did not interfere
with the operation of the service on a day to day basis allowed her to think that she was
engaging in consensual communication with him. However, when the P&C became the
licensee for the OSHC service, Greg was able to use the P&C as a lever to control the
financial affairs of the OSHC. He was able to contain the activities of the service by
managing the funds to suit his priorities for the school without due consideration being
given to the needs of the OSHC service.
Change processes are not always transparent which can impact on the
rationality of the communicative actions (Habermas, 1984). It was very disconcerting
for the coordinator and the children and parents who attended the OSHC to have their
collective identity as an OSHC service unsettled by the ‘takeover’ of the building by
the school and then the financial management by the P&C. Valda said: “I think I was
hurt. Because I had been doing it [managing the OSHC] and they hadn’t been interested
and then all of a sudden … we [the P&C] run it” (Valda I1:22/10/04). She suspected
that the OSHC was being targeted as a source of income for the school:
I have been running this for years by myself … no interference from anyone
and we had $70 000. We had money in our working account, money in our
provisions account for holiday pay and I thought we were doing really good and
that was our mistake. Because that was when they [Principal and the P&C]
realised how much money was there and they sort of just took over. (Valda
I1:22/10/04)
The P&C had taken over the management of the OSHC service and then arranged for
an annual rental and cleaning charge to be paid into the P&C account. During the past
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fourteen years Valda had attended the monthly meetings of the P&C regularly (Valda
I1:22/10/04; Janine, I:07/03/05) and was aware of the way in which Greg was able to
dominate the decision making of the P&C:
Well the principal is not supposed to have as much input into the P& C but I
found that if the principal wants something they [P&C] will go along with it.
Besides, they are volunteers, they are parents. They sometimes get someone in
there who wants his or her way, but I have noticed from time to time if the
principal wants something he usually gets it. I can’t say that he actually runs it
but he does get his own way, put it that way. (Valda I2:12/04/04)
Valda, in turn, had consulted more with Greg than she had with the individual members
of the P&C executive because he was a constant presence in the administration process.
Valda’s need for support in relation to the management of the OSHC service had
increased since the greater involvement of the P&C in the management of the service.
She mistrusted the commitment of the P&C to manage the service as the committee
appeared to be interested only in the profit that could be made and not in the day to day
operation. Valda was wary of the motives underlying the changes such as the $11 000
annual bill for cleaning and rent related to the administration of the OSHC service.
However, it appeared that the request for the rental charge was initiated by the principal
(FN:14/09/04).
Interest in the financial income was evident when Madonna (Acting Principal)
referred to the OSHC as a financial burden to the operation of the school by saying:
“what became evident to me was that the way it had been operating here was a cost to
the school” (Madonna, I:07/03/05). In Madonna’s view the service was using many
school resources without having to pay any costs. Madonna also said that the P&C had
not received remuneration for managing the service. She believed that the school and
the P&C should receive some financial benefits for the effort that they contributed to
the service: “It was not actually financial benefit just a recoupment of costs to the
school and something of a financial benefit to the P & C in terms of the effort that they
were putting in to run [it]” (Madonna, I:07/03/05). Madonna’s view was that the
financial burden lifted when the OSHC paid to the P&C the annual bill of $11 000 for
cleaning and maintenance. During the interview with Madonna,
she confirmed Valda’s suspicion that the school administration was interested in the
financial gains to be made from the OSHC service. Madonna referred to the OSHC
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service as a “cash cow” (Madonna I:07/03/05), which is a rather different perspective
to being a burden to the school.
The decision to charge OSHC for rent and cleaning expenses created a dilemma
for the OSHC coordinator. The bill was sent to the OSHC coordinator without fore-
warning of the potential financial implications. There were no deductions or reciprocal
rent paid to OSHC service for the times that the school used the OSHC facility. Even
though the P&C was the licensee of the service, it was Valda who had to design
strategies to meet the additional budgetary requirement (Valda, I1:22/10/04). When
Valda got the bill for the rent and cleaning she raised the weekly fees to cover the
expense (FN:25/10/04). She said “And now [after finally getting a designated building]
we have to pay rent on it. So I mean it is terrible” (Valda, I2:14/12/04). Valda said she
did not challenge the amount as she had been unsettled by the changes that had already
occurred in relation to the administration of the service (Valda, I2:14/12/04; Greg,
I1:01/11/04). Valda was suspicious of the principal’s interest in the financial affairs of
the OSHC:
The school has to manage their own money. They only get so much from the
government and if they think they are running short they will manage anyone
else’s money so they don’t run short. They are putting the school first and that
is what they are here for, but it means treading on the little guy at times. And so
we get a bit upset about that. (Valda I1:22/10/04)
However, the OSHC service generated much needed funds for the school and in some
ways this factor was reassuring to Valda because the OSHC service would remain as
long as principal perceived the service would generate additional income for the school.
Valda had been saving the profits from the service to build an extension to the
existing facility to cater for the increasing demand for OSHC. An extension to the
building would reduce the need to use other school buildings. Valda was concerned
about the growing waiting list for places and how she was going to meet that demand
(Currajong, PO4:08/12/04). The growth of the service and the uncapping of places in
2005 (FACSIA, 2005) meant that the service could enrol more children as long as the
required physical space was available. She was also very anxious that the current space
would not meet the licensing requirements for the numbers of children attending.
Ironically, the amount of money that Valda had amassed to sustain the operations of the
OSHC threatened to increase the service’s dependence on the school for the use of
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buildings. The money Valda had saved for the OSHC was part of the P&C’s financial
portfolio. However it appeared that the profits from the OSHC service that Valda had
been saving in the OSHC account would be transferred into funds to support P&C and
school initiatives (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Therefore the OSHC service would be unable to
afford to build an extension to the existing facility to cater for increasing numbers of
children, unless the P&C and the school administration agreed. At the time of the
research interviews and visits all available school funds were being channelled into the
building of a hall. Consequently, it had been suggested that the hall would be used by
OSHC. Valda had not contributed any information to this presumption. The
characteristics of the OSHC service and the requirements for its operation were
overlooked. Any sense of collective identity that the OSHC service felt they had gained
by having their own building was lost. The OSHC service was in a vulnerable position
again in relation to tenancy. Valda would have to negotiate with Greg to use existing
school buildings and other resources to operationalise an expanded OSHC service.
Greg wanted to build a hall in the school grounds and the newly negotiated
financial arrangements with the OSHC would “make it easier for the P&C to apply for
a loan to build the hall” (Valda I1:22/10/04). Instead of being a financial burden to the
school, the OSHC added to the financial portfolio of the school and the P&C. Valda
assumed Greg would be able to pledge funds from the OSHC service to the hall
building program on the pretext that the hall would be available for the OSHC to use
(Valda I1:22/10/04). Valda believed Greg would be able to convince the management
of the OSHC service (Valda I1:22/10/04), which was also the P&C and the group that
would be applying for the loan to build the hall, that this was a very pragmatic
arrangement.
Valda proposed that the hall would not solve the needs of the OSHC service
(Valda, I2:14/12/04; Janine, I:07/03/05). During a participant observation visit I asked
Valda about the potential use of the hall. Valda gave a lengthy negative response to
suggestions that the hall might be able to be used by OSHC. The hall was built on the
opposite side of the school grounds to the OSHC facility (see Figure 4.2. Timeline
recording the establishment of the Currajong OSHC service). Valda voiced reservations
about the practicalities of using the hall as additional space for OSHC:
The hall is a fair way away and I said to them that we would need a covered
walkway all the way down to the hall. And they said that’s alright, the money
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you were going to spend on that [extension to the OSHC building], so, [it will]
build the walkway. And I said that is defeating the purpose. And I said there is
no way I am having my children, or my staff walking [between buildings at
opposite sides of the school grounds] because when the cleaners leave they turn
all the lights out. It is pitch black in this school. I said no way will anyone be
walking up [to the OSHC building] from down there [the hall]. (Valda,
I2:14/12/04)
Unbeknown to Valda, Michael, President of the P&C, agreed with her about the non-
use of the hall. Not only did the position of the hall make it impractical for the OSHC
service to use, it had no toilets (Janine I:07/03/05; Michael I:12/08/05) so the hall
would not meet the licensing requirements as a venue for OSHC activities. Regular
rental bookings would also make the hall not viable as an OSHC venue. Michael was
anticipating that the hall would generate income for the school from rental
opportunities (Michael, I:12/08/05). He was expecting that community groups or
activities such as martial arts or dancing would be encouraged to hire the hall on a
weekly basis, rendering the space unavailable for OSHC.
In relation to the use of the newly constructed hall, Valda’s suspicions about the
impracticalities of using the hall were linked to her experience in relation to the
proffered use of other parts of the school. Previously, Greg and Madonna had indicated
to Valda that the service could use extra available space such as the art and music
rooms (Valda, I1:22/10/04; Greg, I:01/11/04; Madonna, I:07/03/05). They had been
offered the space; and then school activities were booked in the rooms. A security
system was also installed which prevented OSHC from using the venue. On the OSHC
licensing application to the Department of Communities, the music room was listed as
space available for use by the OSHC service (Greg, I:01/11/04). The OSHC facility
was built beside the music room. However the key and the security code for music
room were not provided so the service was unable to use the space. Further, while
OSHC was operating in the afternoon, the music room was in use for other school
related activities (Valda I1:22/10/04; Currajong, PO5:08/03/05). In reality the space
was not available to the OSHC service but it had been stated on the official licensing
application that it was. The opportunity to use the hall could potentially follow the
same pattern. Greg and Madonna exhibited seemingly limited understanding about the
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need for consistent, regular space for the service, which made their commitment to the
service appear shallow.
The principals had placed themselves as the conduit between Valda and the
P&C. Valda’s brief monthly meeting with the principal and the P&C executive was
orchestrated by Greg or Madonna. Valda’s sense that the P&C Association was driving
the financial agenda was misconstrued. The interview with P&C President, Michael,
created an alternative perspective about the management of the finances at Currajong.
An interview with Michael was finally forthcoming, ten months after my initial request
to the principal to contact the P&C president. Michael presented a contrary
understanding about the financial affairs of the OSHC service:
I have to learn about [the finances] with the after school care because it is a
non-profit organisation. Well they [OSHC] possibly pay a rent, which you
would have to do anyway, but everything else would have to go back into it
[OSHC]. It would either be wages or toys, excursions, whatever, but I am not
sure. (Michael, I:12/08/05)
Michael’s response to a question about budget and financial management of the OSHC
by the P&C portrayed a limited understanding of and involvement in the administrative
affairs.
Valda’s initiative and administrative skills to secure the sustainability and
viability of the service were used by the school principal to enhance the income and
further the activities of the school, rather than sustain the identity of the OSHC service.
In offering support to OSHC, the principal was able to secure income to bolster the
financial position of the school. Greg had to manage the communication effectively
with Valda to ensure the continuation of the service. In the first interview Greg
described Valda as a friend stating: “She knows very well she is a friend as well as a
colleague” (Greg, I:01/11/04). He had to engage in consensual communication with
Valda in such a way that she felt like she was being understood, but not so much that
she developed her own identity to the point where she no longer felt obligated to the
school. The relationship between the OSHC service and the school, the coordinator and
the principal had altered since the OSHC service was first established.
The focus on economic issues (money) and the bureaucracy of the mandated
legislation for the administration of OSHC had dislodged the communication processes
between stakeholders. Habermas’ (1984) communicative action theory suggests that
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different roles within the circumstances undertaken by individuals generate different
communicative actions. As more children and families attended OSHC services, there
was a need for more strategic management. Further, as management of the service
varied with the onset of licensing and accreditation demands, the context in which
coordinators communicated with principals altered. This experience could be likened to
the stretched relationships between the services and auspicing bodies in British OSHC
services after the introduction of regulations (Petrie, 1996). Petrie (1996) stated the
auspicing bodies were only concerned with the actual provision of the service rather
than with the practices involved the service. The relationship between the OSHC
service and the school changed to become one of consumer (Kemmis, 1998) as the
operation of the service was deemed to consume resources from the school. It was not
the P&C, the licensee of the service that was designated as a consumer but rather
Valda, the staff and the children. Valda had to rely on the school principal to ensure
that the physical location of the OSHC service met the Child Care Regulations (2003).
The legitimacy proffered by the OSHC licensing and accreditation was consuming the
identity of the OSHC service and making it a low priority within the management of
the school. Valda’s circumstances changed in relation to her responsibility for the
operation of the OSHC. As the external requirements of the state system for child care
and OSHC became more stringent, Valda questioned the sincerity and accuracy of Greg
and Madonna’s communication with her. Previously she had accepted the interactions
without question.
The capacity for self reflection and self organisation are qualities that have the
potential to alter the life circumstances of individuals and groups to help them develop
their own collective identity (Habermas, 1987b; Kemmis, 1998). However, Valda had
limited professional experiences and training, and the OSHC sector itself is under-
professionalised (Elliott, 2006; Misko, 2003). These two features hindered Valda’s
capacity to engage in self reflection and review the actions of the principal from other
perspectives, which meant that he was able to maintain hegemonic power over the
OSHC service.
The principal’s ability to act in financial matters was a powerful source of
dominance and restricted Valda’s ability to be completely involved in the management
of the service. Drawing the financial assets away from the OSHC service meant that
Valda’s power base (money) was withdrawn and her ability to participate in the
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administration of the OSHC was reduced. Valda’s motivation to be involved lessened
as the opportunity to build a collective identity for OSHC diminished (Valda,
I2:14/12/04) because she was unable to take risks and make decisions for the OSHC
service. As Snow (2001) points out, when one is marginalised it is not possible to
operate effectively within society’s systems. Valda’s intent was to provide a safe place
for children while their parents worked. Greg’s interactions with the OSHC service
were motivated by securing financial support to underwrite the activities of the school.
Distorted communication occurred when Valda’s sense of responsibility for the care of
children and the intention to provide a safe place for children, whose parents were
unable to collect them at the end of the school day, clashed with Greg’s purpose to use
the OSHC service to generate an additional source of income to underwrite goals for
the school (Valda, I1:22/10/04). The principal and coordinator were unable to engage
in communicative action that pursued cooperative activities.
The dysfunctional communication between the principal and the coordinator
was linked to the systems of society that impact on the institutions and individuals that
are required to function within them. Habermas (1987b) suggests that dysfunctionality
occurs when areas of life that are “functionally dependent on social integration, through
values, norms and consensus function” (p. 372), are destroyed by the “systematic
imperatives of economic and administrative subsystems” (p. 373). OSHC supports
child rearing, which has been undervalued by the drive for financial gains and
economic productivity by society. The school principal seemed to undervalued the
upbringing of children undertaken by the OSHC service on behalf of parents and the
wider community because of his overarching desire to secure funds to underwrite
school initiatives. The OSHC coordinator’s drive to gain a collective identity for OSHC
was quashed by the principal in his quest to undertake initiatives such as building a hall
in the school grounds. Principals are able to respond to local initiatives in creating the
educational resources for their schools. However, some of these local initiatives of
educational institutions are not able to be fully funded by the Education Authority.
Dempster (2001) stated that school principals often need to mediate between system
priorities and local demands. The functional systems of society including the
Educational Authority in charge of schools have complex roles and responsibilities for
maintaining society through material and symbolic reproduction (Habermas, 1987b).
These systems have their own priorities and have overlooked activities such as OSHC
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services as significant to material and symbolic reproduction of society (Fraser, 1985),
which makes it difficult for OSHC services to be recognised as belonging and
contributing to the functioning of society.
The difficulties associated with the lack of administrative infrastructure,
shoestring budgets and the varying levels of support from management committees and
sponsors have provided challenges for coordinators striving for a collective identity for
OSHC services (Arnold, 2002; FACS, 2005). The OSHC service found it difficult to be
considered by its own merits. Each of the groups of OSHC stakeholders (management
committees, parents, children, and staff) had their own context for valuing the service
and connecting to their Lifeworld (Habermas, 1984). The social identities of school and
family prevailed as primary sites for the care and education of children. The OSHC
service had emerged from different historical and social circumstances to schools and
the family, so it was difficult for the OSHC to develop a collective identity when it was
linked to these other two groups. The limited responsibilities attributed to OSHC by the
school and by families had an impact on the difficulties establishing a collective
identity for the service. Moss and Petrie (2002) suggest marginal interest in OSHC
services could be related to the assumptions that services are “temporary and
contingent on parent incapacity” (p. 172). The social responsibility of caring for
children outside the home environment was viewed as a temporary arrangement, as if
women’s participation in the workforce was a short term activity. It was difficult for the
OSHC to be view as a legitimate activity with legitimate responsibilities. Habermas
(1987) states, that without state legislation it is difficult for systems (for example
OSHC) to attain status. The legislative systems provide an authorities framework which
empowers institutions and the individuals who work within them. Historically, there
had not been sustained planning to develop legal and administrative systems for OSHC
which compounded the difficulties for OSHC trying to secure tenancy and a collective
identity for the service (Brennan, 1998; Halpern, 2006; Moss & Petrie, 2002).
The OSHC service has multiple stakeholders and each of them contribute to the
challenges faced by the OSHC coordinator in trying to gain a collective identity. The
challenges Valda faced in relation to securing an identity through the acquisition of an
OSHC venue were one of many circumstances where Valda encountered the
domination of the principal. The attempts by the coordinator, Valda, on behalf of the
OSHC service to create its own collective identity by constructing a building for the
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purpose of OSHC which were squashed by the bureaucratic power of the school
principal. This circumstance was an on-going concern for the OSHC service as the
demand and impetus for OSHC was growing. In the next section I discuss another
example of circumstances where Greg prioritised the needs of the school over the
OSHC service.
