Essay

The Changing Nature of Management in Child Care Centres in Queensland: A Review of Directors’ Perspectives Hannele Nupponen

The aim of this paper is to produce an understanding of directors’ work; perceptions of

their role as managers in the centre; their experiences; and the nature of management

within the context of the child care field in a complex social, legislative and economic

climate. In the current context of the delivery of child care services in a market-driven

climate, the language of business and organisational theory has entered the lexicon of the

early childhood field. The findings indicate that the director of a child care centre needs

to have knowledge, skills and experience in business management to enhance their

competencies for management of centres in today’s competitive environment.

Introduction

Centre-based child care services in Queensland, Australia are regulated under the

Child Care Act 2002 (Qld) and Child Care (Child Care Centres) Regulations 2003.

Child care centres in Australia are required to participate in the National Childcare

Accreditation Quality Improvement System to be eligible for Childcare Benefit, which

is a fee subsidy to offset fees paid by the parents. This accreditation system has been

operational since 1994, and is the first of its kind in the world, where funding is

linked to centre performance.

Practitioners and researchers alike in the early childhood field are probably aware

that management issues in child care services have received increasing attention in the

past two decades because of the demand for, and the expansion of, service provision

in formal child care settings, such as long-day care centres. The Australian

Government, Department of Family and Community Services (2002) Census of

Child Care Services showed that in Queensland alone 14,576 children younger than

12 years old attended community-based long-day care services (total number of

children younger than 12 years of age in community-based long-day care services in

Hannele Nupponen is at Queensland University of Technology. Correspondence to: Dr Hannele Nupponen, 258

Miller Road, Logan Village Qld 4207, Australia. Tel: 61 7 55 468843; Email: [email protected]

ISSN 1357-5279 print/1476-489X online/06/040347-17 # 2006 The Child Care in Practice Group

DOI: 10.1080/13575270600863259

Child Care in Practice

Vol. 12, No. 4, October 2006, pp. 347 �363

Australia was 107,317) and 65,108 children younger than 12 years of age attended

private long-day care services (total number of children younger than 12 years of age

in private long-day care services in Australia was 200,815). Consequently interest in

the management of child care services has increased, evidenced by the range of

professional child care publications in the 1990s (for example, see Farmer, 1995;

Hayden, 1999; Rodd, 1998).

Many developments have occurred in the provision and delivery of child care

services for young children and their families in Australia in the past three decades.

Specifically, the development of an extensive child care system in the community and

private sector has been significant. Some of the key developments are outlined in the

following.

. In 1972, the Commonwealth Child Care Act gave capital and operating subsidies to support community-based child care centres.

. Since the early 1980s, child care has been integral to Commonwealth labour market policies. The private sector and employers have been encouraged to

provide services to meet the demand for work-related care.

. In 1991, the Commonwealth Government extended Childcare Benefit (fee subsidy to offset fees paid by parents) to the private sector. This led to a rapid increase in

the number of private child care centres.

. In 1994, the Commonwealth Government introduced the Quality Improvement and Accreditation System. Only accredited centres can access Childcare Benefit.

. During 1996�1998, the Commonwealth Government introduced a number of changes to child care funding, such as removal of the operational subsidy from the

community-based child care sector. This made child care less affordable to many

families and increased competition within the child care industry. This issue is still

critical in the sector.

Three decades ago, there were minimal privately managed child care services to

enable women with young children to work outside the home. Typically, local child

care services that were available were established under the auspices of community

organisations, church or neighbourhood groups. Consequently, and in order to

remain viable in a competitive environment, child care centres are expected to adopt

management practices similar to those of small business (Nupponen, 2005). The

notion of a ‘‘child care industry’’ is current phraseology that sits uneasily with those

who are committed to a non-profit view of services to children and families. Large

commercial child care chains have emerged in the past few years and it is likely that

they will become an even stronger force in the child care industry. The 2002 Census of

Child Care Services showed that nationally in Australia there were 2,178 privately

owned centres, compared with 1,253 community-based centres. The private sector

was double the not-for-profit sector. In 2004, a chain of private child care centres

dominated the field, nationally, with 550 company-owned centres and a further 228

managed facilities (Murdoch, 2004).

348 H. Nupponen

Consequently, community-based child care services now need to become self-

funding, as well as more entrepreneurial, because of competition with the private

sector to maintain their market share (Press & Hayes, 2000). There is an increasing

focus on the performance of child care centres as business enterprises requiring

skilled management and leadership. This has occurred even while advocacy is

maintained to retain the community service orientation and a not-for-profit identity.

