‘Minding’,‘Working’,‘Teaching’: Childcare in Aotearoa/New Zealand,1940s—2000s

Over a sixty-year period, staff working in childcare have been transformed from childminders into teachers on a path towards pay parity with teachers in the kindergarten, primary and secondary school sectors. Similarly, childcare provision has shifted from being deemed potentially harmful for children, and unnecessary except in exceptional situations, to become the major provider of early childhood education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Sixty years ago, childcare centres were excluded from government interest in terms of policy and funding. In the 2000s, childcare is a major plank of government policy interest. This article documents the political ‘gazes' that have framed three ‘windows' or points in time when significant government reports became blueprints for policy shifts. Advocacy was a key driver in shifting government opinion and policy.