Dilemma of Non-Compliance to Requirements: Multiple Obligations
There is a consistently high and growing demand for OSHC services (QDoC, 2004). In
order to meet this demand by encouraging services to increase the number of places,
the Commonwealth government initially increased the number of funded places and
then removed the capping of the numbers of families eligible for child care benefits in
OSHC services (FACSIA, 2004). However, in Queensland, the building arrangements
associated with licensing of places have not been able to keep up with the high demand.
Consequently, there are large numbers of children who are not able to attend OSHC
services including before school care, after school care and vacation care (FACSIA,
2004). As a result, even at the end of the 2004 school year, Currajong OSHC service
had a waiting list that contained names of children from various year levels who
wanted a place (Valda, I1:22/10/04; I2:14/12/04). In this section I examine the dilemma
faced by Valda as she was torn between prioritising obligations to Currajong School
and to the government system for the child care sector.
During the data collection phase, the service was making preparations for the
intake of children in the forthcoming year. The precedence for the intake of children
was directed by the Child Care benefits guidelines which included information about
priority of access to the service (FASCIA, 2005). Parents who used OSHC services
who abided by the priority of access guidelines were eligible to apply for
supplementary funds to help defray child care costs, in the form of Child Care benefits.
More than three-quarters of the families attending Currajong OSHC obtained these
supplementary funds as child care fee relief (Valda, I1:22/10/04). The priority was
children of parents who were working or studying. There was no preference given to
children depending on their age. However, in addressing the Child Care Benefit
guidelines, there was a problem in that the principal intervened in the intake
placements. So, while Valda was directed to place children in the service in a strict
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order of need, the principal often attempted to override this with his own personal
priority system. Valda described the task involved in filling vacancies from the waiting
list, and the principal’s intervention:
We go down through the thing [FACSIA guidelines], a child in crisis, single
working parent, double working parent, all the way like that but the principal
likes the Grade One’s in. And so I try and make sure I get all the Grade One’s
in. (Valda, I2:14/12/04)
In this situation, Valda took directions from the school principal. Even though Valda
used the word ‘like’ to describe the principal’s instructions, this word had been used on
several other occasions such as the negotiations around the placement of the OSHC
building. The word ‘like’ represented a strong preference for the activity. Valda
appeared to respond to the principal’s ‘likes’ in order to gain his support in other
discussions about the operation of the program. The principal’s instructions that Valda
give precedence to the children either in Year One or commencing Year One the
following year meant that she contravened the guidelines provided by the Department
of Family, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. This caused Valda to express
ethical concerns about filling vacancies. As Habermas (1987b) notes, the potential for
dysfunctional communication is rife when there is tension between the demands of the
legal systems of the state in the form of “welfare-state interventionist regulations” and
“the framework of a school constitution” (p. 372). During a previous interview, Valda
had confided: “Greg (Principal) likes the Grades One in. So I do that as a favour to the
school. By rights I do not have to, I have to go by what the government says … I
squeeze in the Grade Ones” (Valda, I1:22/10/04). Valda’s comments suggest that she
was obligated to the school rather than the system of government.
Valda was aware that the OSHC service was used as a marketing tool to
families contemplating sending their children to the school. During the interview with
Greg, he indicated that sometimes school enrolment is contingent on access to OSHC
services. He said “there is often some discussion about how they can bring their
children to the school but not have OSHC” (Greg, I:01/11/04). Sustaining school
numbers is important to Greg to ensure that his position as principal of the school is a
continuing appointment and that other resources such as support staff are maintained.
The Year One intake is integral to sustaining the school numbers. In the year prior to
entry to Year One, Greg invited local families to visit the school to attend an
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orientation session to Year One and to the school, generally. This activity is conducted
in the OSHC building. Greg promoted the OSHC service during this session. Valda was
asked to contribute and “talk about outside school hours care” (Valda I2:14/12/04).
However, Valda no longer did this as she had taken on the responsibility of caring for
the children while the principal talked to the parents (Valda, I2:14/12/04). Prospective
Year One parents have access to the OSHC coordinator, which is orchestrated by the
principal. Parents could assume that access to the OSHC service is through the school
enrolment process.
This process contrasts with Gifford’s (1992) discussion paper Early Childhood
in Australian Schools: Future Directions, commissioned by the Schools Council of the
National Board of Employment, Education and Training. Gifford (1992) recommended
that school principals distance themselves from arrangements for child care for children
attending their schools. She stated that “schools must get their own house in order
before attempting to solve other problems” (Gifford, 1992, p. iii). Gifford (1992) was
referring to the need for schools to ensure that appropriate learning environments were
provided for children. For Gifford (1992), the ‘problem’ when parents were unable to
collect their children at the end of the school was a community issue. The introduction
of licensing created some contestation of responsibility for the State Education
Authority and the Department of Communities. In 2005, a Memorandum of Agreement
was signed by the Directors General of Education and Community Services. The State
Education Authority had indicated that principals were not to manage OSHC services.
However since April 2007 they are to “have a responsibility to remain aware of the
licensee's accountabilities for ensuring the license requirements are met” (Education
Queensland, 2007, p. 3).
Questions could be asked about why Valda feels compelled to take the risk and
follow the principal’s direction rather than comply with a mandated requirement. In
being influenced to take her directions from Greg, Valda could be described as acting
as a member of the Currajong school staff, required to follow instructions from the
school principal. In this circumstance it appears that Valda deferred to the principal, as
she indicated that both the principal and the acting principal exerted pressure on her to
accept enrolments in OSHC, and they made requests to take children even when the
service was full (Valda I1:22/10/04; I2:14/12/04). Each time during data collection
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discussions about enrolment processes, the expectations for Year One children were
mentioned by Valda:
I also need to put all the Grade [Year] ones in. So that is what I say, if you are
Grade one and you are a working parent ... I have two other days when I can fit
one more in. I had to go up and tell him [principal] that [I could not take
anymore children]. (Currajong, PO4:08/12/04)
In relation to the mandated requirements for indoor space, the OSHC building could
not accommodate 70 children. However, according to Valda, in the following year
there were more Year One children to come in and no one was leaving the group:
“Next year I’ve got 70 on one day, and I’ve got 68 and 69 just to get all the grade [year]
one’s in” (Valda, I2:14/12/04). She was unable to ask families with older children to
leave the service, relinquishing their spaces for younger children. Valda had
compromised work conditions and quality of the OSHC service to ensure that the Year
One children were assigned a place in the OSHC service. Weiler (1988) reports that for
practitioners who work with children there is the potential to “internalise male
hegemony” that leads them to devalue their own worth (p. 89). For an oppressed group,
such as child care workers, Osgood (2006b) states there are difficulties retaining “self
belief and confidence in their practice” (p. 11). These workers do not have the
assurance to assert themselves in interactions with other stakeholders. The inability to
assert themselves places the workers in compromising situations where they are unable
to make moral and legal decisions (Habermas, 1984) that inform their practice.
The principal, Greg, placed Valda in a very awkward ethical situation by
requesting that the Year One children were accommodated by the service. Greg seemed
oblivious to compliance with the regulations and the FACSIA guidelines. His control
over the enrolment process suggested that he saw the OSHC as an extension of the
school and part of his jurisdiction. Greg did not appear to consider the regulations for
another government department as pertaining to him and the operation of the OSHC
service. He saw the service as being required to operate within the boundaries of the
educational administration. To Greg, these requirements allowed lots of scope for
interpretation. This was a further example of the distorted communication that occurred
between the coordinator and the principal that unsettled the collective identity of the
OSHC service. The power of the school principal was able to draw the OSHC service
into the precedence of the school for priorities of access to the OSHC service rather
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than the guidelines decreed by the Commonwealth government for priority of access to
an OSHC service.
Valda was employed by Currajong P&C and yet she seemed more concerned
about her working relationship with Greg, the principal, than her relationship with her
employers. She was prepared to take risks, such as non-compliance with the intake
guidelines, to ensure that Greg would continue to support her, on occasions such as
P&C meetings when she requested funds to purchase new equipment such as a
television. Valda felt compelled to do him a “favour” in return for the support he
afforded her. In subsequent meetings with Valda, it was apparent that she relied on
Greg’s support in meetings held with the executive of the P&C (Valda I1:22/10/04;
I2:14/12/04). Valda needed Greg to advocate on her behalf at the meetings. She
described his support at the monthly P&C meetings:
I find it good that I can go there and I can talk to them about things and you
know, because sometimes there’s the clashes of personality … Greg is always
there and he usually understands what I’m trying to get across. And so if they’re
trying to block ideas, he’ll try and push it through for me. (Valda, I1:22/10/04)
Valda appears to have confidence in Greg’s understanding of her circumstances. It may
be that at these meetings Greg and Valda are allies for each other. Greg could possibly
use Valda to direct the situation so that it advantages his ideas. When Valda started
working in the OSHC facility she was a parent of Currajong State School and had
limited vocational and educational expertise in operating child care facilities (Valda
I1:22/10/04). As there was limited information about the administration of OSHC
services (Arnold, 2002; Finlason, 2004), Greg may have been able to develop Valda’s
dependency on him and his position in the school setting. More recently Greg had
asked Valda to submit paperwork outlining her program. Greg reported:
I said it would be nice if you [Valda] provided me with a like a variation of
school routine form like the teachers do over the vacation care. She actually
gives me an A4 page now with all the sorts of things she is doing. (Greg,
I:01/11/04)
At the time there were no mandatory requirements for OSHC programs to be given to
school principals, yet Valda unquestioningly complied with Greg’s request. In this way
Valda’s sense of professional identity in OSHC services was being shaped by the
school principal.
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Breaches in following the FACSIA guidelines could result in the OSHC service
being removed from the list of services where parents were eligible for child care
benefits (FACSIA, 2006). If the Currajong service was reported as breaching these
guidelines, the capacity to operate the service would be jeopardised, and the local
families’ access to OSHC services would be further limited. This could be seen as
directly contravening Valda’s responsibility as an employee of the P&C, which is to
place children according to the Child Care benefit guidelines. Valda seemed to rely on
the principal and the school to sustain an identity of the OSHC service rather that the
Commonwealth government child care policies and guidelines. The management of the
priority of access guidelines for children to the OSHC service was hijacked by the
principal. The principal’s intervention resulted in non-compliance to the mandated
access guidelines for OSHC services and communicated his strategic intent (Habermas,
1984) about the collective identity of the OSHC service being shaped by the school.
Strategic Communication of the Principal Shapes Identity
Differentiating between the conceptual frameworks of interactions in which OSHC
coordinators and school principals engage provides insight into the knowledge
production or meaning making intended as a consequence of the interaction (Habermas,
1984). The validity of the communication acts shapes the transmission of cultural
knowledge, socialisation and social integration critical to the membership by social
groups (Habermas, 1984) such as OSHC to society. During the interviews and visits to
the setting it appeared that Valda undertook most of the management associated with
the service (Currajong, PO1:25/10/04; PO5:08/03/05). The school and the P&C knew
very little about the legislation and the management of the OSHC and relied on Valda
for this. Valda described management work she undertook at the request of the
principal:
He wanted an audit done for licensing purposes and he gave it to me. And he
said to me I wanted to talk to you about this. … I looked through it and it is
quite extensive and I do [did] not know anything about it and I said give it to the
P&C. They’re our sponsoring body. They are supposed to know everything.
Get them to do it. That was 7 o’clock in the morning and I came up here, and I
was lucky cause most of it I knew anyway. I had the plans, and funding
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[information]. I had all that in a separate drawer and at 9 o’clock when I left I
raced it down to him. (Valda, PO1:25/10/04).
Valda provided Greg with technical information about the service. This technical
knowledge was only one type of knowledge about the service and was not the kind of
interaction that would alter the principal’s sense of the validity of the OSHC service
(Habermas, 1984).
As well as the technical information that formed the basis of interaction Greg and
Valda also engaged in interactions Greg said “I think that it’s great that the co-
coordinator … and I are close and we work closely together” (Greg, I1/11/04). Greg
had actually asked Valda not to leave the OSHC service while he was principal
(FN:22/10/04). On a number of occasions the OSHC service was described as having a
dependency on the school (Janine, I:07/03/05; Valda I1:22/10/04). Valda appeared to
be submissive to the authority of the principal and was willing to follow his directives,
even if there were severe consequences. Accordingly, Greg referred to Valda as a
member of his staff when he said “Valda is very much part of my staff here” (Greg,
1:1/11/04). He compounded this notion when he referred to Valda as “being a good
teacher herself but not a teacher” and as “the line supervisor” of the staff in OSHC
(Greg, I:1/11/04). From Greg’s perspective these references situate Valda as part of the
staff of the school and not an identity in her own right. Greg interprets Valda’s
responsibility from the perspective of the Education Authority and not the Department
of Communities framework of which he is not a member: “I don’t see it as checking up
on her like I do with my teaching staff” (Greg, I:1/11/04). Greg sees himself as in
charge of the P&C, and subsequently, Valda as employee of the P&C is an employee of
the school. Greg, as principal, drives the chain of command.
The regular turnover of the office bearers of the P&C meant that Greg and
Valda were the constants, and that they needed to work together. It is no surprise that
Valda felt like she owed Greg favours because he was involved with P&C and with her
– he was the constant conduit for communication so she needed him to help her. The
P&C may change but the school principal is a more stable position, and that is who
Valda needed to develop communication with – but it is strategic communication.
Historically, the P&C had initiated OSHC but the development and maintenance of the
service, particularly since the introduction of licensing and accreditation, had rested
with Valda. The school principal and the school are valued due to cultural, social and
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economic imperatives inherent in the social system (Habermas, 1987b) and therefore
will dominate because they are characterised as a norm. OSHC has a very remote
chance of gaining its own collective identity because it is reliant on the traditional
structure and systems of the school to sustain the environment in which it exists and
operates. The OSHC coordinator can not operate the OSHC service without the support
of the school. Simultaneously it is the relationship with the school that is a barrier to the
OSHC service emerging with a collective identity.
Greg and Valda appear to rely on each other to achieve their own ends.
However Greg’s influence was more enduring than Valda’s. He had led her to believe
that they had a mutual relationship but there were certain strategic actions such as
remarks about the OSHC building, the notion of being the ‘site manager’, and the status
the school principal has with parents that suggested that in Greg’s view, the OSHC
service was not a collective identity in its own right. Its identity was shaped by the
school. Valda was aware that she needed Greg’s support. He had been helpful in the
acquisition of the purpose-built facility, and she needed him onside if she was to
expand and build again. From Valda’s perspective, the relationship between
coordinator and principal needed to remain as it was if she was to negotiate extensions
for the OSHC facility. However I wonder if the cost of this was that Valda lost her
sense of identity and the collective identity of the OSHC service. As the OSHC service
expanded it had became more entrenched in the operation of the school.
The principal intervened in the management of the OSHC and unsettled the
collective identity of the OSHC service. At this site the principal’s communicative
actions with the OSHC coordinator reduced the opportunities for the OSHC service to
operate independently of the school and consolidate operations in its own right. The
principal, Greg, exhibited strategic actions that were designed to achieve his goals for
managing the school. In doing so Greg marginalised the responsibilities of the OSHC
which contributed to marginalising the identity of the OSHC service. For Valda, the
building and the management of priority of access represented strategies that
contributed to establishing the collective identity of the OSHC service and its ability to
operate as an independent organisation. However Greg did not view the OSHC service
in the same way.
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Summary
Without effective communication, sharing the knowledge required to
operationalise activities such as OSHC is undermined. The process is even more
distorted when there is a range of stakeholders involved in the communicative action,
such as the circumstance for OSHC. The collective identity of OSHC is a complex mix
of ideas and actions as it involves a variety of stakeholders, whose roles in OSHC
services are multilayered. OSHC serves both children and their parents; or put another
way OSHC provides a service to parents for their children. The management of
services rely on a number of other individuals with vested interests in the potential of
the OSHC to generate economic returns. The multiple perceptions of OSHC in the
external world make it difficult to consolidate and justify the collective identity of
services and the individuals who work within the sector. Subsequently, the pathology
of these circumstances is such that OSHC services experienced a loss of collective
identity, and the circumstances reinforced their activities as not being as legitimate as
other activities in children’s daily experiences of school.
On the surface the role of school principal was not acknowledged in the
hierarchy of administrative procedures in the licensing legislation (Child Care Act
2002) or in the Child Care Quality Assurance process (NCAC, 2002). The regulatory
and accreditation requirements for OSHC services of the Australian and State
governments did not explicate a definitive role for the school principal (Child Care Act,
2002; FACS, 2005; NCAC, 2002). Greg and Dylan, the respective principals, were not
directly responsible for any part of the OSHC services. However as services were
physically located on school sites, by default the principal had to be involved.
