Showing papers in "Childhood in 2002"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore seven methodological issues in some detail to illustrate the ways in which aspects of the research process usually considered to be the same for both adults and children can p...
Abstract: This article explores seven methodological issues in some detail to illustrate the ways in which aspects of the research process usually considered to be the same for both adults and children can p...
1,359 citations
TL;DR: The perspective of ''children as social actors'' has created a field with new ethical dilemmas and responsibilities for researchers within the social study of childhood as discussed by the authors, which concern, for example, t...
Abstract: The perspective of `children as social actors' has created a field with new ethical dilemmas and responsibilities for researchers within the social study of childhood. These concern, for example, t...
769 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the experience of school in terms of children's citizenship, exploring the level of participation experienced by a sample of Irish primary school children over decisions related to the control of their time, space and interaction in school.
Abstract: This article analyses the experience of school in terms of children's citizenship, exploring the level of participation experienced by a sample of Irish primary school children over decisions related to the control of their time, space and interaction in school. Locating such experience within the context of the structuration of adult-child relations, education for and into citizenship, it is argued, must take account of the dynamics of power and control between adults and children, teachers and pupils and the impact on children's construction of themselves as citizens with a voice to be both heard and expressed in school.
194 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an ethnographic study of children's gender and sexual identities during their final year of primary school was carried out to examine the physical and verbal forms of heterosexual, homophobic and heterosexist harassment of both girls and boys.
Abstract: When sexual harassment and schooling have been the focus of research, the site of investigation has been the secondary school and subsequently the experiences of adolescents. Locating the primary school as a key arena for the production and regulation of sexual discourses, practices and identities, this article examines the neglected area of preadolescents' experiences of different forms of sexual harassment. Drawing on data from an ethnographic study of children's gender and sexual identities during their final year of primary school, the author reports on the physical and verbal forms of heterosexual, homophobic and heterosexist harassment of both girls and boys and suggests that such practices are the means by which many children define, create and consolidate hegemonic masculinities and femininities, heterosexual identities and heterosexual hierarchies. The implications regarding the more damaging practices of children's sexual cultures and relationships for policy and practice are discussed briefly in the concluding section.
170 citations
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TL;DR: A review of exemplary studies identifies an extensive agenda for new child-centered studies of production, distribution, and consumption as discussed by the authors, which reveals their extensive and consequential involvement in the economy.
Abstract: Analysts have frequently neglected children's economic activities as peripheral and/or morally threatening, but recent work has challenged both characterizations Direct observation of children's participation in production, distribution and consumption reveals their extensive and consequential involvement in the economy The organization, meaning and consequences of children's economic activity vary significantly among three different sets of social relations: with other household members, with agents of organizations outside households and with other children A review of exemplary studies identifies an extensive agenda for new child-centered studies of production, distribution and consumption
137 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the importance of analysing discourses on children and participation in a historical cultural context, and question the current, flourishing interest in those discourses.
Abstract: As a participant at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, Sharon Stephens highlighted her experiences of children's participation at the conference: `Many of the young people at the conference expressed frustration with the official convention negotiations and felt that, while their presence was desired as a sign of the importance conference organizers placed on the participation of children and youth, in fact their views were not really taken seriously.' Her sensitive observations highlight the importance of analysing discourses on `children and participation' in a historical cultural context, and question the current, flourishing interest in those discourses. The aim of this article is to contribute to a discussion on how discourses on `children and participation' are deeply embedded in discursive fields other than children and their rights. Studies of participatory projects in Norway illuminate in particular an interrelatedness between constructions of childhood an...
112 citations
TL;DR: The notion of listening to children so that they can participate in decision-making about their everyday lives has become an established principle of child law and policy in England and Wales as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The notion of listening to children so that they can participate in decision-making about their everyday lives has become an established principle of child law and policy in England and Wales. That...
112 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the World Bank's view of early childhood as an example of the globalization of childhood and argued that the Bank pursues neoliberal economic policies that exacerbate the gap between childhood and adulthood.
Abstract: This article explores the World Bank's view of early childhood as an example of the globalization of childhood. It argues that the Bank pursues neoliberal economic policies that exacerbate the gap ...
96 citations
TL;DR: Using findings from a study of children's experiences of parental separation and divorce in Botswana, the author examines the extent to which children's expressed needs for information were or were not met as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Using findings from a study of children's experiences of parental separation and divorce in Botswana, the author examines the extent to which children's expressed needs for information were or were...
87 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make a case for the importance of time-use studies of children: such studies that will provide a flexible resource for describing and analysing children's social lives and well-being.
Abstract: Concerns about children's time-use and daily activities are not new. Nevertheless it is evident that such studies are scarce and partial and that as of today the knowledge we have on the patterns of children's everyday activities and the way in which different patterns of activity impact on children's well-being is insufficient. This article makes a case for the importance of time-use studies of children: such studies that will provide a flexible resource for describing and analysing children's social lives and well-being. Based on an extensive and rigorous literature review, the article analyses various studies on children's time-use by their goals, target population and methods. An analysis that provides not only the basis for calling for more studies but suggests how children's time-use could be studied on a larger scale and on a regular basis as a part of society's effort to study and monitor its children's well-being.
69 citations
TL;DR: Schildkrout as discussed by the authors is Curator for African Ethnology in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History; she is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and at the City...
Abstract: Enid Schildkrout is Curator for African Ethnology in the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History; she is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and at the City ...
TL;DR: The authors examines the concept of childhood in an African society and tracks a contemporary shift in thinking about what a child is when a major sociocultural transformation effects a large segment of that population.