It has been argued that a competitive environment in child care ensures quality

because consumers (parents) selecting services will buy the best service they can for

their children (Press, 1999). The increasing privatisation and the competitive nature

of the sector point to a need to review how child care centres are currently managed

within a complex, continually changing environment.

The aim of this study was to investigate management and leadership arrangements

in child care in Queensland within the current social, legislative and economic

context.

Director’s Role and Responsibilities

Traditionally, most early childhood education programmes in kindergartens and

preschools have been relatively independent (Brennan, 1994). Programmes were

delivered with less involvement of a wider bureaucracy, for example on curriculum

issues, than occurs in school-based education systems. While many child care

centres both in Australia and internationally operate under the auspices of

community or religious organisations to which the director may be answerable,

the day-to-day management of the service rests with the director (Hayden, 1997a,

1997b; Jorde Bloom, 1995; Nupponen, 2005; Rodd, 1998). This occurs even when

child care centres or kindergartens are part of a larger organisation, such as the

Creche and Kindergarten Association in Queensland that sets and provides advice

on policy and procedures for affiliated centres. Despite being part of larger

organisations, many child care centres operate with relative independence; this

enables them to respond to local community needs. There is evidence in early

childhood research (Jorde Bloom, 1991; Nupponen, 2005; Seplocha, 1998) that, in

child care, a director’s job description and role varies according to the employing

organisation. Most, however, share common responsibilities such as the planning,

the implementation and the evaluation of the programme. There are decisions to be

made about health and safety, nutrition, and working with families. There are

administrative decisions about finance and budgeting and purchasing equipment.

There is also a need to contribute to the profession through advocacy on behalf of

young children and families. A director’s responsibilities are focused on planning,

organising, staffing, and controlling within all elements of centre procedures and

processes.

The quality of management practices assists in creating a coherent and collegial

working environment, where the focus is on careful planning of routines and tasks to

reach specific organisational aims and objectives. Management activities aim to

coordinate action so that goals can be reached in an efficient and effective way.

Child Care in Practice 349

Furthermore, innovative directors/managers make continual improvements to ensure

that the organisation will thrive in a changing environment.

The Present Study

This paper considers interviews conducted with directors, using questions that

focused on organisational management of child care centres and the social and

legislative context in which centres operate in today’s competitive environment. It is

critical that we listen to those with day-to-day experience of working in this field and

ensure that their experience and feedback informs future practice.

A Social Systems Approach to Viewing Child Care Centres

In this study the child care centre was viewed as a social system taking into account

the structure of the centre, processes, and people that contribute to the culture of the

centre. The external environmental influences were taken into account and

perceptions of outcomes were explored (see Nupponen, 2005).

In the broad systems model proposed by Jorde Bloom and colleagues (Jorde Bloom

& Sheerer, 1992; Jorde Bloom, Sheerer, & Britz, 1991), independent components

within the social system of the child care centre include structure, people and

processes. These parts collectively determine a unique ethos for any child care

centre*its culture. Many factors operating in the external environment also affect the operation of the centre. Therefore in combination, the structure, people, and

processes all contribute to the centre culture, which together with the influence of

external environmental factors affect how well the child care centre can achieve

desired outcomes. This broad Social Systems Model with its relevant components is

presented in Figure 1.

A social systems’ view of organisations provides a way of looking at child care

centres as an integrated whole, made up of interrelated and interacting parts (Jorde

Bloom, 1991; Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman, 2000). As will be

discussed later in this paper, this study proposes that, within the Social Systems

Model, the director is ‘‘centrally’’ positioned. The director is required to think

strategically about all the systems in which a centre operates*structures, processes, people, culture and the external environment in making decisions. Understanding

parts of the interconnecting components within the systemic model is critical to

understanding centre performance. The Jorde Bloom (1991) Social Systems Model

was considered appropriate for this study because of the specific character of the

framework in this model. For instance, wider literature on social systems has

generally looked at large populations and/or institutions (Espejo, 2000; Mwita,

2000), with some organisations consisting of many layers of hierarchical structures;

whereas child care centres usually consist of flat lines of management (Applebaum,

Herbert, & Leroux, 1999; Khaleelee & Woolf, 1996) and, until recently, have

operated in isolation from the larger corporate entities. Furthermore, the Social

Systems Model provided a fitting framework for this research as the model had

350 H. Nupponen

previously been used in the United States, specifically when conducting research on

child care directors.