The principal and acting principal of Currajong School have been afforded roles
as significant players in the delivery of the OSHC service. Even though they were not
in a mandated position of responsibility for the day to day management, they have been
able to dominate the OSHC services in many ways. The interactions between the
coordinators and principals were shallow and strategic. Generally, the interactions were
a technical form (Habermas, 1984) where the speaker coerced the hearer rather than
achieved consensual understandings. The OSHC service has been shaped by the
principals who may be operating in the name of democracy and justice but the
legitimacy and the preservation of the identity of the OSHC was challenged (Habermas,
1987b). The hegemonic power of the principals has meant that the operation of the
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OSHC service was filled with contradiction and tension. OSHC services are not
deemed to be the core business by these school principals. They concern themselves
with OSHC when they feel it advantages their circumstances, for example, where it
provides additional income for the school budget. The financial value to the school of
OSHC motivated the interactions between the principal and the coordinator. However
the coordinator did not have the same priority in her communications with the
principal, which resulted in dysfunctional communication (Honneth, 1999). The
steering of money and bureaucratic power (Habermas, 1984) added a complexity to the
interactions between these individuals and reduced the potential for achieving
consensual understanding. The principal reduced the potential of the OSHC coordinator
and service to attain their own collective identity as individuals and as a group. Instead
the coordinator was made to feel marginalised and alienated. More examples of the
domination of principals in other interactions are examined in the following chapter.
Postscript
While I was in the final stages of documenting this study Valda had applied to the P&C
Committee to take her long service leave in the following year. Valda reported that the
P&C had responded with some hesitation. She was concerned that the hesitation related
to financial arrangements. The money in the OSHC account to fund her long service
was not available as it had been used to finance the hall and subsequently the P&C did
not have the funds required to hire replacement staff and support Valda on her leave.
During the past seventeen years of the service, the responsibilities of the administrative
arrangements had fluctuated between various stakeholders. The lack of legitimacy and
collective identity attributed to OSHC services contributed to insecure employment
practices for the coordinator and staff and therefore made them vulnerable to unfair
work conditions. (Currajong, FN:20/11/07)
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CHAPTER 7: ALIENATION OF OSHC
The communicative actions of the stakeholders in OSHC services, particularly the
coordinators and principals, have deeply rooted ramifications for the functionality of
OSHC. Failure to reach consensus in communication with each other about the
operation and management of OSHC impacts on the ability to deliver service. In the
previous chapters I have discussed the withdrawal of legitimation and the unsettling of
collective identity that are the outcomes of distorted communication. These two
pathologies contribute to, and are compounded by a third pathology, alienation.
Alienation of OSHC services occurred when the school principal had
difficulties understanding and adapting to the uniqueness of the OSHC service. This
manifests in the OSHC service being treated in isolation from the school setting in
which it is located and may result in the OSHC coordinators and staff being treated as
outsiders by the principal and the teaching staff. Subsequently, alienation limits the
ability of the OSHC coordinator to access aspects of the physical venue and resources
required to operate an effective OSHC service. There were many examples throughout
the data collected at Currajong and Jarrah where the OSHC service was estranged from
the school setting and community in which it was situated.
In this chapter, the data from Jarrah College are examined to show how the
sense of alienation impacted on the coordinator and impaired the functionality of
OSHC services. The inadequacy of the arrangements for the use of physical space and
resources created dilemmas for the OSHC coordinator and the OSHC staff. The first
section of this chapter examines the venues for co-location of children’s services. The
chapter then draws on three examples from Jarrah College where the OSHC service
was alienated due to the physical location of the service in classrooms. Finally, the
chapter concludes with a discussion about changing social responsibilities and the
impact of this on membership of the school community.
Relocating the OSHC service: aliens in matching uniforms
Whitney experienced many challenges solving the problems associated with OSHC and
the school operating from the same space in the building. This section illustrates how
OSHC services are made to feel like outsiders. I examine the distress faced by Whitney
at Jarrah OSHC as she attempted to sustain the operation of the OSHC service when
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she was expected to move the OSHC venue on a regular basis. The principal’s request
that the service be relocated at the end of each school term and during the vacation
periods created significant dilemmas for the OSHC coordinator. The rooms were
constantly in use, transitioning from OSHC to school use and back to OSHC. The
physical requirements for operating a large OSHC service were immense, and they had
become more prescriptive with the legislated building standards in the Queensland
Development Code required by the Child Care Act, 2002. In conjunction with these
mandated rules for the physical space, Whitney had to broker the needs and interests of
multiple stakeholders to ensure that each room was suitably prepared for OSHC.
Whitney had to abide by the requirements of the school administration policies and
procedures for use of buildings and equipment, the principal’s requirements to relocate
regularly, and the teachers’ personal preferences for classroom layouts. One preschool
teacher left a note for Whitney six days prior to the end of the vacation, requesting that
the OSHC children not move furniture or touch any equipment (Jarrah, FN:08/04/04).
This was a strategic communicative action (Habermas, 1984). This was an impossible
situation for the 80 children attending OSHC who were housed in the two preschool
classrooms. The preschool teacher’s communication was not able to be received by
Whitney in a manner that achieved consensual understanding. Whitney was not able to
abide the teacher’s request due to the OSHC activities. In essence the teacher would
have knowledge about the kinds of activities OSHC would need to undertake for the
holiday program. The communication was more than an instruction; it was a concealed
strategic action by the preschool teacher (Habermas, 1984). The note, “oriented
towards success” (Habermas, 1984) conveyed her attitude that OSHC was very
unwelcome in the classroom. Similarly, Seligson and Allenson (1993) described
circumstances where the OSHC staff and children felt unwelcome using the designated
classroom space.
The demands of the quality assurance standards in relation to OSHC programs
require that a diverse selection of activities is offered to children (NCAC, 2002).
Whitney was unable to set up the OSHC space with a wide choice of activities for the
children due to the restrictions placed on the use of space, equipment and resources
(Whitney, I1:08/04/05; I2:28/07/05). These dilemmas were compounded by the
limitations of achieving quality practices when coordinating an OSHC service with
transient staffing and physical resources. The expectations for the achievement of the
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accreditation standards (NCAC, 2002) are a challenge for OSHC coordinators like
Whitney in services in school settings. The coordinators will need to achieve
consensual understandings or be in the position of being able to direct strategic
communication (Habermas, 1984) to achieve outcomes that favour the OSHC service.
These accreditations standards are very difficult to achieve in circumstances where
participants are estranged from the core systemic activity.
When observing within the service I noticed that the children remained in their
uniform during OSHC and that OSHC staff wore the same corporate uniform as other
staff at the school. This provided a visual continuity between the OSHC service and
other parts of the schooling activities. The visual image of continuity between the
OSHC service and the school contrasted with the alienating comments and behaviours
of the teaching staff and the principal which marginalised the OSHC service. A daily
example of the stark contrast was the OSHC children, some of whom were in the same
classroom that they were in during school hours were using a container filled with
coloured pens. Thirty minutes earlier these children had been selecting pencils and pens
from containers on the collage trolley. This trolley was now covered with a sheet and
children were told not to use the drawing materials. These physical restrictions
conveyed an unwelcome attitude.
At Jarrah College, the burden of the service was viewed as an inconvenience to
the teaching staff. The Jarrah OSHC was co-located in the preschool classrooms. The
OSHC service had been operating in the preschool classrooms since its inception in
1989 (see Figure 4.4. Timeline of key developments for Jarrah OSHC service, Chapter
4). There was no waiting list for places. The children service spilled over into
neighbouring classrooms if the physical location became too crowded. The preschool
classroom teachers and the associated teacher aides had expressed their displeasure
about sharing space and resources to the primary principal, Dylan, when he was
appointed to take over the role as Head of Primary two years previously (Dylan,
I2:14/11/05; Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05). In order to deal with what the principal saw as
being a burden to the rest of the teaching staff, he decided to move the OSHC program
so that it was not located in one place. He said:
When I got here it [OSHC] was always just in the preschool classrooms. What I
tried to do subsequently is share it around. Now it is in kindergarten [Early
Learning], Preschool and Year 1 [rooms] in the morning and afternoon, so it is a
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shared resource. … In the holidays we actually move it to a different building,
so we use B building, D building. … We actually involve the Years Fours,
Fives, and Sixes [classrooms] because it is my belief that it [OSHC] should be
shared. (Dylan, I1:11/04/05)
Whitney, the coordinator, had no say in this decision. Dylan had supported the teaching
staff’s complaints that they did not want the service to use their classrooms, reporting
that “ideally any classroom teacher likes their space” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). Moreover,
Dylan said,
The teachers in a particular area at least get 6 months off (if I can use that term)
from school care... It is my belief that it should be shared as it is such a sizeable
program … teachers sharing the load of it. And it needs to be moved around and
I have made a conscious effort to do that. (my emphasis) (Dylan, I1:11/04/05)
Dylan’s use of the word off reinforces the notion that OSHC is viewed as an extra, an
alien to the circumstances of school. In this way the teachers and the principal alike
viewed the service as a foreign endeavour that was not compatible with the activity of
schooling in which they were engaged (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05, PO2:18/04/05,
PO3:05/05/05). Dylan’s strategic communication about giving the teachers a break
from sharing with the OSHC service has a double meaning (Habermas, 1987b). This
circumstance reinforces the image of OSHC as being outside the school community,
and being regarded outside the social group and makes it difficult for OSHC to stabilise
its collective identity (Habermas, 1987b).
The OSHC service was seen as an activity attached to the school like an
appendage. The teachers did not appear to see any links between their teaching and
OSHC; instead they saw the services as an intrusion within their space. The school was
viewed as ‘privileged and dominant’ in relation to the OSHC service (Moss & Petrie,
2002; Petrie, 2003; Seligson, 1999) and the teachers did not consider the OSHC service
as part of the school setting (Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05; Whitney, I1:08/04/05). Whenever
there were double bookings for the classroom, for example, parent teacher interviews
after school, it was always the OSHC service that had to make alternative arrangements
even though they were the group who had the building permanently booked for the
whole year. The OSHC service was moved to accommodate teachers having individual
meetings with sets of parents (Whitney, I1:08/04/05). Groups of children attending
OSHC were shifted outside to allow a teacher to use the classroom to meet with one or
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two parents at ten minute intervals. It appeared that more staff and children in OSHC
were inconvenienced with the shifting of the service than the teacher and parents. The
role of the OSHC to children and families was trivialised (Habermas, 1984) and
distanced from the day to day operations of the school.
Dylan pronounced he was pleased with the initiative of shifting the service
around the school for two reasons (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). First, he stated that it promoted
the size and significance of the service to the teaching staff in the school. Second, he
stated that moving the service around gave the teachers a break from having to share
their classroom. Dylan said: “I think the fact that now I have moved it around the
campus has given people a greater appreciation of the scope of the program” (Dylan,
I1:11/04/05). From his position, Dylan moved the service regularly to placate the
teaching staff and to promote the OHSC service. The antagonism towards the OSHC
service exhibited by teachers was not defused by constant movement. One teacher
blamed the OSHC service for her inability to find her sunglasses (Jarrah,
PO3:05/05/05). If anything the constant moving of the services reinforced the sense
that it was something that had to be suffered. It also emphasised the temporary state of
the service in that it could be moved so easily (in the Principal’s eyes). Gammage
(2003) points out that OSHC venues are “facilities sometimes grudgingly provided” (p.
2). This negative connotation permeated the relationship and the communicative action
(Habermas, 1984) between Jarrah OSHC service and the school, and between the
coordinator and the school principal. The OSHC was viewed as an isolated activity,
disconnected from the school community.
The unsettling of collective identity (Habermas, 1987b) of Currajong OSHC
service and its coordinator, Valda, (Chapter 6) has relevance to Whitney’s
circumstances. Whitney’s sense of identity was squashed by the inability to convey
ideas. Without the opportunities to express concerns it was difficult for coordinators to
negotiate better conditions for themselves, staff and children. The strategies and tactics
used by OSHC coordinators to ensure that suitable physical space was made available
to house the children were generally concealed from children and the parents. Treating
the OSHC service as a foreign body meant that the principal and the teaching staff
could retain their domination of the physical settings. If Dylan offered honest, mutual
support to the OSHC service, perhaps his own professional identity could have been
jeopardised, or perhaps the control he had over the resources would have diminished.
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Dylan’s leadership contributed to the tone of the communicative action between the
stakeholders (Habermas, 1984). Because OSHC is a recent addition to social systems it
is difficult for people to think of it as in similar ways to other institutions such as
schools. The changing nature of society, women working and family forms have
pushed the prominence of OSHC.
From Whitney’s perspective, Dylan’s decision to move the service every term
was difficult for her to implement and it had the reverse effect to Dylan’s intentions.
After she complied with Dylan’s orders to move the OSHC equipment and resources a
couple of times, she asked for support due to the difficulties of supervising children
while moving resources and of requiring OSHC staff to work unpaid overtime to
complete the relocation of equipment (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). Dylan suggested that
Whitney employ additional OSHC staff to help with moving equipment (Whitney,
I2:28/07/05). The verbal interactions between Dylan and Whitney were tense. This
difficult relationship meant that mutual understanding (Habermas, 1984) about the
requirements for the operation of the OSHC was difficult. Without legal frameworks
guiding the organisation of OSHC, Whitney relied on Dylan sense of moral
responsibility to drive the actions towards consensual rather than strategic action as the
outcome of communication (Habermas, 1984). The distorted communication limited
the possibilities of the OSHC service being seen as a legitimate operation within the
school.
The contextual arrangements embracing speech acts are critical to rationalising
the intent of communication (Habermas, 1987b). Habermas suggests that to reach
mutual understanding the linguistic rules on which communicative action is based need
to be free from domination (Honneth, 1999). The linguistic rules include the four
domains in the communication act (Habermas, 1984; Wuthnow et al., 1991) as
mentioned in Chapter 3. These domains – language, the internal world of the speaker,
world of society (norms) and world of external nature (Habermas, 1984) have the
potential to alter the opportunities for speakers to understand each other. Speakers with
different social norms or knowledge about the systems in society will find it hard to
find common ground for consensual understanding. Further, if one individual
dominates the other, the internal world of the speaker will alter interpretations of
understandings being communicated. Hence Dylan’s interactions with Whitney could
manifest in his indifference to the circumstances of OSHC. Dylan and Whitney
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potentially have different understandings about OSHC as a site in which the
socialisation, social integration and cultural reproduction of society occurs. Whitney’s
domains for communication acts (Habermas, 1984) include understandings that OSHC
is an important social norm for some families (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). Without OSHC
there could be potentially negative consequences for the school. Lack of an OSHC
service was a barrier for parents to resume or remain in the workforce. For some
parents at Jarrah College, the inability to work had a direct impact on their ability to
pay school fees for their children’s attendance at Jarrah College. Dylan had a different
framework of domains for communicative acts (Habermas, 1984) from Whitney as
evidenced by his understanding that children did not need a consistent site for OSHC,
whereas Whitney believed that children need a regular space for OSHC to help them
feel safe and secure in the environment. Habermas (1987b) describes the situation of
autonomous functioning of systems in societies as an uncoupling of the System and the
Lifeworld where the dynamic of social life is at risk of being dysfunctional because the
development and reproduction of the Lifeworld is impaired. Without Dylan and
Whitney recognising that they each had a different set of domains for communicative
acts, the circumstances for dysfunctional communication existed (Habermas, 1984,
1987b).
Dysfunctional communication has the potential to reduce the quality of the
experiences for the OSHC service within the structure of its social circumstance. It was
difficult for the OSHC to achieve self-preservation as a legitimate social structure
(Habermas, 1987b) when interactions by some stakeholders were intent on isolating the
OSHC. The principal’s comments and commitment can also influence what others
think about OSHC (Miller, 2001). Dylan’s comments had the potential to reduce
opportunities for social membership and further marginalise OSHC from the school
community and wider society. Three examples of the ways in which the OSHC service
was alienated are discussed in the following section. These examples were drawn from
the daily operations of the OSHC service.
Daily shifts and changes
The OSHC service begins the day in the classroom space only to have it closed down to
accommodate classroom teaching. In the afternoon the reverse occurs. Moss (2006)
described OSHC as “wrapping” around the time and spaces of venues used as
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classrooms throughout the school day. While Moss and Petrie (2002) contend that
schools and OSHC services could consider innovative ways to collaborate and to
cohabitate, the practical reality is that this does not typically happen. At Jarrah College,
as well as the relocation of the OSHC service to a different group of classrooms every
ten weeks, Whitney had to contend with daily movement of equipment and resources
(Jarrah, FN:02/03/05). This regular repositioning of the service entailed the coordinator
and OSHC staff moving the equipment and resources (most of which was on wheels) at
least twice per day to set up the twice daily sessions of before and after school. The
evidence that an OSHC service was operating in a classroom was totally hidden from
view during the middle of the day.
The daily movement involved a similar level of activity to the regular
relocations at the end of each term. Whitney was constantly planning ways to shift from
venue to venue with the least amount of effort and disruption to the operation of the
OSHC service:
The disadvantage of that is physically moving. It is really a big job but I guess I
have become wiser as to how much to do and about how much to take. When
we started going to the other buildings in the holidays we would take just about
the whole program with us. (Whitney, I2:28/07/05)
For Whitney, the relocation activities also involved negotiating with the teaching staff
about the use of the room and the resources. Typically the resources of the school were
not made available to the OSHC service. During my first visit to a Jarrah Early
Learning Classroom that was used for OSHC, Jodie pointed out the covers on the
equipment so that the OSHC children would not touch the materials that the teacher
had prepared (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). While on this visit, I was escorted by Valmai
(teacher aide) on an orientation tour of the entire Early Learning building. As she
ushered me in to the other classroom in the building she confided “this room has much
more set up in it because it doesn’t have anyone else [OSHC] in it sharing the
materials” (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). Teacher aides from the Jarrah Primary classrooms
covered the furniture such as collage trolleys with large cotton sheets to prevent the
children handling the materials that belonged in classrooms (FN:04/05/05). They also
packed materials away so that they were unable to be touched by the children at OSHC
(FN:04/05/05). These arrangements meant that the coordinator had a great deal of
additional physical work and extra communications sessions with the teaching staff,
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which contributed significantly to her work load. This additional work load contributed
to Whitney’s sense of identity (Honneth, 1999) as being different, less worthy and
without equal rights to other staff in the school setting.
