Abstract
This paper focuses on the recent Japanese welfare trends called “the socialization of childcare.” Mostly, it means to strengthen public support for childcare, such as increasing nursery schools or diversification of childcare support systems. Public support for childcare has been increasingly recognized as important. However, there are some arguments as to whether childcare should be public duty or private family duty. These conflicts are caused by considering “the socialization of childcare” in the dualism of “public” and “private.” This paper tries to eliminate this dualism and suggest another way of “the socialization of childcare” by reconsidering the social movement of cooperative nursery schools, which were prospering around 1950s to 1970s all over Japan. The parents of cooperative nursery schools managed their schools, and took care of their children in cooperation with other parents. They shared the duty of childcare, and took care of their own and others’ children together. It was neither private nor public way of childcare. Their way of childcare can be called “the childcare in commons” or “cooperation for childcare.” It represents the possibility of another way of “the socialization of childcare” which is beyond the dualism of “public” and “private.”
