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Journal directory listing - Volume 71 (2026) - Journal of Research in Education Sciences【71(3)】September
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More than Substitute Care: Reconstructing the Cultural Meaning and Publicness of Taiwan’s Childcare System Through Bruner’s Perspective Author:
Yi-Ping Lo (Center for Teacher Education, Chinese Culture University)
Chien-Chung Hsu (Department of Counseling and Applied Psychology, National Taichung University of Education)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 71, No. 3
Date：September 2026
Pages：131-156
DOI：https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202609_71(3).0005

Abstract：

Research Motivation and Purpose
　　In contemporary Taiwan, the childcare system has been positioned primarily as a functional policy tool to address the issues of labor market participation, fertility decline, and economic development. While these goals are undeniably important, such instrumental orientation has also obscured the cultural and educational dimensions of childcare. Care has often been reduced to physiological support and service provision, neglecting its role as a fundamental arena for children’s early socialization, cultural participation, and moral learning. Simultaneously, the system continues to be shaped by entrenched gender norms that presume women as primary caregivers, thereby reinforcing structural inequalities between women’s career trajectories and caregiving responsibilities.
　　Against this backdrop, the present study aims to reconceptualize Taiwan’s childcare system by engaging Jerome Bruner’s cultural psychology and reflections on “Care Away from Home”. Bruner
(2006) emphasized that early childcare settings are not merely auxiliary services for working parents but crucial cultural environments in which children acquire language, emotional understanding, and cognitive skills through daily interactions. Drawing on this insight, this study seeks to critique the functionalist logic underlying Taiwanese childcare policy and to highlight the neglected dimensions of culture, public responsibility, and gender equity. Specifically, the research is motivated by two key purposes: first, to uncover the cultural assumptions and epistemological logic embedded in Taiwan’s childcare policies across different historical stages; and second, to propose transformative directions that redefine childcare as an educational and cultural practice rooted in public values and collective responsibility.
Literature Review
　　The development of childcare systems has long been a focal point in international research, with scholars emphasizing accessibility, affordability, and quality as central policy concerns. In Taiwan, however, these priorities have often been approached through a functionalist lens, framing childcare primarily as a mechanism to sustain the labor supply and mitigate demographic challenges. While pragmatic, such framing has overlooked the cultural meanings of care and its role in shaping children’s subjectivity.
　　Jerome Bruner’s cultural psychology offers a critical theoretical lens for re-examining this issue. In Acts of Meaning and The Culture of Education, Bruner argued that human development is inseparable from cultural participation, with narrative and symbolic practices constituting the core of learning. In his essay Care Away from Home, Bruner further highlighted that childcare settings are not secondary to formal schooling but are cultural sites where children acquire language, emotional understanding, and cognitive frameworks through daily routines. This perspective challenges the instrumental treatment of childcare and repositions it as an inherent educational and cultural practice.
　　Complementing Bruner’s work, Rogoff emphasized that children’s development is embedded in cultural practices and community participation, underscoring that learning emerges within shared sociocultural contexts rather than isolated instruction. Similarly, Dasen demonstrated through cross-cultural psychology that developmental trajectories vary according to cultural environments, cautioning against universalizing models of care. These insights resonate with Taiwan’s current struggles, in which reliance on market and family resources reproduces inequality. Furthermore, Bernard critiqued gendered assumptions in early childhood education, showing how caregiving professions are often feminized and devalued, reinforcing systemic inequities.
　　These studies highlight the importance of situating childcare policies within a broader cultural and gender framework. They provide the theoretical foundation for examining Taiwan’s childcare system not only as a matter of service provision, but also as a critical cultural and public institution.
Research Method
　　This study employs the hermeneutic circle method to critically analyze the structural blind spots in Taiwan’s childcare system, particularly regarding cultural meaning, publicness, and gender governance, and proposes a culturally oriented framework for policy reconstruction. The interpretive circle emphasizes the dynamic movement between part and whole, text, and context, enabling the researcher to uncover the implicit cultural assumptions and epistemological logic embedded in institutional arrangements.
　　Through this approach, the analysis revealed how each stage was shaped by specific cultural presuppositions– for instance, the gendered assumption of “motherhood as care,” the functionalist framing of childcare as an economic instrument, and the reliance on market and family resources as substitutes for public responsibility. By returning repeatedly from these historical cases to Bruner’s theoretical concepts– such as cultural participation, narrative meaning-making, and the distinction between “big C” and “small c” culture– the study was able to reframe childcare not as a neutral service but as a deeply cultural and public practice. Thus, the hermeneutic circle provides both a methodological pathway and a critical stance for interrogating the cultural foundations of Taiwan’s childcare system and envisioning transformative alternatives.
Research Findings
　　This study identified three structural challenges embedded in Taiwan’s childcare system. First, care has been reduced to a functional service, narrowly defined as meeting physiological needs or enabling parental employment, while its deeper cultural and educational roles in children’s socialization and meaning-making remain overlooked. Second, the system relies heavily on families and the market, resulting in high costs and a limited public provision. This dependence reflects the cultural assumptions of family responsibility and contributes to inequality, as access to quality childcare becomes stratified by socioeconomic status. Third, care work has been narrowly professionalized, focusing on technical procedures and labor substitution, while neglecting caregivers’ roles as cultural and ethical mediators. This has marginalized care as low-status labor and undermined its recognition as a professional and cultural practice.
　　To address these challenges, this study proposed three transformative directions. The first is “Care as Education,” which redefines childcare as a cultural arena that supports children’s early development and participation in shared practices. The second is “From Individual Choice to Collective Responsibility,” which calls for expanding public investment and recognizing childcare as essential social infrastructure. The third is “Reconstructing Caregivers’ Professional Role,” which positions caregivers as cultural practitioners and educational mediators, thereby enhancing their professional identity and social recognition. Together, these directions suggest a shift away from functionalist governance toward a childcare system grounded in cultural meaning, public values, and gender equity.
Discussion and Suggestions
　　The findings reveal that Taiwan’s childcare system remains bound by functionalist governance and gendered cultural assumptions, although responsive to demands for accessibility and quality. To overcome these structural limitations, the study applies Bruner’s cultural psychology, particularly his distinction between “big C” Culture and “small c” culture. Policies have emphasized “big C” frameworks– formal governance, demographic management, and economic rationality– while neglecting the “small c” cultural practices embedded in daily caregiving, where children acquire language, emotional understanding, and social norms. Recognizing care as “small c” culture underscores its role as a site of meaning making and public responsibility.
　　Based on this perspective, three key suggestions were proposed. First, it redefines childcare as a cultural-educational practice by embedding cultural participation and ethical dimensions into policy narratives, curricula, and institutional design. Second, it strengthens the public character of childcare through expanded state responsibility, equitable access, and investment in childcare as social infrastructure. Third, reconstruct caregivers’ professional and social identities, recognizing them not as feminized or technical labor but as cultural mediators and educational actors.
　　In sum, situating childcare within a cultural-psychological framework allows for a transformative vision that transcends functionalist constraints and affirms childcare as a cornerstone of cultural participation, public value, and gender equity in Taiwan’s future.

Keywords：J. Bruner, cultural psychology, childcare policy, educational and cultural practice, caregivers

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APA Format
Lo, Y.-P., & Hsu, C.-C. (2026). More than Substitute Care: Reconstructing the Cultural Meaning and Publicness of Taiwan’s Childcare System Through Bruner’s Perspective. Journal of Research in Education Sciences, 71(3), 131-156.
https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202609_71(3).0005