At Jarrah there was constant discussion about the shared arrangements for the
OSHC service. Whitney said: “There wouldn’t be a week go by that someone
[teachers] doesn’t say isn’t it a shame that you [OSHC] don’t have your own building”
(Whitney, I2:28/07/05). She reflected, “then there was the realisation [of] how big the
building would need to be and it was just too hard” (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). More than
twelve percent of the primary school children attended the OSHC service each
afternoon (Jarrah, PO2:18/04/02). The regulations for indoor space for school age care
required “an area of not less than 3.25m² for each child, exclusive of any bathrooms,
washrooms, kitchens, offices, and staff rooms” (Queensland Development Code –
Chapter 22, 2007). Therefore the buildings required to house the indoor program for the
Jarrah OSHC would need to be equivalent to six classrooms if a purpose built space
was erected. These buildings would be vacant during the middle of the day.
Economically it made sense to use the current building spaces for the dual purposes of
classroom teaching and the OSHC program. There were systemic imperatives around
power and money (Habermas, 1987b) that forced the co-location of OSHC in settings
such as schools. However, the comments from the teachers made the OSHC staff feel
uncomfortable about their tenure and occupancy of the classrooms and not unlike the
“The Goldilocks Syndrome or Who’s Been Jumping Around in My Classroom?”
(Seilgson & Allenson, 1993, p. 61), which described how OSHC staff were made to
feel like they were “walk[ing] on eggshells through somebody else’s domain” (p. 61). It
reinforced the notion that OSHC, from the perspective of the teaching staff, did not
belong in the classroom environments.
The daily shifts and the end of term changes of the venue for OSHC relied on
the skills of staff, OSHC assistants and teacher aides, to remember where equipment
and resources were positioned. For ease of operation it was essential that resources and
equipment be easily accessible by children and staff. This meant that equipment and
resources for OSHC and for teaching needed to be in consistent positions within the
classroom. As Jarrah OSHC was a large service and had a staff of 25 workers, the
smooth execution of daily changes was often disrupted by the staffing problems of high
staff turnover, inadequate experience and limited communication opportunities.
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Sabotaged by staffing issues
The instability in staffing the OSHC service created two major problems that
contributed to Whitney’s sense of despair and the alienation of the service. The staffing
issues were related to the difficulties of recruiting and retaining staff (as discussed in
Chapter 5). First, the high turnover of staff contributed to the impression that the OSHC
were outsiders because in the mix of adults, parents, teachers, and OSHC staff in the
setting, it was difficult to work out who was who and what responsibility they had
(Jarrah, PO:05/05/05; 30/05/05). The teachers and newly-recruited OSHC staff found it
difficult to engage in interactions with individuals they did not know or recognise.
These interactions could have led to enhanced mutual understandings about the use of
the space. The second issue was even more problematic for Whitney as she was left
with the responsibility of ensuring the physical space was prepared for the operation of
OSHC, and then returned to the original state ready for the classroom teacher: “You
empty the rubbish bins as well. It is as though we have never been” (Jarrah,
PO2:18/04/05). The resources and the equipment belonging to the OSHC had to be
hidden from view. There was to be no remnants of OSHC left in the classroom. OSHC
as a potential sub-system of society was invisible to the community (Habermas,
1987b). The activities of the school dominated. It was Whitney’s responsibility to
remember idiosyncratic aspects of the classrooms used by the OSHC service. Teachers
expected that all aspects of the classroom would be in exact some position that they left
them. For example the chairs and the desks, the artefacts on display on the top of the
bookshelves and the construction toys in the shelves would be where the teacher had
left them. Then Whitney had to relay this information to the OSHC staff (Whitney,
I2:28/09/05; Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05, PO4:30/05/05). As there was a large number of
OSHC staff it was not always logistically possible to ensure that staff were positioned
in the same classroom so they could remember where resources were located and
stored.
The frustration and the edginess of making sure that everything is back where
you thought it was two weeks ago. The change is tricky. … the interactions with
[OSHC] staff are difficult because not all the [OSHC] staff would realise the
ramifications if things are not put back where they were. (Whitney, I2:
28/09/05; Jarrah, PO4:30/05/05)
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The circumstances were complicated by the teachers who did not always return
equipment to the original position. When teachers could not find objects and equipment
in their classrooms the initial response was accusations of tampering by the OSHC
service (PO4:30/04/05). These accusations made the OSHC feel uncomfortable.
Consequently, the constant moving of equipment and the turnover of OSHC staff was a
vicious cycle that created an unsettled atmosphere. There were limited opportunities for
OSHC staff and school staff to establish consensual communication. There were
competing individual interests as well as systemic imperatives that made it difficult for
the OSHC individually as well as a group to establish itself as a legitimate subsystem of
society (Habermas, 1984).
Whitney spent considerable time in attempts to build relationships with the
teaching staff (Whitney, I2:28/07/05; Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05; PO2:18/04/05). Through
conversations with the teaching staff she gathered information about their personal
preferences about the physical layout of the classrooms. Whitney had expected that
there would be mutual gains from having conversations with the teaching staff
(Whitney, I2:28/07/05). However, as the teachers deemed their needs for the physical
space to be a priority, mutual respect for the co-location of activities did not occur. For
example, one preschool teacher threw out all the boxes an OSHC assistant was saving
for a craft activity during vacation care (Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). The teacher commented
to Whitney that she did not know anyone (her teaching colleagues) who required the
materials so she threw them out (Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). Without an identity it was
difficult for OSHC to claim the right to participate in the social structures (Habermas,
1987b). It was difficult due to the objects and actions of the environment and the
“symbolically structured Lifeworld that is constituted by the interpretive
accomplishments of its members …and reproduced through communication”
(Habermas, 1984, p. 398). The additional time that Whitney spent trying to placate the
teaching staff was in some ways fruitless. The OSHC service and staff appeared to
remain invisible to the school staff. Whitney and the teachers were unable to reach
meaningful communication through consensual understanding (Habermas, 1984,
1987b) to negotiate for equitable use of spaces such as the storage shelves for craft
materials. Teachers always seemed to have the upper-hand (Smith & Barker, 2000).
The communicative act (Habermas, 1984) between the teaching staff and the OSHC
coordinator had a complex framework. The teachers did not seem to consider that
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classrooms (and schools) have the potential for multiple uses (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05).
Communication was systemically distorted and weakened as both parties did not reach
mutual agreement (Crotty, 1998) about the ways in which they could both effectively
use the same space. Values of education and schooling, cultural norms about child
rearing and social understandings about working parents underpinned communication
between the teaching staff and Whitney. Care of children out of school hours was
viewed as a family responsibility and subsequently it was considered that the OSHC
service did not require significant resources or effort to “mind” the children until they
left the school grounds with their parents. Habermas (1984) stated:
The integration of members of society that takes place via processes of reaching
understanding is limited not only by the force of competing interests but also by
the weight of systemic imperatives of self preservation that develop their force
objectively in operating through the action orientations of the actors involved
(p. 398).
The views of the principal and teachers shaped outcomes that privileged the school and
positioned the OSHC service as an outsider.
The daily changes for the OSHC service were not confined to the use of
classrooms. At Jarrah during each session children spent time outdoors as well as in the
classrooms. The use of this additional space further increased the workload of the
OSHC staff as they prepared the spaces for use by the children. The following section
describes the second example of alienation when pressure was placed on Jodie, the
Assistant Coordinator for Jarrah OSHC. Jodie had a gratuitous workload ensuring the
materials and resources were prepared for OSHC. At the beginning of the session Jodie
set up the outdoor environment for use by OSHC and Early Learning. The Early
Learning staff would tell Jodie what they required. There was no acknowledgment or
cooperative actions by the Early Learning staff to negotiate with Jodie about what the
OSHC program may have required (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). Jodie operated in isolation
in the communal setting of the Early Learning classrooms.
Under pressure outdoors as well as indoors
The daily relocation of the service that occurred meant that Jodie was setting up at least
two different environments for each OSHC session she conducted. Setting up the
OSHC spaces put additional pressure on Jodie, for as Petrie (1995) has noted, using
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school premises “entails extra work for afterschool [OSHC] staff” (p. 174). Jodie had to
allow additional time to enable her to ensure each space was suitable for the children
(Jodie, Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). She commenced work (unpaid) usually half an hour
earlier so that she could make sure everything was ready. Jodie’s sense of moral
responsibility was exploited to save money for the school (Habermas, 1987b). Pocock’s
(2006a) concerns for child care workers subsidizing care were evident in her actions.
Jodie expressed concern about the additional time it took to check multiple venues: “I
usually come early at 1.30 p.m. I am supposed to start at 2.00 p.m. but I like to get here
early because then it is easier for me. Otherwise you are running [to get everything
prepared]” (Jodie, Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). However, this routine was not always
achievable. During a participant observation visit Jodie told me that she had been able
to check the Early Learning room, the outdoor area with craft activities and the
Preschool room, but she had not had time to check the outdoor space (Jodie, Jarrah,
PO1:04/04/05). Subsequently the children began playing and slipping dangerously on
the playground equipment before she had time to notice the equipment was wet. The
children’s well-being was ‘at risk’, which placed further pressure on Jodie. The use of
school premises has many benefits but some schools do not have playground
equipment that is regarded as “optimal for children’s play” (Petrie, 1995, p. 174). If
children had injured themselves seriously Jodie would have been marginalised as she
could be perceived as not having the skills to protect children from harm. The work
conditions made her more vulnerable to feeling like she was unworthy of belonging to
the school community. Jodie already perceived herself as marginalised and the work
environment compounded these perceptions.
Lack of social identity begets insecurity which begets further alienation. OSHC
was a relatively new social structure that did not equate directly with established
Lifeworlds and cultural traditions (Habermas, 1987b). It was difficult for OSHC to
legitimate its activities without the ability to give definitions of membership and the
types of programs offered. Seemingly, emerging from estrangement was an near
impossible task for OSHC. For Whitney and Jodie the sense of being outsiders
potentially prevented them from voicing their concerns to Dylan about unbearable
circumstances. The third example of the daily changes is one which not only
marginalised the OSHC staff but also the young children attending OSHC in the Early
Learning building, and is discussed in the next section.
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Out in the Cold, exposed to the inclement weather
Substandard lodgings as well as temporary venues for OSHC services make conditions
for operating services difficult (Brennan, 1998; Gammage, 2003; NCAC, 2005). This
was so for Jarrah College. At Jarrah College, the shared arrangements in the Early
Learning OSHC facility were not modified to the same extent as the Primary OSHC
facility. Early Learning classes and OSHC services moved into the newly constructed
building at the same time (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). The facility was built with both
school classrooms and OSHC in mind. The Early Learning teaching staff and the
OSHC staff had negotiated agreements about resources and equipment that were
available to the children in OSHC and Early Learning classrooms each day. One of the
Early Learning teachers had even bought a hermit crab, that was named by OSHC
children, to join the other crabs in the classroom tank (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). Even
though some negotiation occurred about how the space would be shared, the OSHC
staff and children felt like intruders in the space (Whitney, I1:08/04/05).
As well as feeling like intruders, Whitney and Jodie indicated that they felt like
they were regarded as strangers in the space. They expressed their discomfort by
broaching issues in relation to negotiating the space with the teachers concerned. The
Evaluation of the Outside School Hours Care Quality Assurance Training Project
(FACS, 2005) identified communication difficulties as an impediment to quality in
OSHC services in two ways. One was due to lack of resources to support
communication activities and the other had to do with relationships between the
services, the sponsoring bodies and management committees. Similarly, Whitney and
Jodie had limited time to negotiate with the Early Learning staff about the purpose and
values, and the requirements of OSHC. For Whitney and Jodie there were also
difficulties with bridging the contextual understandings about children’s experiences
between the end of school and going home. The OSHC staff felt like they were
impostors. The OSHC staff were working with the same children who were in the
classroom each day, however, when they were in the care of the OSHC staff and not
parents the children had to leave the room. Jodie explained “We have to get out of the
room so that the staff can [start work with their children and families], which is fair
cause they do need that” (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). The staff of the OSHC viewed
themselves as a commodity rather than involved in social relations. This reification
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compounded their feelings of alienation (Habermas, 1984). The OSHC were banished
outside because they were deemed not to belong. However, the only characteristic
about the group of children that had changed was that they were in the care of OSHC
staff and not their parents. In the terms of social reproduction, the OSHC service was
not deemed credible by the teachers and was therefore separated from the rest of the
social group (Habermas, 1984). The acceptance of these actions by the OSHC without
critical self reflection reinforced their marginalised position.
Parental expectations were that the OSHC service and the school were in
harmony with the care and education of the children (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05; Whitney,
I2:28/07/05). However, the inadequate physical conditions of OSHC were masked by
facades such as noticeboards with welcoming photos of OSHC activities in the
classroom space (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). The insincerity of the actions compounded the
feelings of marginalisation for the OSHC staff.
On the mat outside, daily
For approximately thirty minutes at the conclusion of the morning session and the
beginning of the afternoon session, the children attending OSHC in Early Learning
buildings were thrust to the elements of the weather because they were not welcome
inside the classroom. The teaching staff appeared to be oblivious to the discomfort of
the children and staff. Consequently, OSHC staff felt like their opinions about the
situation were invisible to others. They had a sense of powerlessness to change the
situation. The OSHC staff had nothing that they could ‘trade’ or ‘exchange’ with the
staff so that they could improve the physical environment in which they were situated.
During each visit to the OSHC service located in the Early Learning buildings
at Jarrah College, I observed that the assistant coordinator and the children were
situated on the veranda for a period of about thirty minutes at the end of the morning
care and the beginning of the afternoon (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05; PO2:18/04/05). This
situation was due to the classroom space not being available because it was being used
by teachers, parents and children (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05; PO2:18/04/05). Whitney
explained:
The OSHC children are outdoors on the mat so that the kindergarten [Early
Learning children] can come inside. She [Jodie] warms them up with some
dancing and movement. It gets sunny in that spot as winter progresses. If it is
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bitterly cold they can go upstairs [to the mezzanine], but only if it is bitterly
cold. (Whitney I1:08/04/05; Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05)
Each morning at Jarrah College, children and staff attending OSHC needed to vacate
the space in the Early Learning Centre in which they were operating to allow the
kindergarten children and their parents to move into the classroom in preparation for
the educational program that operated between 9.00 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. The reverse
situation occurred in the afternoon when the kindergarten children were departing. The
OSHC service (which included children who had been in kindergarten all day) waited
outside while the classroom was vacated. A crucial aspect of the roles of the
coordinator and assistant coordinator was sourcing suitable accommodation for OSHC
when the regular space was being used by others. The unavailability of space occurred
at regular times such as at the end and beginning of the OSHC sessions. It also occurred
when there were parent-teacher interviews and professional development meetings
(FN:30/05/05). Being ‘tossed out’ of the space regularly without any interaction to
negotiate suitable accommodation made the OSHC staff feel marginalised, alienated
and vulnerable. These feelings are potentially projected onto the children for whom
OSHC staff are responsible and negate their ability to provide the socialisation and
social integration roles (Habermas, 1984) that are part of the OSHC experience for
children.
Whitney and Jodie had to devise ways to provide suitable arrangements to
conduct the OSHC service while space was unavailable. They had purchased two large,
thick carpets (2.m x 2.5m) to put on the cold concrete patio in an effort to make it more
pleasant for the children to sit outside (Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05). The licensing regulations
and accreditation standards require suitable spaces are used for the OSHC service at all
times (Child Care Regulations, 2003). Whitney and Jodie were feeling pressured by
being required to move outside and utilise the inadequate outdoor space (Whitney,
I1:08/04/05; I2:28/07/05). They were concerned that the inability to prove that they had
suitable space at all times throughout the operation of the service may impact on
licences and high quality accreditation being granted to the service (FACS, 2005). The
teaching staff of the school appeared unaware of the discomfort of the children and the
staff of the OSHC service being left out in the cold (Whitney, I1:08/04/05;
I2:28/07/05). Banishing OSHC to the outdoors appears to show little insight into the
lives of children and families by the teaching staff. Some of the children had arrived at
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school at 7.00 a.m. and were still there at 5.30 p.m. or later. Jodie described these
periods of time as “long days” for the children (Jarrah, PO1: 04/04/05; PO4:30/05/05).
To be left outside for long periods of time was emotionally and physically exhausting,
especially when it was cold. These poor work conditions made it difficult for the staff
to experience intrinsic job satisfaction (Habermas, 1987b).
For no apparent reason an upstairs mezzanine space in the Early Learning
building was “off limits” to the OSHC staff and children. Whitney and Jodie had shown
me these spaces that were a feature of the two Early Learning Classrooms. Each had
capacity for a class of 25 children to sit or lie comfortably. These mezzanine spaces
were about half the floor space of the classroom below. They were used for Early
Learning rest time and when small groups of children wanted to work on a small group
project. While OSHC was operating the mezzanine spaces were not able to be used.