A social systems framework accounts for features of the external environment that

impact on the operation of the centre and specific systems within the centre. In this

research, through interviews with child care directors, using the systemic model as a

focus for the interview questions, the management role of the director in

contemporary Australian child care centres was explored.

Child Care Centres as a Business Organisation

As the data collection progressed, it became evident that, due to specific responses

from the directors pertaining to issues relating to business management, there was a

need to utilise another model that would enable the researcher to analyse these data

effectively. Thus, as well as using the Social Systems Model as a framework for this

study, an additional model was considered by Bergin-Seers and Breen (2002) for

analysing the business performance of child care centres. Their model, as presented in

Figure 2, is based on the work of Lumpkin and Dess (1996), and focuses on the

external environmental factors that affect child care centres, such as the level of

change in the industry in which an organisation operates and the profitability of the

industry. The model accounts for community perceptions and engagement; as well as

the organisational factors in terms of structure, resources, strategies and culture. The

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

CULTURE

PEOPLE PROCESSES

OUTCOMES

THE CHILD CARE CENTRE

STRUCTURE

Figure 1 A Social Systems Model in Child Care Centres (Jorde Bloom et al ., 1991, p. 8).

Child Care in Practice 351

entrepreneurial orientation of directors through their capacities to be innovative,

proactive and creative is viewed as important.

The model recognises the relationships between key components such as

organisational structures, processes and characteristics of the business environment

on performance outcomes. These factors are also evident in Figure 1, within the

Social Systems Model (Jorde Bloom, 1991) as applied in this study, where structure,

processes and the external environment are all influential in achieving desired

outcomes. However, Figure 2 has a stronger focus on the language of business, and

discusses ‘‘sales growth’’, ‘‘market share’’, and ‘‘profitability’’, when compared with the

Jorde Bloom (1991) Social Systems Model.

Organisational factors such as size, structure, and resources contribute to

outcomes, but are also highly influenced by the entrepreneurial orientation of the

manager (the child care director). The business framework proposed by Lumpkin and

Dess (1996) and presented here (Bergin-Seers & Breen, 2002) identifies key factors

contributing to outcomes for the centre from a business orientation of service

delivery that may affect the relationship between a manager of an organisation and

performance measurement. Although not clearly articulated by either Lumpkin and

Dess or Bergin-Seers and Breen, the arrows presented here in Figure 2 hypothesise

Environmental Factors • Dynamism (level of

continuity or change) • Munificence

(profitability or growth) • Complexity • Industry Characteristics

Manager: Entrepreneurial Orientation

• Autonomy • Innovativeness • Risk taking • Pro-activeness

Centre Performance • Sales growth • Market Share • Profitability • Overall

performance • Stakeholder

satisfaction

Centre: Organisational Factors

• Size • Structure • Strategy • Strategy-making

processes • Firm resources • Culture • Management team

Figure 2 Conceptual Framework of Business Performance (Bergin-Seers & Breen, 2002,

p. 25).

352 H. Nupponen

that at various points these organisational and environmental factors interlink and

interact, and influence overall organisational outcomes.

Methodology

Eight child care directors participated in the research. All the directors were female.

In the early childhood sector, female teachers dominate the field and thus directors of

early education services are almost always women. In 2002 in Australia, the child care

workforce consisted of an estimated 60,000 paid staff providing care in Common-

wealth-funded child care services (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002). The ABS

1996 Census showed that only 3.3% of Australian child care workers are male. This

finding is similar to the situation in the United States, where Saluja, Early, and

Clifford (2002) found that only 1% of the staff employed in early childhood

programmes were male.

Specific criteria were used for inviting child care centre directors to participate. The

criteria included the nature of their qualifications, number of years in the current

child care centre and the accreditation status under the Quality Improvement and

Accreditation System (QIAS) of the centre. In selecting the participants, criteria were

considered in the following ways.

Qualifications

First, the directors would hold an early childhood or child care qualification, a

minimum of a Diploma of Child Care and/or a Bachelor degree in Early Childhood

Education. Secondly, only directors who had been in the field for a minimum of

five years and had two years experience as director within their current centre were

included. Thirdly, the centres in which the directors were employed needed to be an

accredited centre under the National Childcare Quality Improvement and

Accreditation System as an indication that directors were providing quality

programmes.

