Inequality in pre-school provision : a geographical perspective

Abstract

This paper is a preliminary analysis of pre-school services, a field which, with a few exceptions (Holmes, Williams and Brown, 1972; Freeman, 1977) has been ignored by geographers and indeed other urban analysts concerned with service allocations in cities. There are numerous possible explanations for this state of affairs, not the least important being the fact that study of the under-fives has been dominated by psychologists concerned with the intellectual, emotional and social development of young children. Furthermore, as this paper reveals, numerous elements need to be integrated to analyse this problem from a spatial perspective - accessibility indices within cities, the social structure of neighbourhoods, the operation of the local political system and the development of social policy at the national and international level. Various authors have examined these issues in isolation but few have brought the necessary synthesis for a spatial view of pre-school services. It must also be remembered that there are in any case relatively few 'official' pre-school facilities so that inevitably the major items of expenditure in the fields, of housing, transportation, social services and the like have received the lion's share of attention. However, the major reason must be the fact that these services primarily affect the lives of women and in common with all such issues have been neglected by geographers. Despite a number of recent pleas for a redress of this imbalance (eg. Monck & Hanson, 1982) there has so far been relatively little empirical research (eg. Tivers, 1977). One final difficulty is that the complex almost chaotic nature of pre-school services makes the collection of comprehensive data extremely difficult. In this respect I have been extremely fortunate in Southampton for the extensive help given to me by Ros Park, Hilda Carter and Margaret Clarkson of the Pre-School Playgroups Association; Pam Whyte of the National Childminders Association; Mrs Jones of the Southampton Area Education Office and Maureen Booth of Hampshire County Council. None of these persons is of course responsible for any errors of fact or interpretation.

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