A SHIFTING COLLECTIVE IDENTITY

Abstract

Faring poorly by international standards, out-of-home childcare in Canada is often described as ‘in crisis’. This study addresses how national childcare movement actors, who are overwhelmingly women, have discursively constructed their collective identity during two contrasting political climates. Data comprise publically available media releases produced in 2005 and 2008 by the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC), a national grassroots childcare social movement organization. Guided by Fairclough's overarching framework for critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Koller's approach to analysing collective identity through CDA, the discursive mechanisms of CCAAC movement actors have employed in relation to their collective identity construction are identified and explored. Finally, whether or not these mechanisms may have been strategic is explored.

KEYWORDS:

• childcare movement
• collective identity
• political climate
• social movement organization
• critical discourse analysis

Notes

1 Quebec is the only province which significantly differs from this funding approach. In 1998, a universal childcare programme was established providing quality childcare services to all families at a cost of $7 a day (originally $5/day).

2 Regulatory and funding mechanisms fall exclusively to the provincial governments and differ significantly between provinces.

3 In addition to Quebec, Manitoba is the only other province which caps parent fees. Ontario does not collect data regarding parent fees.

4 In 2008, Australia experienced the collapse of ABC childcare, a corporate childcare company which provided a significant quantity of childcare spaces in Australia. Its collapse is often referenced as key evidence that a market, for-profit model of childcare is ineffective at providing quality, accessible and affordable childcare.

5 It is impossible to say whether distancing themselves from the Liberal party was a good or bad strategic choice of the CCAAC. On the one hand, it may have solidified the CCAACs commitment to quality, affordability and accessibility of childcare. On the other hand, it also may have alienated movement actors who considered being a ‘Liberal’ a central component of their personal identity.

6 It could be suggested that as negotiations with the Liberals became more challenging, the group felt that it was necessary to reassert their collective identity that had been muted in earlier media releases.

Additional information

Brooke Richardson (author to whom correspondence should be addressed), is a PhD candidate in the Yeates School of Graduate Studies, Policy Studies, Ryerson University.

Rachel Langford is an associate professor and director of the School of Early Childhood Studies, Ryerson University.