Open AccessUnpacking the Childcare and Education Policy Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from the Canadian Province of Quebec
Author(s) -
Sophie Mathieu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of childhood studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2371-4115
pISSN - 2371-4107
DOI - 10.18357/jcs463202120002
Subject(s) - unpacking , legitimacy , subsidy , government (linguistics) , pandemic , covid-19 , political science , work (physics) , sociology , economic growth , china , public administration , public relations , politics , medicine , economics , law , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , engineering
Building from Blum and Dobrotić’s conceptual framework, this paper shows that the decisions to reopen childcare centres and schools in the Canadian province of Quebec in 2020 were influenced by four goals: (1) protecting public health, (2) promoting academic success / fostering early education, (3) addressing social inequalities, and (4) helping parents to reconcile employment and care activities. Although the first three objectives were considered in the sequence of reopening, the government quickly chose to prioritize work-family reconciliation above other objectives. Quebec’s tight sequence of reopening childcare centres and schools is not simply a consequence of evolving research showing lower risks associated with COVID-19 for young children, it also reflects the province’s cultural norms toward mothers’ employment and the high legitimacy of the state in subsidizing childcare.