Jodie said, “We did [use it, but] because they banned us from up there we had to use
the carpet square” (Jodie, Whitney, I2:28/07/05). Whitney said, “I must admit I am a
bit disappointed that we can not use the mezzanine, but that was a decision that was
made” (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). The Early Learning staff had relented on one or two
occasions when it was “bitterly cold” (Jodie, Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05). Jodie said that the
staff had allowed them to use the space “in winter sometimes, on a wet, windy and cold
day” (Jodie, Whitney, I2:28/07/05), however they did not allow OSHC to use the space
on a regular basis. The teachers were making decisions for the OSHC even when it was
not their watch. Like the circumstances described by Barker and Smith (2000), the
teachers were able to control what was happening to the OSHC service even though
they had no authority within the service. The teachers’ dominance devalued activities
of the OSHC staff with children.
For the children involved in OSHC programs the boundaries between ‘school
time’ and ‘out of school time’ can often be “blurred and perplexing” (Smith & Barker,
2000, p. 255). Every morning, thirty minutes before the end of the OSHC session Jodie
took the group of thirty children attending OSHC to sit on two carpet squares (three
metres square) on the patio. Jodie was mindful of the children in her care watching
other children with their parents inside in the warmth of the Early Learning building
that they had vacated. Jodie did not want the OSHC children to feel like outsiders
(Jodie, Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05) so she attempted to keep the children busy with activities
that she planned for them to be able to do as a large group. Jodie was using strategic
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communication to reverse the intent (Habermas, 1984) which forced the OSHC outside.
Jodie’ intention was to make the session fun so that the children inside would feel like
they were the ones that were missing out and marginalised (Jodie, Jarrah,
PO2:18/04/05).
In particular, Jodie had devised an exercise program “to warm the children up”
(Jodie, Jarrah, PO2:18/04/05). The exercise program masked the reality of the cold and
uncomfortable conditions. Jodie attempted to make the exercise session interesting,
inviting and purposeful for the children. She used the compact disc player and
children’s media that had energetic music and instructions for physical movements.
Once the children were warmed by the physical activity, they sat on two carpet squares
and Jodie read picture books and sang rhymes to pass the time until the children were
allowed inside the classrooms. The language experiences were not unlike the activities
that the children would undertake as part of their school curriculum (Jarrah,
PO4:30/05/05). Each week Jodie spent a deal of time preparing for these periods spent
outdoors so that the children would not focus on the cold weather and the
uncomfortable conditions (Jarrah, PO4:30/05/05). Jodie justified the time spent in the
inclement conditions with rhetoric about the value of physical activity to the well-being
of children (Jarrah, PO4:30/05/05). Subsequently, the circumstances added to the
dilemmas faced by Whitney and Jodie in relation daily shifts and changes associated
with operating the OSHC service.
Children left in the cold, food left in the heat
Ironically, in contrast to children left out in the cold, the afternoon tea for the
children was left out in the heat of the day. The afternoon tea was unable to be stored in
the refrigerator because there was no space available, particularly after the children’s
morning teas and lunches had been stacked inside. The classroom teacher aides had
developed a routine for the children in OSHC who attended the morning session. The
system involved parents putting meals eaten during school time into the refrigerator
and the afternoon tea (that was required to be in a paper bag labelled with the child’s
name) in a basket. The teachers’ personal preferences for the meals for the school
sessions to be stored in the fridge contravened food handling standards (Food Safety
Regulations, 2006). The fridge was not large enough to store all the children’s food.
The teachers directed that the morning tea and lunch would be stored in the fridge and
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that the afternoon teas for the OSHC children would be stored in an open basket on the
kitchen bench (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). This routine favoured the school activities and
put the afternoon teas at risk of being spoilt. However, the OSHC staff had been unable
to negotiate effectively to reverse this situation (Jarrah, PO1:04/04/05). This was
another example of the status of the teachers at Jarrah College enabling them to direct
the activities of OSHC despite the fact that they had no official jurisdiction over the
service. The teachers considered themselves to be more powerful than the OSHC staff
(Moss & Petrie, 2002; Smith & Barker, 2000).
The alienation of the OSHC service in the school setting was impelled by the
school principal and staff. The process of sustaining the division between OSHC and
school was driven by the distorted communication which included the linguistics
features of the interactions as well as the attitudinal intent (Habermas, 1984, 1987b).
Consequently, the abstract actions of alienating the OSHC service were reinforced by
the physical circumstances such as making the OSHC move outside to the veranda. The
conscious deception (Habermas, 1984) by the school administration to achieve
financial gain from offering OSHC as an additional service yet not providing adequate
venues and resources for the service, further reinforces the limited value placed on the
social labour associated with OSHC. The combination of distorted communicative
actions with the inadequate physical resources created oppressive work conditions. This
situation has negative consequences for the social membership of OSHC as a
subsystem of society (Habermas, 1987b) and for the self-identity of OSHC staff,
particularly the coordinator (Honneth, 1991).
Changing responsibilities
OSHC services do not fit with traditional social or cultural norms linked to child
rearing. It is very difficult to draw conclusions about significant attributes in society
which may have reinforced the sense of alienation of OSHC services. However, the
growth of OSHC services has occurred when increasing pressure is being placed on
teachers to meet curriculum outcomes (Garey, 2002; Kemmis, 1998), and schools to
operate as independent economic units (Dempster, 2001). Teachers have also been
unwilling to share their classrooms with multiple users (Moss & Petrie, 2002; Seligson
and Allenson, 1993). These circumstances may have contributed to the manner in
which OSHC is overlooked, and reduced the potential of OSHC being considered as a
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legitimate member of the school community. At Jarrah College, the OSHC service has
responded to changing social responsibilities in three ways. It offered a service to assist
parents with caring responsibilities outside school hours. The service was accruing
additional funds for the school to sustain its operations. Teachers were relieved of
some of their extraneous tasks by the OSHC service. However, these different roles
have not really helped the legitimacy of the OSHC service – it has remained on the
edge at everybody’s beck and call. None of the roles have been linked together in a
coherent manner. Everything appears to have happened in an ad hoc manner without
consideration being given to sustaining the OSHC service and embracing the activity of
caring for school age children as a cultural norm (Fraser, 1985).
Teachers relinquishing ‘loco parentus’
At Jarrah College, prior to positioning the OSHC service on site, the school and
the teachers were responsible for children until parents collected them. The transition
between home and school was considered to be the teachers’ responsibilities. Garey
(2002) suggests that teachers were “not that long ago … in the role of loco parentus”
(p. 785). The caring component of the teachers’ role was minimal as children
transitioned between home and school, and school and home. The subsequent
introduction of the OSHC service meant that teachers could relinquish some of the
responsibility for the care of children. Now, the OSHC service was responsible for
children while their parents worked.
The characteristics associated with responsibility for children between the end
of the school day and when their parents can take charge were often unclear (Garey,
2002). Before and after school, teachers had supervised or minded children. This was
seen as very different to teaching, which was linked to curriculum outcomes (Garey,
2002). The supervision or minding was linked to the “care” component, associated with
parents’ relationships with their children. In describing the changing role of teachers,
Garey (2002) proposed that “caring, nurturing and protective care” was removed from
“being an integral part of other, more highly valued activities” (p. 785) such as
teachers’ understanding of their role in relation to the curriculum. Teachers were no
longer required to be “minders or carers” (Garey, 2002). Teachers were able to
concentrate on the designated professional responsibility for maintaining society
through material and symbolic reproduction (Habermas, 1987b).
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Teachers may view themselves and parents as having the most influence in
children’s lives but they did not appear to consider the transition period between home
and school as contributing to the child’s demeanour (Garey, 2002). Some children
spend a considerable amount of time in OSHC (potentially three to five hours per day)
which can be equivalent to the time spent in school classrooms. At Jarrah College,
Dylan had conceded that teaching staff may have very little understanding of the role of
OSHC in children’s lives:
Whether the teacher understands the significance of the school care program in
the life of a child or obviously to the classroom I couldn’t say. I think that every
teacher wants to believe they have a positive influence on children and that they
are the chief in-puter outside the family. (Dylan, I1:11/04/05)
The schooling of children has been normalised as an activity that usually occurs outside
the home environment. It is viewed as having a powerful influence on children’s lives.
However, OSHC has not achieved a similar status. OSHC is distanced from social
norms as it is neither contributes directly to economic productivity nor is it positioned
to influence social surroundings (even though individual parents have referred to
OSHC as “extended family” (Whitney, I1:08/04/05; I2:28/07/05) in their expressions of
gratitude to Whitney).
There is a growing concern that after school care should be changing from a
family issue to a community responsibility (Garey, 2002; Pocock, 2006a). However the
issue about choices in relation to rearing children contributes to the contested beliefs
about responsibilities for children. One aspect is that if parents choose to have children
then it is their responsibility to arrange care for them. Alternatively, the idea that the
reproduction of the self is important to sustaining society and is a community
responsibility is also contested. These understandings associated with OSHC have
contributed to the marginalised status of OSHC. At Jarrah, the responsibilities of the
OSHC staff were very different to the ‘minding’ role that teachers previously
undertook. The role of supervisors or minders does not adequately describe the roles
and responsibilities undertaken by the OSHC staff because their responsibility to the
children and families extended beyond this role. OSHC staff were involved in
supporting children’s development, particularly social skills and helping with
homework (Dylan, I1:11/04/05; Whitney, I1:08/04/05; Jarrah PO3:05/05/05). They
provided a conduit between parents and teachers (Dylan, I1:11/04/05; Whitney,
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I1:08/04/05; Jarrah PO3:05/05/05). OSHC staff undertook a dual role conveying
information about children to families, and to teachers.
Generally, schools have not considered it their responsibility to be concerned
about children’s activities outside of school hours (Gifford, 1992; Petrie et al., 2000).
Consequently the care of children between home and school in the past has fallen into a
void. This void has been plugged by a number of stakeholders, for example, P&C
associations, community groups, neighbourhood centres, and local councils who
present marginal interest in responsibility for the children (HAFS, 1997; CSML, 1999).
These social groups have contributed to providing a localised response to providing
care for school age children. These stakeholders are the management committees or
sponsoring bodies who are “less visible participants” in the OSHC service. The
individual stakeholders become more visible when, as Garey suggests, the social
relationships that underpin OSHC are plotted (Garey, 2002, p. 769). CSML (1999)
found that there were problems for OSHC services when parents on the sponsoring
committee responsible for the operation of the OSHC did not use the service. The needs
of the OSHC service were often “dismissed” because “they weren’t for all the children
at the school” (CSML, 1999, p. 20). The lack of recognition by the sponsoring
committee about the roles and responsibilities of OSHC has meant that relationships
between OSHC and the host venue such as schools were trivialised. The OSHC staff
were never invited to the annual celebration that recognised the staff contribution to the
operation of Jarrah College. The function was held at lunch time of the final day of the
academic school year and was attended by all teaching and ancillary staff except those
from the OSHC service. Even though more than 50 percent of the Jarrah College
primary school population used OSHC, and this was significant for those children and
families, the service was viewed as an incidental appendage to the core activity of the
school by the school administrators (Shane, Jarrah College Bursar, I:28/04/05). The
service was difficult to align to specific roles within the school so it was remained as an
isolated activity.
The OSHC staff were frustrated by the inadequate provision of stable
environments for OSHC. In comparing OSHC and schools, Moss and Petrie (2002)
concluded that schools are a major institution within society and dominate public
policy towards children. Schools are in receipt of massive public resources to provide
services for children. OSHC services have not been able to attract the same level of
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financial support, which is one of the reasons OSHC services have had to use existing
school buildings where they could pay a nominal rent. OSHC did attract some child
care benefits but the fee relief to parents is less than the amount received for children
under school age attending a long day care (OECD, 2006). For OSHC budgets the costs
associated with the provision of services is similar to long day care.
During the second interview with Whitney, she recalled that she had been
continually negotiating with the primary school principal for better conditions for the
OSHC service. Whitney indicated that she had not really considered how much had
changed about her ability to negotiate the space for OSHC. In the nine years she had
been coordinator she conceded that she had managed to negotiate some changes that
improved work conditions. She indicated that she had been very frustrated by the lack
of attention given to her requests to improve the circumstances and offer high quality
care (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). She said:
I guess if I stopped and thought [about] the issues. It would be interesting to go
through my files of my early communication with the staff and [school]
administration and the actual things that I had to fight for, and to bang my head
on a brick wall against, and [I] gave up. (Whitney, I2:28/07/05)
Whitney conceded that there had been some changes, for example, a designated phone
line and a decrease in the staff/child ratio and that those gains “are now just taken for
granted” (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). However significant those gains were, the OSHC
services were still vulnerable because of having to relocate continuously (Jarrah,
PO1:04/04/05; PO2:18/04/05; PO5:22/09/05). The gains that had been made for the
service were aligned with the school’s desire to generate income, rather than about
quality service delivery of OSHC or about children or their families. This became a
further cause of alienation of OSHC by the school. The service was alienated as it was
viewed as a source of profitability rather than of human need (Marx & Engells,
1964/1992).
The OSHC service was seen as an external, dual source of income by the school
administration (Dylan, I1:11/04/05; Shane, I:28/04/05). First, the service encouraged
consumer choice, meaning that parents were more likely to choose to send their
children to the school if it offered an OSHC service. OSHC services appear to “boost
applications for the school” (Barker et al., 2003, p. 60). Shane reported: “It is an
important service for our parents. A lot of our parents both work and OSHC is a
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significant service to those parents” (Shane, I:28/04/05). Whitney said “there are quite
a number of families who are here who wouldn’t be able to access the school if it
wasn’t for OSHC” (Whitney, I2:28/07/05). Second, it was an opportunity to generate
additional income from school buildings that were idle for a significant portion of the
year. School administrators, Dylan and Shane, regarded the school buildings as
underutilised. Dylan reported that he thought that there were many schools looking to
increase the financial return from the capital infrastructure on their sites. Shane’s
opinion was that schools were only “open for a fraction of the 24 hour day so any other
use of the facility is a good thing” (Shane, I:28/04/05). A similar notion has been
expressed by custodians of public sector schools, as they also considered school
buildings underused (Howard, 2003). However, the additional kinds of activities that
occur within school sites do not usually generate significant financial returns. Dylan
said, “I think every school in Australia, well particularly independent schools, are
looking at how to maximise the huge facilities that we have for the maximum amount
of time” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05). From a financial perspective, schools are keen to
maximise financial returns from buildings. Education as part of an economic-social
system of society has restricted opportunities to make financial gains (Habermas,
1987b) and school administrators were opportunistic when it came to OSHC services
as they emerged without rigorous legislated requirements.
The lack of consolidated information about the financial circumstances of the
OSHC service meant that the OSHC coordinator and staff had no sense of the
economic contribution the service made to the overall school functioning. The
coordinator was bereft of the power to be involved in decision-making for the OSHC
service. The income from the OSHC service appeared to be going into the college
finances. On three occasions I asked about how the budget and expenses were
formulated for the OSHC service and I received a hazy response (Whitney,
I1:08/04/05; Shane I:28/04/05; Jarrah, PO3:05/05/05). The OSHC staff did not handle
any of the financial aspects of the operation of the service (Whitney, I1:08/04/05,
I2:28/07/05). They were kept in the ‘dark’ about the manner in which the fees paid by
parents were used by the OSHC service. Without any sense of the financial
contribution, Whitney felt powerless. She said she was unsure about asking for
additional staff or for resources because she did not know how much it cost to operate
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the OSHC Services on a daily basis and whether there were any available surplus funds
to spend on staffing or resources (Whitney, I1:08/04/05).
Habermas (1984) says that money underpins power. He also says that power
needs to be backed by money and legitimated (p. 270). Had the coordinator some sense
of the financial issues she may have felt like she had more power. Instead Whitney and
Jodie indicated that they felt like they were imposing on someone else’s territory
(Whitney, I2:28/07/05). They were made to feel like they were freeloaders whereas in
actual fact the parents were paying fees for the OSHC service. But without any
evidence of the income it was hard to justify expenditure. For some parents, the cost of
using the OSHC service annually (if they didn’t qualify for the Child Care Benefit) was
more than what they were paying in school fees (Whitney, I1:08/04/05, FN:08/04/05).
Had more fiscal information been available about the financial status of OSHC, the
coordinator may have had more power and been in the position to become involved in
operational decision making. This situation would have challenged the notion of
‘school’ as the core activity of Jarrah College and unsettled the power-base of the
school administration.
The OSHC service was a significant support service to the school (Dylan,
I1:11/04/05; Shane, Jarrah Bursar, I:28/04/05). For a portion of the families attending
the school, their children’s enrolment at the school was contingent on parental
employment. Parents needed to use OSHC because they were working to pay school
fees. Work hours do not usually match school hours (Moss & Petrie, 2002; Petrie, et
al., 2000). Parents need alternative forms of care to bridge the gap between home and
school. Garey (2002) reported on the lack of empathy for children and families in
relation to after school care arrangements. She blames organisations such as
governments and individuals such as teachers for alienating the OSHC services because
neither understood the value and role of OSHC. As Garey (2002) concluded that
knowledge or lack of knowledge about children’s social worlds (their families and
daily routines) contributes to the confusion and to the contesting about the
responsibilities for children of OSHC services. Dylan reported that he presumed that
OSHC was critical to the families who attend this school. He said, “I don’t know the
uptake in this community of both parents having to work to support the family and
ultimately having to pay school fees here. I don’t know that. I am not privy to that and I
don’t need to know but my sense of it is that it is” (Dylan, I1:11/04/05).
