Social Investment versus Social Justice: The “A” Word Conference

1. Social Investment versus Social Justice: The “A” Word Conference Rachel Langford PhD School of Early Childhood Studies Ryerson University

2. Four presentation aims • Identify the purpose of rationales in advocacy • Define social investment and social justice as rationales • Identify opportunities and challenges in using these rationales • Describe research findings on the use of rationales in 2008 advocacy messaging.

3. The debate • Nobel prize winning economist James Heckman states: the social investment in human capital argument is “more powerful than the equity argument, mainly because the gains from such investment can be quantified”. • The Childcare Resource and Research Unit states that the conversation about childcare needs to shift “from human capital to human rights”.

4. Social investment rationale The social investment state emerges in the 1990s. Public investment in childcare to address social risks particularly poverty and promote early childhood development is an investment in the future. TD Bank Chief Economist Craig Alexander says Quebecers' $2-billion yearly investment in early childhood education will bring long-lasting benefits. Photograph by: Tijana Martin, Gazette file photo

5. Federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada have made commitments to honour children’s right to access quality early care and learning through various agreements. Access to quality, affordable early care and learning services advances women’s equality, helping women to both parent and work, study, or volunteer in their communities. Social justice rationale .

6. Opportunities of the social investment rationale • It has many supporters. • It is infused with science and evidence-based research.

7. It is less contested with its focus on children and their potential. It expands the advocacy movement and dissemination of the message. Liberal governments like it. Opportunities

8. challenges • The social investment rationale has pushed women’s rights off the political agenda (Dobrowolsky & Jenson, 2004, Jenson, 2009). • The rationale is linked more often to a market and targeted service approach.

9. challenges • The social investment rationale represents “the investable child” , not a child with rights (Prentice 2009). • The evidence-based paradigm in ECEC is anything but evident (Vandenbroeck et al, 2012).

10. Social justice: Opportunities • The 2008 UNICEF Report Card #8 documents a social revolution -radically new patterns of child care with rising employment of women -the potential for good and the potential for harm

11. Advocacy choices • Do not tie advocacy to current political agendas (Dobrowolsky & Jenson, 2004). • Harness ideas that are already present in state’s approach to family supports (White, 2001). • Find openings in the state’s approach to address gender equality and children’s well being (White, 2011).

12. Research findings • We found a narrow range of rationales as well as a limited number of references within a particular rationales. • The business case rationale was used more frequently in annual reports and media releases particularly at the federal level than any other rationale. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, October 6, 2008 Harper Just Doesn't Get It: Canada Still Needs Child Care OTTAWA--The Universal Child Care Benefit has nothing to do with child care and no amount of dressing it up will change the fact that Canadian families are still struggling to find affordable quality services, says the Code Blue for Child Care Campaign. “The Harper Conservatives’ announcement today to sweeten the baby bonus if elected is yet another ploy to divert attention from the fact that the government has failed families when it comes to child care,” said Jody Dallaire, spokesperson for Code Blue

13. Concluding questions • Who is using rationales? • Who controls rationales that drive changes in ECEC provision? • How can we use rationale (s) (and which ones) to move advocacy forward?