In the modern world the social role of childhood is increasingly differentiated from adulthood and brought under the jurisdiction of the state. This is not primarily a social organizational process but an institutional or ideological one: the ideological rules of differentiated and state-managed childhood diffuse throughout the global nation-state system regardless of variations among nations in dimensions of organizational development. We show this by coding the constitutions of all nation-states since 1870 for references and rules concerning childhood. Our index summarizing these references rises sharply betaiveen 1870 and 1970. At any point, the index does not vary significantly among rich and poor, neix and old, or central and peripheral states. Ideological rules concerning childhood are weakly (and decreasingly) related to technical development, and strongly (and increasingly) related to the general authority of the state.

The Ideology of Childhood and the State: Rules Distinguishing Children in National Constitutions, 1870-1970

This article examines how notions of “the child” were constructed in marketing research literature from the 1910s through the 1990s. Drawing on children's industry trade literature, market reports ...

The Other “Child Study”: Figuring Children as Consumers in Market Research, 1910s–1990s

The phenomenon of paternalism-interfering with an individual's freedom for his or her own good-is prevalent in contemporary social work. Despite its visibility, however, the concept has received little attention in the profession's literature. This article examines the philosophical origin and evolution of the concept of paternalism and discusses its relevance to the practice of social work. Particular attention is given to the problems of justifying paternalistic actions in social work and establishing criteria to determine when paternalism is warranted.

The Concept of Paternalism in Social Work

The aim is to make a start on developing a comprehensive and integrated account of the adolescent transition, and to use this to articulate changes in adolescents’ relationships with their parents, and with institutions and the state. The thesis builds on existing work on the adolescent transition to offer an enriched map of the adolescent landscape. I argue that extant accounts over-simplify what is a highly complex period. I develop a gradualist multi-sphere model based on the many spheres of activity that open up to adolescents during the adolescent transition. Each sphere is associative and involves a range of responsibilities, powers, and rights. Negotiation of each sphere requires various skills, capacities, and knowledge, some of which are sphere-specific, others which are useful across several spheres of activity. Relationships are of central importance to understanding changes in adolescent status. To develop the relevant skills and competences needed to participate in each sphere requires practise and experience, and successful negotiation of new spheres requires familiarisation. Parents can facilitate the right kind of familiarisation and practise within spheres by mediating children’s relationships with institutions and organisations, but then must allow adolescents to negotiate these relationships when they are able to. Existing legislation reflects an underlying commitment to sphere-based gradualism. The sphere-model provides an integrated account of the adolescent transition that can make sense of gradual changes in status as adolescents mature at both an informal or social level, and at a more formal legislative level.

Mapping the Adolescent Landscape:An enriched account of adolescence

The passage in 1980 of Public Law 96-272, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, concluded more than a decade of advocacy on behalf of children in foster care. This article analyzes a number of forces prompting child welfare reform and describes the various activities and actors involved in the complex policy process that resulted in passage of the federal statute. The article is organized around five of the major steps generally associated with finding political solutions to social needs: the definition and publicizing of a problem, its placement on the political agenda, the articulation of a policy goal, and the design of a policy vehicle or program.

Child Welfare Reform and the Political Process

Since the establishment of the Children's Bureau in 1912, the federal government has played a role in the welfare of children. Children's Bureau director Julia Lathrop issued a report in 1917 calling for federal aid to the states for public health programs covering maternity and infancy. Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, introduced the Maternal and Child Health bill in 1918, and a version passed in 1921 as the Sheppard-Towner Act. Attacked as a Communist plot against the family by extreme conservatives and opposed by the American Medical Association, the legislation lapsed in 1928, to be revived with the New Deal.

Ruth Highberger

Papers

The Children's Rights Movement