Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
“If we were valued more”: A study of childcare providers in Appalachian Pennsylvania
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Childcare is a critical investment for the healthy growth, economic sustainability, and future wellbeing and vitality of Appalachian communities because it can have immediate and long-term effects both on the population directly affected by the care, and for the community at large.
While studies have addressed issues of affordability, accessibility and quality of childcare from the perspective of parents seeking care for their children, this research seeks to understand childcare work as an occupation. Approximately 2 million women are employed as paid childcare providers in the United States, and far more participate in informal or unpaid care arrangements. In rural communities, care work can serve as an important avenue for employment, and enable workforce participation of parents.
This research draws from theories of occupational sex segregation (Reskin 1993) and gendered ideologies (Folbre 2012) to explore childcare providers’ perceptions of their work, self, and context. Twenty-five semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with childcare providers in two counties in rural, southwest Pennsylvania. Childcare workers in centers, group care facilities, and home-based providers were included in the study.
This presentation will outline the processes of socialization into the field of childcare, and worker’s adherence to gendered beliefs in their work and through their work-life management strategies (Hochschild and Manchung 1989). These are then connected to larger movements to professionalize childcare work and how this intersects with the unique challenges and opportunities of the rural Appalachian context.
As mandatory licensing, inspections, professional development, and educational requirements add challenging new hurdles for rural childcare providers, an understanding of childcare workers’ perceptions and local community contexts is critical. This research can inform existing outreach, support, and professional development opportunities for rural childcare workers in an increasingly formalized profession.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Annelise Hagedorn is currently an instructor of Sociology at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, NC. She is also completing her doctoral research in Rural Sociology and Demography at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include education and employment decisions of youth and young adults in rural Appalachia.
“If we were valued more”: A study of childcare providers in Appalachian Pennsylvania
Childcare is a critical investment for the healthy growth, economic sustainability, and future wellbeing and vitality of Appalachian communities because it can have immediate and long-term effects both on the population directly affected by the care, and for the community at large.
While studies have addressed issues of affordability, accessibility and quality of childcare from the perspective of parents seeking care for their children, this research seeks to understand childcare work as an occupation. Approximately 2 million women are employed as paid childcare providers in the United States, and far more participate in informal or unpaid care arrangements. In rural communities, care work can serve as an important avenue for employment, and enable workforce participation of parents.
This research draws from theories of occupational sex segregation (Reskin 1993) and gendered ideologies (Folbre 2012) to explore childcare providers’ perceptions of their work, self, and context. Twenty-five semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with childcare providers in two counties in rural, southwest Pennsylvania. Childcare workers in centers, group care facilities, and home-based providers were included in the study.
This presentation will outline the processes of socialization into the field of childcare, and worker’s adherence to gendered beliefs in their work and through their work-life management strategies (Hochschild and Manchung 1989). These are then connected to larger movements to professionalize childcare work and how this intersects with the unique challenges and opportunities of the rural Appalachian context.
As mandatory licensing, inspections, professional development, and educational requirements add challenging new hurdles for rural childcare providers, an understanding of childcare workers’ perceptions and local community contexts is critical. This research can inform existing outreach, support, and professional development opportunities for rural childcare workers in an increasingly formalized profession.