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The lack of communication around the changes to society and the implications
for children means that teachers and OSHC staff have not achieved mutual
understanding, and not had opportunities for discussion. Schools and OSHC services
need to understand how OSHC and school could be linked - both part of the system for
the socialisation of the young (outsourced from the Lifeworld/ family life). Teachers
need to overcome their fear of OSHC. They need to understand the complexity of
children’s lives and that there are multiple systems that impact on children (Ryan &
Grieshaber, 2005). Teachers are not the only other significant system for learning
outside the home. OSHC also potentially has significant influence over children.
Summary
The sense of alienation experienced by OSHC staff is exacerbated by
awkwardness of the circumstances in which OSHC services and schools are compelled
to coexist. Dylan had anticipated that by moving the OSHC service around the school,
teaching staff would gain a better understanding about the OSHC. However, the
teachers’ experience was limited to the practicalities of sharing classroom space. There
was no opportunity to discuss the economic and sociological consequences for
advocating for the care of children outside school hours. With such limited
understanding, complaints to the principal about sharing the space with OSHC were
more widespread (FN:04/05/05). More teaching staff complained that OSHC should
have its own space (FN:04/05/05) rather than exhibit any empathy for the
circumstances of sharing the space. Whitney and the other OSHC staff perceived
themselves as having ‘outsider’ status, even though the OSHC service had been within
the realms of the school setting for more than twelve years and Whitney had been a
staff member longer than the teaching staff with whom she was sharing classrooms
(Whitney, I2:28/07/05). The OSHC service, coordinators and staff were not afforded
the same rights and privileges as the teaching staff, which made it difficult to request
changes to the circumstances (particularly when the introduction of accreditation and
licensing had specific standards that needed to be met).
Schools have been regarded in some communities as a hub of support for
families (DoES, 2005). Subsequently, various members of the community have
developed additional services such as OSHC to operate from within the site. These
additional activities had various orientations underpin their activities. However, the
domination of the school principal over the operation of activities such as the OSHC
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service creates a situation where the organisational goals of the school are prioritised
above all other aspects of the school community. The arrangements for the physical
spaces within the school setting are focussed on maintaining the school profile without
due consideration being given to the staff and children in the classroom settings or in
the OSHC service. Shifting the service around; being left out in the cold and working in
rooms with sheets covering the furniture and equipment sent a powerful message of
rejection and marginalisation. In Habermas’ terms (1987a), the school administration
focussed “upon imperatives of maintaining and expanding organisational power” and
not on “the orientations and attitudes of the members” (p. 364). Hence the OSHC
service and staff feel most alienated because they are deemed to have less in common
with the organisation of the school than the teaching staff. The sense of alienation
situates the coordinator in a vulnerable position in her communication with the
principal. Because Whitney felt alienated, it made it harder to engage in communicative
acts that had the potential to reach consensual understandings with the principal and the
remainder of the school community. Further, it was more difficult to establish a
collective identity and the legitimacy of the OSHC service.
In the final chapter I propose some strategies to strengthen the OSHC
coordinator’s confidence in knowledge about caring and rearing children in OSHC
services. This confidence would help to strengthen the solidarity of the membership of
the OSHC sector. These strategies would counter the alienation, marginalisation and
vulnerability experienced by the coordinators as they operate OSHC in school settings.
The lack of consolidation of policies and practices about OSHC has made it difficult
for coordinators to negotiate arrangements for the physical location of services. Further
the OSHC coordinators are challenged by the efforts to substantiate their legitimacy in
school communities as a valued service and their collective identity in society. Social
policies, legislation and adequate funding would legitimate OSHC services.
Legitimation would help OSHC services to attain social membership and status as
being able to contribute to the socialisation and the social and cultural reproduction of
the young. OSHC would be more resilient to domination by other systems of society
such as education if it could substantiate its value to society by having clearly
articulated cultural values and social norms.
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Postscript
When writing this chapter I am mindful that Whitney has resigned from her position as
coordinator of the Jarrah College OSHC Service. The school administration
restructured positions in the OSHC service. Whitney did not contribute to the job
description of the role of coordinator. It did not acknowledge the complexity of the
responsibilities of the OSHC co-ordinator. Whitney had been earning a salary equitable
to a teacher’s salary though the leave conditions were four weeks annual leave. Her role
had been a unique position. She was alienated from the school classroom staff as her
role did not involve curriculum outcomes, and she was distanced from the school
administration staff because the position involved face to face contact, working with
children. The new position required a two year vocational qualification (for example, a
Diploma of Children’s Services) and the salary was one third less per year than
Whitney’s salary. The School Administration offered her the new position of
coordinator of the service but at the significantly reduced salary (Whitney,
IC:21/09/06). When she declined the offer, they did not advertise the position but asked
the Assistant Coordinator to take on the role. The school administration had very
limited involvement in the day to day operation of the OSHC service. Without
knowledge of the complexity of the tasks undertaken and the responsibility of the
OSHC coordinator, it is easy to assume that anyone can do it (Jarrah, FN:21/09/06).
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CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION
OSHC services and schools provide services to children and their families. While there
has been considerable investigation and research undertaken about the various aspects
of schools, there has been limited research with a focus on OSHC. As the number of
OSHC services and the demand for care for school age children are increasing, there is
an impetus to understand much more about OSHC services and schools, particularly to
enhance prospects and quality of service in the current climate of increasing need for
the OSHC programs. As this study found, the arrangements between OSHC services
and schools is made more complex with the multiple stakeholders including children,
parents, OSHC staff, school staff, and the wider community who have vested interests
of varying levels in the operations of services.
At a bureaucratic level, policy makers appear to be oblivious to the role of
OSHC in children’s lives. The failure to legitimise the OSHC is evident across all areas
such as funding, policy planning, and capital infrastructure and quality assurance.
OSHC services appear to be linked with financial policy agendas rather than about the
social reproduction and socialisation of children. Consolidation of a definition for
OSHC services would be the catalyst for a vision for OSHC services for children and
families, and provide a benchmark for resolving some other issues for the sector.
Historically, OSHC began as small family groups combining into larger groups
with similar structures. They were focussed on providing care, protection and leisure
pursuits for groups of children. These groups were self-sufficient and driven to
satisfying their own needs. Run by volunteers, they consumed their own goods and
services. Even though they were not motivated, in economic terms, they were an
autarky, a situation in which a group is self sufficient and independent of other groups
(Habermas, 1987, p. 161). To prevent problems with autarky, Habermas suggests that
the group develop normative constraints that are structures to prevent the enterprise
collapsing when changes occur. Consequently, these normative constraints create a
“network of lasting reciprocities of mutual intent” (Habermas, 1987, p. 161). The group
is able to sustain their existence because they have defined what they can do or
exchange with others, and they have a definable identity that is able to be retained
“when similar social units join together”. For OSHC services, there was limited
commitment to developing the normative constraints. As transparent activities
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conducted on school sites, OSHC had been able to sustain a certain form of self-
sufficiency. However, OSHC services have found it more difficult to retain their self-
sufficiency as more women joined the workforce and the demand for OSHC increased.
OSHC in school premises became more dependent on schools in order to continue the
service. This situation became even more difficult as political and bureaucratic powers
became involved in sustaining the OSHC sector to support economic productivity. The
changes to social structures have had repressive consequences for the OSHC sector.
This study sought to understand the state of affairs for outside school hours care
and schools that share premises. Initially, I had assumed that the greatest concern to the
OSHC coordinators was going to be the physical space – the shared location of the
OSHC service and the school. However, it emerged that the access to the physical
space was protected and directed by the communicative actions of school principals.
Consequently, it was the relationship between the OSHC coordinators and the
principals that was most critical to the operation of the OSHC service.
The first chapter introduced OSHC to show the context in which the operation
of services to care for children before and after school and during vacations occurs.
This chapter revisits the research questions, identified in the first chapter, that have
guided this study. To remind the reader, the overarching research question that guided
this study was: What happens when OSHC services and schools share premises? Three
sub questions focussed particular attention on the activities of the stakeholders within
the settings:
• How do OSHC staff and principals understand their role?
• How do policies shape sharing the space?
• What matters associated with the sharing of spaces need to be
considered?
This study investigating the sharing of ‘space’ between OSHC services and
schools involved examining the material properties of the premises as well as the
communal relationships, and psychological and intellectual understandings (Gordon,
Holland, & Lahelma, 2002) of the stakeholders. The research sub questions involved
close analysis of the evolving relationships, policies and other contextual features. This
in-depth examination, using a critical ethnographic methodology to investigate the
circumstances, enabled an analysis of the communicative actions of the OSHC
stakeholders, specifically the OSHC coordinators and the school principals as they
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conducted the affairs of the OSHC services within the school setting. On the surface,
the interactions between the coordinators and the principals appeared congenial.
Findings and Recommendations
OSHC services need to reflect the diversity of the client base they serve and
adequate physical resources need to be assigned for use by OSHC services. There is
contrast between the realities of the intense activity of OSHC services to provide
opportunities for the children in comparison to simply a space where children can wait
for their parents. The UK researchers (Moss & Petrie, 2002; Smith & Barker, 2000a,
2000b, 2004) forecast that if children are spending more time in OSHC services the
experience needs to be as beneficial as possible. There is also a contrast between the
surface activities and what appears below the surface of social existence in the OSHC
settings. The findings and recommendations are now discussed.
Findings
The findings of this study are both methodological and substantive. This section
discusses the key findings and each finding is reported individually. The following
section contains recommendations for services within schools. First, this study brought
a methodological approach, critical theory, which has not been used before in
examining the OSHC sector. Second, this study identified four domains of
communicative action between the key stakeholders, the principals and the OSHC
coordinators. Third, the study found that the OSHC lacks definition and subsequently
it has been difficult to legitimate OSHC. The fourth and fifth findings relate to existing
issues of secure venues to provide the OSHC service and professionalised staff in the
programs. The findings are now discussed in turn.
First, the methodological innovation of using critical theory to investigate the
practices of key stakeholders in OSHC allowed for new ways to understand and
theorise the OSHC field. To date, much of the research examining the circumstances of
OSHC services and schools has involved research methods that collect statistical data
or descriptive information about the co-location of OSHC services and schools. The
research design and the data analysis used features of critical theory including
dialectical thinking as a tool for in-depth mining (Thomas, 1993) of the two OSHC
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Language
World of Society
-Social Norms
Internal World
-Speaker
World of
External Nature
Communication Act(Principals and Coordinators)
Personal experiences and values about OSHC care Level of qualifications
• School dominant • Parents rather than community responsible for after school care • Care vs Education • Caring = women’s work • Invisible work
Irregular face to face meetings Dominant player in meetings with P&C and staff Meetings in Principal’s office
Limited Policies Mixture of state and national policies Limited Legislation School dominant Economic productivity Low status and wages for child care workers Fractured policies Work hours don’t match with school hours More women in workforce with school age children Need for economic resources to support school initiatives Limited work hours for workforce Qualifications Care vs Education
Figure 8.1. Contextual elements of the domains of the communication act
between OSHC coordinators and principals.
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sites. The power of language has been a significant feature of the research process. The
analytic focus on the language interactions and relationships between the research
participants, as well as the critical ethnographer’s voice, made possible new
understandings of macro and micro issues within OSHC. Applying the theoretical and
analytic resources of critical theory to the examination of the data provided a language
for critically examining the OSHC field in ways that have not been done previously. In
this approach, the pathologies of communication were made visible in ways that could
not be made visible through other analytic lenses that did not have a critical theory
orientation.
The second finding focuses on the communication between the OSHC
coordinators and principals, as well as the communal relationships and intellectual
understandings. Four domains of communicative action between the stakeholders are
identified (Habermas, 1984, 1987b) (see Figure 8.1. Contextual elements of the
domains of the communication act between OSHC coordinators and principals). It
exemplifies some of the specific features of each of the domains of the communication
act. Features of the four domains, noted in Figure 8.1., were influential to the linguistic
features and the intent of the communication acts between the coordinators and
principals.
The interactions between the coordinator and the principal were identified as
distorted communication that exposed pathologies that impaired the social structure of
the OSHC services. The particular pathologies - alienation, unsettling of collective
identity and withdrawal of legitimation - reduced the sense of social membership and
legitimation of the OSHC service, which was an undesirable outcome for a service,
intended to support child socialisation and social well-being for families. The
communicative actions between the principals and the OSHC coordinators included
strategic interactions that prevented the OSHC developing a relationship of solidarity
within the school community. In each case, the principal was able to dominate the
OSHC service with hegemonic power inherent to his position of responsibility within
the school and the wider community. The relocating of space available for OSHC,
pinching of staff, redirecting of the financial resources, and the endorsement of the
OSHC staff as ‘minders’ were some of the subtle ways that the principals enacted their
power. The withdrawal of legitimation, unsettling of collective identity and alienation
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of OSHC within the school setting were as much about the status of the service within
society as it was within the school community.
There are many other circumstances in the domains of the communicative
actions of the key stakeholders that could be examined for consensual understandings:
• What are the relationships between OSHC coordinators, principals and
children who attend OSHC services on school sites?
• What is the relationship between OSHC services and families?
• What are the circumstances for children in OSHC?
• How do children respond to spaces such as school and OSHC services?
• In the same space for school and for OSHC, how do children
respond to the “dichotomous” requirements?
• What is children’s capacity to interpret, act on and change OSHC
settings?
Third, a major finding of my study is that OSHC lacks definition and
subsequently it has been difficult to legitimate OSHC. In this study, the complexities
that confront co-ordinators of OSHC services that operate on school premises were
uncovered. As 80 percent of school age child care services are located on school sites
this study is important to broader deliberations about the sector. OSHC requires a
collective identity in its own right so the contribution it makes to child rearing is not
trivialised. The quandary for the OSHC sector is some see it as ‘home-like’, while
others see it as a professional service for families (Kennedy & Stonehouse, 2004).
Consequently, the use of known spaces such as home or school as benchmarks to
legitimate OSHC services has the potential to cripple the actual roles and
responsibilities of services. It was observed at the research sites that the vulnerability of
the OSHC services to being alienated and marginalised was linked to the lack of
legitimacy and reduced sense of social membership (Habermas, 1984) endowed by the
ambience of the school setting in which the services were located. What emerged from
the analysis was the subtle control that the principal executed over the OSHC even
though not involved face to face on a daily basis. The roles of OSHC coordinators and
school principals were scrutinised against the backdrop of economic policies and social
agenda. Without definition and legitimation OSHC have found it difficult to achieve a
collective identity. These circumstances have compounded the alienation of the service
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as stakeholders were uncertain about the value of OSHC and how social memberships
should be constituted.
OSHC services have a dual responsibility to sustaining society. On the one
hand, OSHC services contribute to the material reproduction of society by providing a
‘safe haven’ for children of working parents to leave their children so that they are to
participate in the workforce. On the other hand, the OSHC service contributes to the
symbolic reproduction of society as children participate in socialisation processes while
they are the responsibility of the OSHC staff. The pathologies that marginalised the
OSHC were not discrete but interwoven in the distorted communicative acts that
occurred between the OSHC coordinators and the principals. These communicative acts
were influenced by both internal and external contexts. Internal contexts such as the
individual’s values about the nature of care work and the status attached to
qualifications and confidence to voice an opinion were significant to the knowledge
production that occurred during the communication act. External world influences that
distorted the communications act included the differences between the norms and
values associated with care and education and also the emphasis on the responsibilities
of women to economic productivity in the workforce as well as caring for children.
Subsequently, the interactions between coordinators and principals had consequences
for the stakeholders. The marginalisation of the OSHC substantiated circumstances
that were detrimental to the operation of the OSHC, further reducing the capacity of the
service to provide high quality and sustainable school age child care. The
circumstances further contributed to the inability to define the roles and responsibilities
and legitimise OSHC.
The outcome of lack of commitment to the development of the normative
structures has alienated OSHC services in their school communities and within the
wider society. More powerful individuals and groups were able to exploit the social
intent of the OSHC services. In the research sites, OSHC was used to generate funds
for the school and to help broader economic policies of attracting and retaining women
in the workforce.
The fourth and fifth findings of the study can be organised into the following
two substantive themes: insecure venues and qualities of staff. For a subsystem like
OSHC that contributes to the cultural and material reproduction of society, it is
important that it be anchored securely in the Lifeworld (Habermas, 1987b) so that it is
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resilient to the changes that occur. Secure anchorage requires normative constraints that
define the membership, knowledge and labour to sustain the subsystem within the
broader System as mentioned in the previous finding. OSHC services need an identity
that has a common framework that is mutually agreeable to all stakeholders. It has been
difficult for OSHC to achieve these desired outcomes because OSHC has been treated
as an alien activity. Subsequently, there were issues concerning the capacity to secure
stable venues to conduct services and attracting and retaining staff to operationalise the
services.
The fourth finding was that the constant relocation of the OSHC service was as
much concerned with a sense of alienation as it was with unsettling the collective
identity of the service and withdrawal of legitimation. The insecure venues were
detrimental to all aspects of service delivery. The sense that the service could be
disposed of quickly to make way for classroom activities prevented OSHC from
creating a solid base from which service delivery occurred. The requirement to pack the
service away at the end of each session meant that there was not a constant presence of
the service within the school community.