Centre Descriptions

The child care directors were employed in both community-based and privately

owned centres. The centres were all located within the greater Brisbane area. Four

were adjacent to the city and four were in outer Brisbane. The selection of these

varying locations and diverse organisations brought greater variation in the directors’

experiences. In different geographical contexts, centres cater for families with

different socio-demographics. Additionally, different organisational structures (e.g.,

community-based centres versus private centres) were anticipated to impact on how

programmes were delivered and how centres were managed.

Child Care in Practice 353

Data Analysis

This research was based on a qualitative paradigm. The research was exploratory and

interpretative and a qualitative approach was considered appropriate in order to gain

greater understanding of the role and responsibilities of directors in child care centres

within a climate of policy change and an increasingly competitive child care industry

environment. A narrative about the experiences of each child care director was

developed through interview data. Each child care director was interviewed on two

occasions. Data from the directors were collected through semi-structured interviews

gaining insight into specific issues. The interview questions were developed in line

with the Social Systems Model (Jorde Bloom, 1991), which provided the focal

framework for this study. In this research, an interview guide was used to assist in

covering the major issues to be addressed and supplementary questions were

developed to explore emerging issues.

The primary goal within the data analysis in this research was to create substantive

categories that emerged in the participants’ responses in focal areas. The data were

transcribed and themes were identified for areas of the analysis. A process of

reiteration was used. The transcripts were read as a whole and then reread a number

of times to identify categories in the data, and draw out the evidence to substantiate

these categories. The sequential processes in the data analysis encompassed

familiarisation with the text of each interview, identifying categories of description,

comparisons of categories across interviews, and the identification of exceptions

when the common categories did not appear to fit the ‘‘general case’’.

Results

Specific practices and beliefs that the directors held about their organisational roles

were explored. Conceptualising the work environment of child care centres within a

systemic model provided understanding about the impact of the external environ-

ment, structure of the centre, specific centre processes, working with people, culture

of the centre and impact of outcomes that accounts for a variety of influences

impacting on the day-to-day work of directors.

The following section outlines key themes from the directors’ responses that relate

to the Business Model of service delivery in child care centres as adopted from Bergin

Seers and Breen (2002). As earlier mentioned, the Bergin Seers and Breen Model

extends the Social Systems Model that provided the framework for the interview

questions by providing an additional focus on child care centres from a business

perspective.

Environmental Factors

All directors were concerned about the accountability and the status of child care; and

funding issues, not least because the withdrawal of the operational subsidies to

community-based child care centres in 1997 (Nupponen, 2005), still remains an issue

354 H. Nupponen

to debate in 2006. This significant shift had been a central policy component, in that

for more than 25 years Australia’s child care services had been organised within local

communities while being supported by public funding.

Key themes about the changing policy and social context of child care noted by the

directors were:

. competition policy in the child care industry has had a significant impact; and

. finding new ways to respond to the diverse needs of children and families.

The directors had mixed feelings about the current fee subsidy available to families

(childcare subsidy to offset fees paid by parents), noting that ‘‘For [some] parents it

has made child care much more affordable, and for some centres it has made them

scarcely viable’’. One director commented that changes to funding meant that ‘‘we

had to become more aware of advertising ourselves. We became more inclined to

make sure that everything was presented perfectly. We had to work very hard on

advertising’’.

A director who worked in a community centre commented on the loss of the

operational subsidy due to the many changes at the policy level. This has meant that

existing staff have had to take on added responsibilities to ensure to remain viable in a

competitive field:

It’s forced us to make choices about services for children. You cannot lose $63,000

out of your budget and not feel the impact of that. It means [that] staff and you,

have had to take on extra roles. As an organisation we have accepted that we would

bear the cost of not doing away with the domestic roles. . . . And we have struggled to maintain a fee that is competitive.

Increasing commercialisation has meant that directors need to be constantly

vigilant in maintaining enrolments to ensure of their centre’s viability. Meeting the

diverse needs of children and families was deemed difficult. According to the

participants, the greatest challenge was to establish services or centres that were

appropriate for children and appropriate for families.

Centre Performance

The majority of the directors in this study were concerned about the increasing

accountability to various government departments. Key themes relating to centre

performance (including quality) and outcomes were as follows:

. child care services must be more accountable for quality outcomes; and

. quality care is about meeting the needs of the children.

