Maternalist discourse in nursery nurse training at Wellgarth Nursery Training School from 1911 to 1939: current dilemmas of class and status in historical context

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores current dilemmas of status surrounding professional roles for the early years workforce through research into training for nursery nurses at Wellgarth Nursery Training School, London, from 1911 to 1939. It interrogates the issues through the lens of vocational habitus and feminine and emotional capital and draws comparison with contemporary training for Froebel teachers. The data identify maternalist discourse as a common factor in training for Wellgarth and Froebel students, with consequences for a gendered workforce. The research demonstrates that class was the key factor in the ability to pursue a career in nursery nursing or teaching, and shaped unique professional identities. The historical perspective sets current European and English policy on early years professional roles, and the plethora of recent literature on differentiated constructions of professionalism, which problematises conceptions of professional roles as caring or teaching, within a history dating back over 100 years.