With the increasing demand for services, there is the potential to replicate and
expand the existing circumstances. The location of OSHC services on school sites is
assumed to be a favourable proposition. The schools are deemed as suitable sites for
OSHC services for predominately two pragmatic reasons. First, school buildings are
typically unused during afterschool hours, and are potentially inexpensive sources of
accommodation for OSHC services. (However this situation is changing as schools
request rental payments from the OSHC service to cover use, maintenance and
cleaning). Second, the school site is preferred by parents as it does not involve the risk
and costs associated with transport of the children to other OSHC sites. To date, the
majority of OSHC services in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, United States and
Canada have been located in schools. The Extended Schools initiative in the UK
(Department for Educations Skills, 2005) and Out of School Services Five Year Action
Plan, New Zealand (Bellett & Dickson, 2007; Ministry of Women’s Affairs, 2007) are
evidence of this. However, the consequences of these arrangements could be
detrimental to the values and outcomes desired of OSHC services as a social support to
women’s workforce participation because the capacity for OSHC to operate as a safe
haven for children providing social protection and the opportunity for socialisation may
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be sabotaged by the ambience of the school system and the school principal as its
representative. Moss and Petrie (2002) state “the construction of childhood should
value not just schools but spaces for children in all facets of their life” (p. 120). School
principals and associated teaching staff need to equitably value the contribution of
OSHC services and the school and consider the role of the physical environment of
OSHC similarly to the emphasis afforded the classroom.
Further, the decision making processes about operational issues for services
have been upheld without input from the OSHC coordinator. At Jarrah, the OSHC
coordinator had no recourse to the principal’s direction that the OSHC regularly move
to different venues. The constant movement created many additional problems for the
OSHC.
The principals had no formal role in the day to day operations of the OSHC.
However, the principals’ strategic communication within the setting commanded
authority over many of the decisions made about the availability of space, selection and
retention of OSHC staff, financial matters and interactions with parents and the wider
community. The issues of principals pinching staff, meddling in financial matters,
relocating buildings and not acknowledging the professional status of OSHC staff
identified during the study, were linked to the wider concerns of the OSHC sector about
workforce shortages and lack of policies about the provision of school age care. These
concerns identified elsewhere as of national and international concern having a
detrimental effect on the consistency of the provision of school age care. Workforce
recruitment and retention, qualifications and training of OSHC staff are of concern to
OSHC services throughout the western societies (Canadian Child Care Federation,
2006; EFILWC, 2006; FACSIA, 2006; Little, 2007) due to the demand for increasing
the provision of OSHC services to encourage workforce participation and the well-
being of children (OECD, 2002; Press, 2006). As a consequence, the OSHC
coordinators and subsequently the OSHC services were treated as outsiders by the
school community. The dominance of the principal contributed to, and reinforced, the
marginalised circumstances of OSHC influencing decisions about venues and staffing.
The pathologies that emerged in the communication between the OSHC
coordinators and principals marginalised the OSHC services. Lack of collective identity
and sense of legitimacy produces low morale and low self esteem of the two OSHC co-
ordinators. This consequence of low self worth impacted negatively on the
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coordinators’ interaction with stakeholders particularly school staff. Further, the OSHC
staff were less likely to be able to advocate for resources and equipment and to solve
other problems existing in the service which delimits the high quality opportunities for
socialisation and social support which are an intended consequence of OSHC. Such
was the situation for the coordinators Whitney and Valda, at Jarrah and Currajong
where the principals interacted with the coordinators in such a way to marginalise the
OSHC services and hinder the operational issues associated with delivery a high quality
service.
Recommendations
The recommendations of this study are based on the findings and acknowledge the
complexity of the features of OSHC services. This section proposes seven
recommendations for services within schools. The recommendations have application
for all stakeholders including policy makers, educationalists and community
development planners with interests in the OSHC sector. The first two
recommendations pertain to policy provisions, both individual and integrated
arrangements that will legitimate OSHC services. The third recommendation promotes
additional research and the fourth recommendation focuses on venues. The final three
recommendations pertain to priorities for staff. The recommendations are not aligned to
specific findings. Each recommendation is reported individually, however, they are
interlinked. They are also attached to each of the four domains in the communication
act as seen in Figure 8.2. Recommendations for features of the domains to support the
facilitation of consensual understanding in the communication between stakeholders
within OSHC services.
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Language
World of Society -Social Norms
Internal World
-Speaker
World of External Nature
Communication Act
•Specialised knowledge •Critical reflective thinking
•Collaborative vision and values •Multiple lenses used to view childhood •Leveraging community values/ concerns
•Networking •Meetings •Open forums •Debate
•Legitimation through policy and legislation •Policies link economic and social concerns •Challenging assumptions about OSHC • Research about OSHC •Secure venues for OSHC •Practitioner preparation
Figure 8.2. Recommendations for features of the domains to support the facilitation of consensual understanding in communication between stakeholders within OSHC services
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Each of the four boxes linked to each of the domains lists changes that can be made to
facilitate agreement in the communicative action between OSHC and schools. The
communicative acts between OSHC coordinators and school principals will be
enhanced if there are greater chances of consensual understandings occurring between
these stakeholders.
To achieve outcomes from individual recommendations it is necessary for other
recommendations to be adopted to create the conditions so that distorted
communication acts do not occur. Rather than trying to operate within current
structures, it will be necessary to think differently. The challenge is to “reinvent”
(Santos, 1995) or “re-vision” (Moss & Petrie, 2002) children’s services. The
recommendations contribute to the challenge of enacting changes that will alter the
circumstances for OSHC services in schools.
Legitimating OSHC
The first recommendation is that a definition of OSHC services be developed that
includes integrated policy provision for children’s services including issues of quality.
The care of school age children has received much less attention from legislators and
policy makers than the care of children under school age. Raising the status of OSHC
services requires a collaborative effort on the part of those who use and support the
service. No one stakeholder would be able to sway community knowledge about the
sector. It would need to include children, parents, staff, management committees,
principals and teachers, policy makers and legislators and other community members.
The second recommendation is that the public policies that legitimate children’s
services such as OSHC embrace the diverse sectors of society that have a vested
interest in caring for school age children. From the economic policies associated with
increasing workforce participation to the social policies about children’s well-being and
protection, and schools and other venues that house OSHC services there needs to be a
‘joined-up” approach to the vision for school-age child care services. In this “joined
up” vision, stakeholders including OSHC coordinators and staff, children, parents,
school staff and policy makers should be equitably represented. The collaborative
vision and consistent values for OSHC would circumvent the alienation of OSHC that
can occur when all stakeholders do not privilege the diversity of contexts that
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contribute to position of OSHC within childhood and more broadly in the systems that
operates in society.
One key strategy for implementing the above recommendations is to draw in all
stakeholders including children, families and community representatives from the
government and non-government systems. The stakeholders would be engaged in a
tactical exercise that involved providing direction, co-ordination and evaluation. This
strategic action could occur at local and national levels. The strategic planning and
implementation would involve communication activities to provide opportunities for
multiple perspectives to be presented. The interests of children, parents, OSHC staff,
principals, teachers and other representatives from the community from both
government and non-government organisations could be represented in a gathering of
the stakeholders to discuss the responsibilities and the contexts in which childhood is
enacted. Outcomes from this exercise would include a practical vision for children’s
services with strategic directions, implementation plans and the identification of
underlying obstacles that could block the achievement of the vision. The strategic
visioning sessions would include consideration being given to economic, social,
welfare and education issues. The sessions would be facilitated as open and frank
discussions. These communication acts have the potential to build trust and support,
which can be used to legitimate and develop a collective identity for services that care
for children outside of school hours.
Future research
The third recommendation involves providing a multitude of opportunities for
investigating the OSHC sector. There are many pressing issues for children, staff, and
OSHC service delivery that warrant examination. The links with the social systems are
complex and some fine grained analysis is required to uncover the multifarious issues.
One pressing priority for OSHC is to be given status as an important segment of a
child’s life, including normative recognition that the time children spend in OSHC
should be valued. Very little of children’s experiences in OSHC has been documented.
For some parents their contact with the schooling system is through the OSHC service.
The role of the OSHC as a conduit for communication between parents and teachers is
uncharted as is investigation of the impact of OSHC on children’s attitudes to school,
attachment and social attitudes and development of social skills.
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The roles of the OSHC coordinators and school principals are subject to
scrutiny by consumers at a number of levels. They are responding not just to parents
and the wider community, but also to children who have expectations of the
contributions they make.
• More research be undertaken to explore the impact of work/ life balance
on the lives of children aged 5 – 12 years. The relationship between
OSHC services and families could be investigated.
• There are a range of powerful, opposing and unpredictable forces in
school and OSHC settings that are affecting children and these concerns
should be open to continual evaluation (Smith, 2000)
• OSHC workforce issues – staff morale, retention and recruitment
The sector needs more research for a clearer picture of the potential and the value of
OSHC services to the wider community.
The points of leverage for potential change to the sector also need identification
(Sumsion, 2005). Research embedded with techniques of critical literacy has the
potential to question the attitudes, values and beliefs that lie beneath the surface of
political, economic and social discourses. The exposure of these features can be used to
shape and to provide the leverage to act as a catalyst for significant changes to the
operation and administration of the OSHC sector. For example the qualities and the
qualifications of staff tend to be based on the notion of supervision, however
supervision for extended periods require interpersonal skills and knowledge that need
to be nurtured through intensive preparation.
Secure venues
The fourth recommendation is that venues need to be designated for OSHC services.
For the tradition of OSHC to take shape, it needs to be disentangled from other
agendas, particularly school agendas (Halpern, 2006, p. 134). A narrow focus on
financial viability or developing small businesses (such as directed by P&Cs) can
distract the stakeholders from envisioning new possibilities in the alliance between
OSHC and schools. There are significant cost savings associated with the infrastructure
for school age care in using existing building and resources such as school playing
fields and playgrounds as well as classrooms. If sufficient funds are not available to
construct purpose-built facilities then innovative ways that classrooms and OSHC
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could jointly sharing the spaces and resources could be developed. OSHC services
need secure venues for several reasons. First, a secure venue is a physical symbol that
contributes to the identity of the OSHC. Having a collective identity makes it easier to
lobby for the legitimacy of the service. Second, a stable venue makes it easier to
operate the service. The awkwardness of packing away each day is eliminated and a
greater variety of experiences are able to be provided for the children. This stability
contributes to the sense of permanency of OSHC to the lives of children and families.
Capital funding grants need to be available to OSHC service and schools to
collaboratively plan and construct a purpose built facility. The tensions associated with
shared facilities need to be addressed at the outset.
OSHC Staff require specialised knowledge
There are multiple and competing perspectives that offer theories and possibilities to
guide and direct practices with children. The final three recommendations pertain to the
knowledge, the knowledge sharing and the professional roles associated with OSHC
services. The role and responsibilities of outside school hours care coordinators and
staff are contested understandings. The quandary for OSHC staff in developing
legitimacy and a collective identity is whether to align themselves with traditional roles
associated with the care and education of children in the early years and in middle
childhood, or to create new possibilities for understanding the role of staff in OSHC
settings.
The fifth recommendation is that OSHC staff and other stakeholders such as
school principals and teaching staff should consider the multiple ways that childhood is
enacted. Also stakeholders should acquire rigorous knowledge about OSHC and its
relationship with children’s lives. The underpinning knowledge for the roles and
responsibilities in OSHC should include socio-cultural developmental theories which
are more likely to equip individuals to understand the holistic life of a child rather than
just the ‘school’ or ‘care’ experiences.
The sixth recommendation is the requirements for staff in OSHC to have
specialised knowledge and accordingly practitioner preparation programs should be
designed to meet these requirements. Staff require technical, practical and critical
knowledge (Habermas, 1984). Individuals who are equipped to draw on multiple
knowledges are more likely to reconceptualise existing practice and seek to support
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their quality of practice with children. Childhood studies could be the core of
practitioner preparation programs with specialisations in education and schooling,
OSHC services and other children’s services (Prout, 2005). Significant ways to
embrace change are to provide opportunities for education to provide possibilities for
developing a collective identity, including values and understandings about the roles
and responsibilities of OSHC staff. These perspectives offer OSHC staff, greater
ability to respond equitably to issues of diversity in their practices, such as child rearing
practices (Ryan & Grieshaber 2005). OSHC coordinators and staff should be required
to attain, and be renumerated, for educational qualifications that will give them self-
awareness to reflect on the contribution they make to the social reproduction of society
developing the skills to critically reflect and to research, and thus will enhance their
ability to contribute to scholarship used to legitimate the OSHC services.
The professional preparation programs require a critical reflective approach. A
climate that prioritises technical and managerial discourse and values is unfavourable to
the type of critical thinking that brings self awareness – without self awareness of the
process; power is not only pervasive but also invisible. The education and training of
outside school hours care staff needs to better prepare them for the responsibility that
they have to children and the wider community. They need to be encouraged to engage
in critical thinking so that they are able to be more reflective and enhance the quality of
the services they deliver – not from a fiscal level but also a moral responsibility to
children. Critical reflection is a sign of the problem-solving skills and the ability to
stand in others shoes so that consensual understandings are more likely to occur
because the coordinators can tune into where the principals or policy makers are
coming from even if it is different to their current way of thinking.
The final recommendation is to create opportunities to strengthen the
communication possibilities. The integration of the practitioner preparation programs
for individuals intending to work in children’s services is linked to a rethinking of the
provision of services for children on school sites. There should be opportunities to
reconceptualise the school sites as alternatives to home environments as ‘places of
childhood’ where children would spend time developing the knowledge and skills for
citizenship. Prout (2005) suggests professional programs should include “childhood
studies [that] could be a meeting place of disciplines” (p. 146) and encourage
professionals preparing to work in children’s services with an open mindedness to think
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differently about the programs and contexts provided for children. The blending of
traditional roles such as teacher, health educator, nurse, sporting coach with OSHC
staff responsibilities could create full-time, sustainable employment opportunities
within the school setting.
Conclusion
OSHC services are tangled between the Lifeworld and the Systems (Habermas,
1987). On the surface in the Lifeworld they appear as physical and social space to hold
children waiting for their parents, while simultaneously they are emerging as an
enterprise within the System. Habermas (1984, 1987b) states that reproduction of
society is contingent on communicative acts that are directed by four domains. The
domains are informed by what is happening in relation to the personality, the culture
and the society (Habermas, 1984, 1987b). For OSHC services there are multiple
stakeholders who are involved in the domains of the communication acts that are
contributing to reproduction processes that are sustaining OSHC services. If there are
changes to be made it will require “evolutionary innovations” (Habermas, 1987b, p.
168) to deal with the high level of systemic complexity.
To date, OSHC services have operated on a ‘shoestring’ budget themselves.
There have been no finances ‘left over’ to support rigorous research and scholarship
activities to provide insights into the operation of services. There is much to be done to
overcome the alienation experienced by OSHC coordinators and services. It would
appear to be viable to operate OSHC services in underutilised school buildings.
However, it will require a significant investment of energy to develop and expand the
knowledge base about the OSHC sector and cultivate alliances that promote the
significance of responsibilities of the sector to families and society. For the OSHC
sector to be legitimate and have a strong sense of collective identity, it has to achieve
the consensual communications required to effectively operate within a system of
diverse stakeholders. High turnover of staff, limited access to space and resources, low
professional credibility contribute to a service that may be seen as disposable. In the
interests of children and social sustainability, one step towards legitimating OSHC
services is the provision of a substantial infrastructure that operates in the best interests
of stakeholders.
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Postscript
In undertaking this study, I was conscious of the emancipatory nature of critical
ethnography. The OSHC coordinators had very little opportunity for critical reflection
on their circumstance. Much of their activity in relation to the OSHC service was of a
technical managerial nature. The opportunity to engage with me, as researcher, in frank
and open discussions about all aspects of their circumstance was welcomed as they had
no other opportunities to do so. During the course of the participant observation visits, I
noticed some changes in their behaviour and work patterns.
When I first visited Currajong service, Valda was first onsite at the beginning of
the day and last to leave when the service closed. She was always there. However,
towards the end of my time at the service, Valda went home at 5pm each day. The
timing of the departure was in line with her employment conditions. Not ‘volunteering’
her time meant that other staff could be provided more hours to their weekly allocation,
thus affording staff additional hours of work. This was helpful for maintaining staff and
it gave the other staff opportunities to develop management skills.
At Jarrah College, Whitney was resigned to the circumstances that the OSHC
service would never have its own purpose built facility. She had been lobbying to have
a permanent space allocated to OSHC and, with the move to licensing and accreditation
of OSHC services, she had anticipated that the school administration may have
responded by building a permanent space. During the period of my contact with the
service, I was aware that she realised that a purpose-built facility was out of the
question and that the school administration was looking for alternative use of the
existing space to meet the requirements. My involvement with the service encouraged
her to question the operation of the service from the perspectives of the various
stakeholders. Instead of pushing for separate space, she changed her thinking to
consider ways in which she could lobby for resources within the confines of existing
space. Prior to the completion of this thesis, she was retrenched. The assistant
coordinator took over. Within two months and prior to the visit of the Quality
Assurance Validator, the assistant coordinator phoned me asking for solutions to the
issues she was having with classrooms teachers. The teachers and teacher aides were
now covering all parts of the classrooms with sheets so that the children in OSHC were
confined to a square of carpet and some tables and chairs. One classroom teacher
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verbally complained about the OSHC in front of the validator, perhaps it was in the
hope that the service would fail accreditation. However, the school administration
would have found it very difficult to explain to more than 50 percent of the families of
the primary school why they could no longer provide what some parents would deem
an essential service in the form of OSHC.