A few of the directors indicated that centres themselves should take more

responsibility to ensure that they are providing a quality service within the

community:

Child Care in Practice 355

In terms of the regulations, and the changes to Accreditation, I would hope, and it

is yet to be seen, that it makes centres nationwide just more accountable. I really

think that we have a responsibility to maintain standards and follow these

regulations that are really more or less aiming towards higher standards of care and

quality. I believe every centre should be toeing the line and becoming more

accountable.

One director spoke strongly about government policy and legislation:

Policies and legislation are there to protect children, yet government departments

are hesitant to act on issues that are clearly a breach of the regulations [that is,

inadequate staff/child ratios].

Clearly, increasing accountability to both state and federal government has added

to the directors’ workload. One director accentuated the importance of child care and

early education by commenting that ‘‘as long as the centres are providing quality

learning and a nurturing environment for children, child care can be a really positive

part of families’ lives’’. All directors agreed that it is important to meet the needs of

the children as well as to consider the needs of the wider community. Throughout the

data, emphasis was placed on the importance of considering the child within the

context of the family. The service provided care and education for the child, but

equally important was ensuring that families were satisfied that their particular needs

were being met through the provision of appropriate, financially affordable services.

Organisational Factors

One of the most influential elements of the external environment that impacts on

child care centres is the nature of the ownership or the sponsorship of the centre. This

influences centre policies and structures, and the role and the responsibilities of the

director. The nature of the ownership and sponsorship determines how directors go

about their work and what they do. Most directors noted that the nature of the

sponsoring organisation influenced policies because decisions might pass through

several layers of management before gaining final approval. Collaboration and

engagement of families in centre decision-making was deemed important. Evaluation

was seen as an ongoing process.

Two significant themes in the directors’ responses were:

. the sponsoring organisation has an impact on policy development; and

. evaluation is an ongoing process which requires input from parents and staff.

The director of the centre operated by a university commented that, irrespective of

university operating procedures, she was still able to influence policy through the

centre’s advisory committee, which included parents and staff. There are similarities

in the way policies are developed and implemented in a centre operated by a large

community-based organisation. For example, both directors are involved in meetings

356 H. Nupponen

with higher management regarding specific policies and practices that need to be

developed and implemented within their child care centres.

The directors were asked about their approach to evaluation of their centres. All

directors identified the importance of getting different perspectives by obtaining

information from parents and staff and by using different processes for evaluation,

such as meetings or questionnaires. One comment was that evaluation occurs

naturally during staff meetings where organisational plans are reviewed and modified

as needed.

Another director conducts an annual evaluation through the Quality Improvement

and Accreditation System (National Childcare Accreditation Council, 1993, 2001)

with support from the larger organisation. Other issues were dealt with as they

occurred. It was noted that evaluation is difficult. Most directors felt that it was

important to let families know in-depth information about the programme on

enrolment, to enable them to make informed decisions about future directions. The

findings show that only one director mentioned the QIAS process as a form of

evaluation. This process is an in-depth self-study process that considers all aspects of

operating a child care centre, and thus needs to be recognised as a valuable evaluation

strategy for continual improvement that is already in place in most child care centres

in Australia.

Entrepreneurial Orientation

Because child care directors deal directly with families they are very aware of the

issues faced by families with young children. Directors in the interviews for this study

were concerned about stressors both financial and those related to complexity of

needs on families. Key themes reflective of entrepreneurial orientation to manage-

ment in child care centres were:

. child care centres are required to meet increasingly complex family needs; and

. the director needs to have commitment and vision toward organisational goals.

One director commented on the social and economic pressures on families and the

need for child care staff to respond:

I see more stressed families, more single mums, families struggling. . . . Child care is not a choice anymore but a case of having to [place your child in care]. . . . It has a lot to do with stress levels, economics and things that are going on around them.

. . . People are starting to realise child care is not just a babysitting service. There is a lot more going on there and the importance of it.

To address the complexity of families’ needs one director envisaged an expansion of

child care staffing by engaging professionals like counselors and social workers in

child care centres for families. She felt that directors are good listeners but aren’t

skilled enough to see someone in need of [professional] help.

Child Care in Practice 357

The participants discussed team work and the vision that allows all the team

members to work toward the same organisational goals. Research affirms that

managers with a clear vision of the future can empower others through their personal

authority (Khaleelee & Woolf, 1996). These aspects were apparent in how the

directors discussed their role but they also focused on management in relation to

others and saw the manager’s role to engender respect, being a role model, and to

guide and nurture others.