I have continued to work with OSHC staff seeking qualifications and
professional development. This undertaking has made me think about the skills and
knowledge that I need to encourage in the tertiary curriculum that will help these
practitioners strive for legitimacy – it is much more than knowing how to serve
afternoon tea and make kites (common workshop activities at conferences for school
age care workers).
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APPENDIX A: QUESTIONS for SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
A.1: Questions for the initial semi-structured interview (Co-ordinator) Rapport Building
• How long have you been working at this OSHC service? Have you worked in other OSHC services or child care services? What type and for how long?
• Could you tell me about this OSHC service? How old is the OSHC service/School? How many children attend daily? How many children are on the OSHC register?
• Can you describe some characteristics of the associated school? How many children attend?
• How is the OSHC service managed? Open-ended Questions
• What is the space available for OSHC? How and who made the decisions about the space? Why? Are you working on any aspects of the space at the moment? Why?
• Can you tell me about the most pressing issues caused by the space in which you operate? How are these being dealt with?
• If you could have more space, what would you do with it? and why? • What do parents say to you about the space that is provided for their children?
(and what do you say to the parents in response?) • What do children say about the space that is available to them? Is the space
available different or does it have different requirements for OSHC compared to the school day? What do you say to the children in response?
• How do you see the relationship between school and OSHC? Is there anything you would like to change about the relationship? Why?
• How do you see your role as the same as/ different from what happens at school?
• Could you talk about the difference between an OSHC staff member and a teacher?
• What is your philosophy for OSHC? Tell me how you are able to implement this philosophy at the service?
• Who are the stakeholders in OSHC services and what are their roles? • How important is OSHC to each of the stakeholders? Why? • What is the difference between sharing the space before and after school care
during term times to that during vacation care?
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A.2: Questions for the initial semi-structured interview (Assistant)
Rapport Building
• How long have you been working at this OSHC service? Have you worked in other OSHC services or child care services? What type and for how long?
• Could you tell me about this OSHC service? How old is the OSHC service/School? How many children attend daily? How many children are on the OSHC register?
• Can you describe some characteristics of the associated school? How many children attend?
• What is your role at OSHC? Open-ended Questions
• Who are the stakeholders in OSHC services and what are their roles? • How important is OSHC to each of the stakeholders? Why? • How is the OSHC service managed? • What is the space available for OSHC? How and who made the decisions about
the space? Why? Are you working on any aspects of the space at the moment? Why?
• Can you tell me about the most pressing issues caused by the space in which you operate? How are these being dealt with?
• If there was more space, what would you do with it? and why? • What do parents say to you about the space that is provided for their children?
(and what do you say to the parents in response?) • What do children say about the space that is available to them? Is the space
available different or does it have different requirements for OSHC compared to the school day? What do you say to the children in response?
• How do you see the relationship between school and OSHC? Is there anything you would like to change about the relationship? Why?
• How do you see your role as the same as/ different from what happens at school?
• Could you talk about the difference between an OSHC staff member and a teacher?
• What is your philosophy for OSHC? Tell me how you are able to implement this philosophy at the service?
• What is the difference between sharing the space before and after school care during term times to that during vacation care?
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A.3: Questions for semi-structured interview (Principal)
Rapport Building
• How long have you been working at this school? How many schools have you worked at that had OSHC services? What has your involvement been with those services?
• Could you tell me about this OSHC service? How old is the OSHC service/School? How many children attend daily? How many children are on the OSHC register?
• Can you describe some characteristics of the school? How many children attend?
Open-ended Questions
• Who are the stakeholders in OSHC services and what are their roles? • How important is OSHC to each of the stakeholders? Why? • How is the OSHC service managed? What is your role in the management of
the OSHC service? • What is the space available for OSHC? How and who made the decisions about
the space? Why? Are you working on any aspects of the space at the moment? Why?
• Can you tell me about the most pressing issues caused by the space in which OSHC operates? How are these being dealt with?
• If OSHC could have more space, what would you do with it? and why? • What do parents say to you about the space that is provided for their children?
(and what do you say to the parents in response?) • What do children say about the space that is available to them? Is the space
available different or does it have different requirements for OSHC compared to the school day? What do you say to the children in response?
• How do you see the relationship between school and OSHC? Is there anything you would like to change about the relationship? Why?
• Could you talk about the difference between an OSHC staff member and a teacher?
• What is your philosophy for OSHC? Tell me how you are able to implement this philosophy at the service?
• What is the difference between sharing the space before and after school care during term times to that during vacation care?
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A.4: Questions for semi-structured interview (Parents and Citizens Representative)
Rapport Building
• How long have you been associated with this with the school? with the OSHC service?
• Do you have any children who attend this service? • What is your role in relation to the service? Have you undertaken this role
previously? • Could you tell me about this OSHC service? How old is the OSHC
service/School? How many children attend daily? How many children are on the OSHC register?
• Can you describe some characteristics of the associated school? How many children attend?
• How would you describe the involvement of parents at the school? Open-ended Questions
• Who are the stakeholders in OSHC services and what are their roles? • How important is OSHC to each of the stakeholders? Why? • What are some of the most pressing issues for your organisation at this
particular time? How are these being dealt with? • What is the space available for OSHC? How and who made the decisions about
the space? Why? Are you working on any aspects of the space at the moment? Why?
• Can you tell me about the most pressing issues caused by the space in which the service operates? How are these being dealt with?
• If you could have more space, what would you do with it? and why? • What do other parents say to you about the space that is provided for their
children? (and what do you say to the parents in response?) • What do children say about the space that is available to them? Is the space
available different or does it have different requirements for OSHC compared to the school day?
• How do you see the relationship between school and OSHC? Why? • Could you talk about the difference between an OSHC staff member and a
teacher? • What is your philosophy for OSHC? Tell me how you are able to implement
this philosophy at the service? • What is the difference between sharing the space before and after school care
during term times to that during vacation care?
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APPENDIX B: DOCUMENTATION SOURCES
• OSHC newsletters for parents • School newsletters for parents • School Staff handbook • OSHC staff handbook • OSHC program book • Memorandum of agreements • Job descriptions OSHC staff • Notes/ Communications between individuals • Policies • Formal letters • Minutes of meetings • Noticeboards • Websites • Annual Reports • Advertisements
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APPENDIX C: ETHICS APPROVAL
* Copy of emails granting Ethics Approval. Dear Jennifer Thanks for providing this response. This has addressed any concerns raised by the Chair. All the best for the project and for the Christmas Season. Regards Wendy At 04:26 PM 17/12/2003 +1000, you wrote:
Hi Wendy, Dates for data collection are February 2, 2004 - December 31, 2004 Attached is the updated information sheet Regards Jenny Wendy Heffernan <[email protected]> 11/12/2003 05:24 PM To: [email protected] cc: Susan Jane Grieshaber <[email protected]> Subject: Confirmation of Exemption - 3336H Dear Jennifer I write further to the Checklist for Researchers received for your project, "Sharing Spaces: Outside School Hours Care in Queensland" (QUT Ref No 3336H). The Chair, University Human Research Ethics Committee, has considered your Checklist and requested I contact you on her behalf. The Chair has confirmed that the project is in fact exempt from full ethical clearance. This approved is subject to:
clarification regarding the dates for data collection; and the consent form referring any concerns/complaints to the Research Ethics Officer on 3864 2340 or [email protected].
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However, you are authorised to immediately commence your project. This authorisation is provided on the strict understanding that the above information is provided as soon as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact me further if you have any queries regarding this matter. Regards Wendy
University Human Research Ethics Committee Information in relation to ethical clearance Updated August 2003
What is the duration of my ethical clearance? The ethical clearance awarded to your project is valid for three years commencing from 10 December 2003. Recruitment, consent and data collection / experimentation cannot be conducted outside the duration of the ethical clearance for your project. Please note that a progress report is required annually on 10 December or on completion of your project (whichever is earlier). You will be issued a reminder around the time this report is due. The progress report proforma can be located on the University Research Ethics Webpage http://www.qut.edu.au/draa/or/ethics.html. Extensions to the duration of your ethical clearance within the 3-5 year limit must be made in writing and will be considered by the Chair under executive powers. Extensions beyond 5 years must be sought under a renewal application (usually involving the completion or a checklist for Researchers seeking expedited ethical review). Standard conditions of approval The University's standard conditions of approval require the research team to: 1. conduct the project in accordance with University policy, NHMRC / AVCC guidelines and regulations, and the provisions of any relevant State / Territory or Commonwealth regulations or legislation; 2. respond to the requests and instructions of the University Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC) 3. advise the Research Ethics Officer immediately if any complaints are made, or expressions of concern are raised, in relation to the project;
235
4. suspend or modify the project if the risks to participants are found to be disproportionate to the benefits, and immediately advise the Research Ethics Officer of this action; 5. stop any involvement of any participant if continuation of the research may be harmful to that person, and immediately advise the Research Ethics Officer of this action; 6. advise the Research Ethics Officer of any unforeseen development or events that might affect the continued ethical acceptability of the project; 7. report on the progress of the approved project at least annually, or at intervals determined by the Committee; 8. (where the research is publicly or privately funded) publish the results of the project is such a way to permit scrutiny and contribute to public knowledge; and 9. ensure that the results of the research are made available to the participants. Modifying your ethical clearance The University has an expedited mechanism for the approval of minor modifications to an ethical clearance (this includes changes to the research team, subject pool, testing instruments, etc). In practice this mechanism enables researchers to conduct a number of projects under the same ethical clearance. Any proposed modification to the project or variation to the ethical clearance must be reported immediately to the Committee (via the Research Ethics Officer), and cannot be implemented until the Chief Investigator has been notified of the Committee's approval for the change / variation. Requests for changes / variations should be made in writing to the Research Ethics Officer. Minor changes (changes to the subject pool, the use of an additional instrument, etc) will be assessed on a case by case basis and interim approval may be granted subject to ratification at the subsequent meeting of the Committee. It generally takes 5 -10 days to process and notify the Chief Investigator of the outcome of a request for a minor change / variation. Major changes to your project must also be made in writing and will be considered by the UHREC. Depending upon the nature of your request, you may be asked to submit a new application form for your project. Audits
236
All active ethical clearances are subject to random audit by the UHREC, which will include the review of the signed consent forms for participants, whether any modifications / variations to the project have been approved, and the data storage arrangements. Wendy Heffernan Research Ethics Officer Office of Research O Block Podium Tel: 07 3864 2340 Fax: 07 3864 1304 ---- Replied to Wendy Heffernan <[email protected]> 11/12/2003 05:26:06 PM ZE10 -----
Wendy Heffernan
Research Ethics Officer
Office of Research
O Block Podium
Tel: 07 3864 2340
Fax: 07 3864 1304
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APPENDIX D: INFORMATION SHEETS
D.1: Information Sheets for Participants
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC services and Queensland schools Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] This project investigates the operation of OSHC Services in Queensland. It focuses on the manner in which OSHC services and schools share the same spaces, specifically where care and education services operate on the same premises. The recent Queensland Government Child Care Act (2002) and the National Accreditation of child care services have had an impact on the delivery of services. To date, there has been limited research conducted about the implications of these requirements on OSHC services. This project investigates how spaces are shared between services, OSHC programming, and resources that are available for OSHC services. This project is being conducted as part of my Doctor of Education Thesis. I will be interviewing staff, observing the operation of the centre, collecting documents (for example – newsletters and parent information booklets) and engaging in informal conversations with co-ordinators to collect the data. Transcripts will be made from the audio-recordings of the interviews and informal conversations. The audiotapes and the transcripts will not contain specific identifying information and pseudonyms will be used in reporting the data. The results of the investigation will be reported in such a way that individual respondents and services will not be able to be identified. Your involvement in the project is voluntary. You may choose to withdraw at any stage during the project without comment. I am happy to provide further information if you require it. Please contact me by phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected]. Should you require it, further ethical approval information can be obtained from the QUT Research Ethics Officer on 3864 2340 or [email protected].
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D.2: Information Sheet for Parents
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: Outside School Hours Care services and Queensland schools
Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] This project investigates the operation of OSHC Services in Queensland. It focuses on the manner in which OSHC services and schools share the same spaces, specifically where care and education services operate on the same premises. The recent Queensland Government Child Care Act (2002) and the National Accreditation of child care services have had an impact on the delivery of services. To date, there has been limited research conducted about the implications of these requirements on OSHC services. This project investigates how spaces are shared between services, OSHC programming, and resources that are available for OSHC services. This project is being conducted as part of my Doctor of Education Thesis. I will be interviewing the OSHC co-ordinator, principal of the school and some OSHC staff. I will not be interviewing the children. You may see me on some occasions observing the operation of OSHC service. I am happy to provide further information if you require it. Please contact me by phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected]. Should you require it, further ethical approval information can be obtained from the QUT Research Ethics Officer on 3864 2340 or [email protected].
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APPENDIX E: CONSENT FORMS
E.1: Consent form (Co-ordinator of the OSHC Service)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland
Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree to participate in interviews and informal conversations with the
researcher that are audio-recorded; agree to share documents eg. newsletters, policy booklets, promotional
materials with the researcher; understand that if I have any further questions I can ask or contact the
researcher; understand that I am free to withdraw at any time, without comment; agree to participate in the project.
Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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E.2: Consent form (School Principal - OSHC Service)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree to participate in interviews with the researcher that are audio-
recorded; agree to share documents eg. newsletters, policy booklets, promotional
materials with the researcher; understand that if I have any further questions I can ask or contact the
researcher; understand that I am free to withdraw at any time, without comment; agree to participate in the project.
Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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E.3: Consent form – (President of Parents and Citizens Association)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland
Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree to participate in interviews with the researcher that are audio-
recorded; agree to share documents eg. newsletters, policy booklets, promotional
materials with the researcher; understand that if I have any further questions I can ask or contact the
researcher; understand that I am free to withdraw at any time, without comment; agree to participate in the project.
Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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E.4: Consent form (Assistant - OSHC Service)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland
Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree to participate in interviews and informal conversations with the
researcher that are audio-recorded; understand that if I have any further questions I can ask or contact the
researcher; understand that I am free to withdraw at any time, without comment; agree to participate in the project.
Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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E.5: Consent form (Principal)
(* This seeks consent to enter the OSHC organisation)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree to allow staff at the OSHC services to participate in interviews and
informal conversations that are audio-recorded agree to the sharing of documents from the OSHC service eg.
newsletters, policy booklets, promotional materials) for the purposes of research
understand that if I have any further questions I can contact the researcher;
understand that staff at the service are free to withdraw at any time, without comment;
agree that the OSHC service can participate in the project give approval for the researcher to have entry permission.
Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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E.6: Consent form (School Parents and Citizens Association)
(* This seeks consent to enter the OSHC organisation)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree to allow staff at the OSHC services to participate in interviews and
informal conversations that are audio-recorded agree to the sharing of documents from the OSHC service eg.
newsletters, policy booklets, promotional materials) for the purposes of research
understand that if I have any further questions I can contact the researcher;
understand that staff at the service are free to withdraw at any time, without comment;
agree that the OSHC service can participate in the project give approval for the researcher to have entry permission.
Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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E.7: Consent form (Parents- OSHC Service)
QUT Letterhead
Sharing spaces: OSHC in Queensland Researcher: Jennifer Cartmel Doctor of Education Candidate, Faculty of Education, QUT Phone 3382 1236 or email [email protected] Statement of consent By signing below, I am indicating that I:
have read and understood the information sheet about this project; agree when observing the operation of the service that the researcher,
may observe activities in which my child is present; understand that the researcher will not be focusing on my child; understand that I can approach the researcher if I have any questions
about the project. Name __________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date _____ / _____ / ______
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APPENDIX F: THEMED DATA SETS
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278
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PRESENTATIONS
The following presentations have resulted from this research:
2008 Promoting professionalism in school age care services European Early Childhood Education and Care Conference Stavanger, Norway Aliens in the school grounds
Early Childhood Australia National Conference Canberra, Australia 2007 Sharing Spaces: Outside school hours care in schools NETWORK Conference
Sydney, New South Wales
Sharing Spaces: Outside school hours care in schools Early Years Conference, Queensland Studies Authority Brisbane, Queensland 2006 Working with Older Children in School Age Care
Queensland Children’s Activities Network State Conference Brisbane, Queensland
2005 Schools outside school hours care sharing spaces
European Network for School Age Care Conference Copenhagen, Denmark
What matters: schools and outside school hours care services sharing spaces. Emerging Issues in the Geographies of Children and Youth Conference Brunel University, London, England Are we there yet? (Opening Address) Queensland Children’s Activities Network State Conference Brisbane, Queensland Outside school hours care: Implications for training (Keynote Address) Queensland TAFE Child Studies Teachers Symposium Brisbane, Queensland
2004 Framing the school day Queensland Anglican Schools Conference
Coolum, Queensland
Sharing spaces: Outside school hours care in schools OMEP International Conference Melbourne, Victoria
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Hidden Identities: Dilemma facing outside school hours care professionals Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference Melbourne, Victoria
2003 Sharing buildings and resources in care and education
Children’s Issues Centre Biannual Conference Dunedin, New Zealand
Training in outside school hours care European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference Glasgow, Scotland
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