Director of a Child Care Centre

The directors noted several forms of training and education that would enhance their

skills and knowledge about management practices. They stressed the importance of

developing and implementing a pathway for those aspiring toward director positions.

This pathway would consist of streams such as provision of formal courses of study in

business and management in university courses, opportunity for mentoring schemes

and opportunity to network within the wider community.

Directors identified important skill areas in which professional training was

required. Key themes in the area of professional development were:

. a stronger focus on skills in business management was needed;

. programmes for the development of communication skills are important; and

. a professional pathway for directors is needed.

All directors recognised that they need a clear understanding of their role and

responsibilities and require more training in managing a small business, including

human resources. The challenge is to provide training that would be relevant to

specific communities.

One director commented that a director apprenticeship for a 12-month period

would assist interested applicants for directorship to learn about the role before

accepting the position. This could mean that an assistant director would shadow an

experienced director for a 12-month period to learn about the requirements of the

role to be better informed before taking on the position of a director.

Table 1 presents a summary of the key themes as derived from the directors’

comments. These findings are now summarised in the final section of this paper.

Summary

The directors in this study indicated they are concerned that child care centres are

increasingly required to respond to diverse and complex family needs. While societal

understanding of the purpose of child care centres remains focused on care for

children while parents are engaged in work or study, directors in this study saw that

their services have a broader role in helping families in their parenting role. They

noted that child care centres are well placed within the community to fulfil this role.

While directors are sensitive to these additional responsibilities and believe that they

358 H. Nupponen

are in a key position to assist families seeking a variety of supports, it was reported

that directors alone cannot meet the complexity of families’ needs; rather,

engagement of other professionals (such as counsellors and social workers) in child

care centres may address this need. This is evident in research (Tennent, Tayler, &

Farrell, 2002) pointing out that early childhood centres provide an opportune place

to support families in a variety of ways through integrating support services to

address the underlying social, economic and policy factors that affect young children

and their families.

The directors recognised the increased demands placed upon them by various

government accountability processes in maintaining their centre’s eligibility for the

Childcare Benefit and engagement in the QIAS accreditation system. Centres are also

required to meet the state regulations for the operation of child care centres.

Managers in educational settings, including child care centres, are increasingly

required to take account of these external environmental influences in their practices

(Foskett & Lumby, 2003; Fraser, 2000), while at the same time they are required to

make complex decisions about day-to-day practice, finances and human resources.

Directors emphasised that the sponsoring organisation influences how decisions are

made. This is an important finding as previous literature in the field has not explored

this issue. Further research is needed to find out more about the influence of the

sponsoring organisation on centre management and how this impacts on the

director’s role and responsibilities. The child care director’s position requires teaching

expertise to lead staff in quality practice but also many other responsibilities in order

to be an effective administrator to meet the regulatory and accountability

requirements of government, as well as to adhere to organisational polices.

Evident from the directors in this study was that their role was changing through

the nature of the business environment in which centres increasingly operated.

Table 1 Key Themes Derived from Director Responses

Area of analysis Key theme

Environmental factors

Competition policy in the child care industry has had a significant impact

Finding new ways to respond to the diverse needs of children and families Centre performance

Child care services must be more accountable for quality outcomes

Quality care is about meeting the needs of the children Organisational factors

The sponsoring organisation has an impact on policy development

Evaluation is an ongoing process which requires input from parents and staff Entrepreneurial orientation

Child care centres are required to meet increasingly complex family needs

The director needs to have commitment and vision toward organisational goals

Director of a child care centre

A stronger focus on skills in business management was needed

Programmes for the development of communication skills are important A professional pathway for directors is needed

Child Care in Practice 359

Competition policy in the child care industry has had a significant impact. There has

been a considerable shift away from a community-based non-profit system in the

delivery of long-day care service to the commercialisation of the industry in a market-

driven system (Press & Hayes, 2000; Murdoch, 2004). Whether employed in the

community-based sector or in the commercial sector, the directors recognised the

need to acknowledge this shift and respond to it. As mentioned earlier, Bergin-Seers

and Breen’s (2002) model was used to analyse the business performance of child care

centres as noted in Figure 1. Their model focuses on the external environmental

factors that can affect child care centres. The model reflects many of the issues, which

the directors in this study identified in respect to how centres now need to operate

within the social, economic and legislative climate. While the directors did not

specifically identify the need for an entrepreneurial orientation, this was implicit in

how they discussed their work. They presented needing to be proactive in being

accountable, and maintaining the reputation and quality of their centre. The Bergin-

Seers and Breen model complements the original Social Systems Model proposed by

Jorde Bloom (1991). It extends that model by emphasising that child care centres

operate in a dynamic business environment. The shift to a business culture was

apparent in this study as directors discussed the importance of maintaining

enrolments, responding to reduced funding and the importance of marketing their

centre in a competitive environment.

The model proposed by Bergin-Seers and Breen (2002, p. 25) is modified in Figure

3 to include issues raised by the directors in this study that pertain to a business

model of service delivery in child care centres and recognises important characteristic

of management skills that promote an entrepreneurial orientation to service delivery.

For instance, the category ‘‘Environmental factors’’ that identifies ‘‘Dynamism’’ (level

of continual change) in the Bergin-Seers and Breen (2002) Model is represented here

as ‘‘Competition policy has had a significant impact’’ and ‘‘Finding new ways to

respond to the diverse needs of children and families’’, demonstrating a correlation of

ideas.

The findings indicate that directors require theoretical and professional knowledge

of the early childhood field to enable them to address children’s developmental and

educational milestones, as well as a good understanding of business and manage-

ment. This includes awareness of funding options, operational costs and responsive-

ness to the needs of the local community. Also, directors need to be visionary in their

planning, while also maintaining very high standards in their service delivery as well

as have a commitment to continual improvement of their centres. This requires

strong engagement with the sponsoring organisation, the parents using the service

and external influences. To address complex macro and policy issues, directors

require a broad view of their service and its operation in a complex and competitive

industry, which also has to be value-driven in its care and educational focus in

implementing a philosophy of child-centred practice. To develop these skills,

directors reported that there is a need to instigate a professional pathway to provide

them with an opportunity to learn and, in some cases, enhance their management

and business knowledge.

360 H. Nupponen

The model proposes that, given the increasing growth of the private sector and the

funding constraints in the commercial and community sectors, a different view of

child care is needed. In the presented model, the arrows within indicate the required

skills and knowledge of the director to enable (the director) to adopt a business

orientation to service delivery, providing a framework to represent this business

focus. The model presented here differs from the Bergin-Seers and Breen (2002)

Model in that the director is clearly situated at the core of the organisation and is in

an influential position to interact with all the components of the centre. Furthermore,

this model outlines specific skills and knowledge required, and recognises the

importance of a professional pathway to enable the director to provide effective

management in a child care centre. Whereas the Bergin-Seers and Breen model

broadly outlines a number of organisational and environmental factors that may

Director of a child care centre • Management qualities - intrapersonal and interpersonal qualities • Developing management skills – a professional pathway • A strong focus on business management is needed

Entrepreneurial Orientation • Child care centres are required to meet increasingly complex family needs • The director needs to have commitment and vision toward organisational goals

and advertising • Marketing

Centre Performance • Child care services must be more accountable for quality outcomes

• Quality care is about meeting the needs of children

Environmental Factors • Competition policy has had a significant impact • Finding new ways to respond to the diverse needs of children and families

Organisational Factors • The sponsoring organisation has an impact on policy development • Evaluation is ongoing process which requires input from parents • Programs for development of communication skills are important

•

Figure 3 Business Model of Service Delivery in Child Care Centres (Adapted from

Bergin-Seers & Breen, 2002).

Child Care in Practice 361

influence performance in an organisation, there is limited mention of how these

factors reflect on the skills, role and responsibilities of the manager (or director), and/

or where the manager sits within the organisation. The arrows within the model

presented here show that all the components of the organisation interlink and that

managing is a cyclic process with continual movement from one component to

another for effective monitoring and evaluation of service delivery. This concept is

similar to that presented in the earlier Social Systems Model (Jorde Bloom, 1991).

However, corporatisation of child care services is a concern for many child care

staff. There needs to be an effective analysis of the effects of commercialisation,

including the influence of the sponsoring organisation on the quality aspects of

service delivery, so that the care for children is not compromised in a competitive

environment in which costs have to be carefully managed. Consultations with the

more entrepreneurial centre directors may offer a good starting point for such a

review (Bergin-Seers & Breen, 2002). As Fraser (2000) noted, the professional early

education sector must also develop stronger links with the business community in

order to advocate for early childhood services that enhance the social capital of the

community.

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