Abstract: The article examines the concept of childhood in an African society and tracks a contemporary shift in thinking about what a child is when a major sociocultural transformation effects a large segment of that population. The Pare, traditionally patrilineal highland cultivators, have recently experienced a change in their subsistence base from hoe cultivation to wage labor. This brought about a shift away from reliance on lineage authority to more couple-centered relations in some couples. A consequence of this has been a reduction in fertility in these couples and a view on children which departs from the traditional one. The article compares the daily lives of the children and the two types of parents' conceptualizations of childhood.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look in detail at several samples of talk of two British children, at ages ranging between 2 and 10 years, as they interact with other children, and their parents and grandparents.
Abstract: Participating in conversation involves the co-construction of ideas, folk-beliefs and narratives concerning childhood, where young children learn to display versions of themselves in context. Using conversation analysis, this study looks in detail at several samples of talk of two British children, at ages ranging between 2 and 10 years, as they interact with other children, and their parents and grandparents. The article considers representations or discourses of childhood evident in these everyday conversations, and the ways in which children position themselves with regard to such discourses. Learning how to `be' a child is likely to involve taking on board `child-subject' positionings available in everyday talk. The conclusion discusses these observations in relation to contemporary accounts of the child subject-self and discourse.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the engagement of children with projects of nationalism in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, where the principal focus is upon children as they engage with the discourses presented to them within a particular spatial and historical context.
Abstract: Based on fieldwork in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, this article describes the engagement of children with projects of nationalism. In their position of marginality to both the Jordanian nation-state and the emerging Palestinian national entity, the children of Hussein Camp are the objects of different visions for their own collective future. The article offers a description of these visions and the ways in which they inform the actions of their proponents. However, the principal focus is upon children as they engage with the discourses presented to them within a particular spatial and historical context.
TL;DR: Through interrogating our prevailing understanding of childhoods of the poor in the Third World as ''traditional'' as mentioned in this paper, the authors make apparent the significant break that colonialism signified for the poor.
Abstract: Through interrogating our prevailing understanding of childhoods of the poor in the Third World as `traditional', this article attempts to make apparent the significant break that colonialism signi...
TL;DR: The authors examines the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in relation to its influence on local attitudes towards childhood and children's lived experiences in the context of Vietnam and presents the attitudes of aid agency members that work with, and focus their attentions on, those children.
Abstract: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) assumes that children are universally the same. It can be argued that its provisions are weighted in favour of a modern, western sense of the individual. While there is a growing body of literature that supports this proposition, little material exists in which both the lives and attitudes of children and the approaches of international aid agencies working with them are researched and considered alongside each other. This article examines the CRC in relation to its influence on local attitudes towards childhood and children's lived experiences in the context of Vietnam. In doing so it also presents the attitudes of aid agency members that work with, and focus their attentions on, those children. It is suggested that members of the organizations that uphold the CRC too often assume that local people share their notion of what is meant by rights. The article concludes that it is imperative that we continue to challenge poor connections between ...
TL;DR: This article examined 60 7- to 11-year-old children's neighborhood perceptions and help-seeking behavior in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) neighborhoods with different levels of violence/crime.
Abstract: Violence has eroded the childhood environment of many children in US cities. This study examined 60 7- to 11-year-old children's neighborhood perceptions and help-seeking behavior in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) neighborhoods with different levels of violence/crime. Results showed that children of neighborhoods of both low and elevated levels of violence were exposed to violence and expressed concerns about victimization. In light of these concerns, children described strategies to maintain personal safety while seeking help. Such strategies illustrate children's interactions with their local environments, interpreting environmental features and acting accordingly. Future work should examine the larger social forces shaping the environments in which these help-seeking strategies operate.
TL;DR: The authors explores the tension between formal and non-formal approaches in the context of India, through a discussion of the preschool programme of the Government of India's Integrated Child Development Services that targets disadvantaged children, and private nursery schools that operate on a commercial basis.
Abstract: There is a global trend towards formal approaches to preschool education. This article explores the tension between formal and non-formal approaches in the context of India, through a discussion of the preschool programme of the Government of India's Integrated Child Development Services that targets disadvantaged children, and private nursery schools that operate on a commercial basis. Although a non-formal approach is endorsed by experts as best for children in both settings, it has little support in actual practice. In the competitive context of Indian schools, many parents opt to provide their children with an early headstart on formal instruction.
TL;DR: The authors examined the intersection between race and gender in the social relations of children, and found that the voices and experiences of African-American girls have been notably absent in the literature on children's peer relations.
Abstract: Few researchers have closely examined intersections between race and gender in the social relations of children, and the voices and experiences of African-American girls have been notably absent in the literature on children's peer relations. This article, based on fieldwork with the first-graders in two racially mixed US elementary schools, draws upon Black feminist theory to examine intersections between gender and racialized ethnicity, especially in the experiences of African-American girls. Findings suggest that racial positioning and gender of the African-American girls hold different meanings according to the context. The impact of race and gender as intersecting forces on the girls' peer interactions are considered.
Abstract: The article presents the evaluation of two Johannesburg sites of `Growing Up in Cities', a project that involves children in documenting and improving their urban environments, with respect to the effect of project participation. Participating children and their parents were surveyed or interviewed regarding the project's value and effect on the children. In addition, the children were measured on scales of self-esteem, locus of control and self-efficacy, and compared with control groups. The results of the evaluation are summarized, and claims about the value of children's participation in community development are critically reviewed.
TL;DR: The authors found that levels of anti-Black African racism, particularly among Whites previously advantaged under apartheid, were high in both years, and have increased with the emergence of the new state.
Abstract: The authors outline cross-sectional studies (across time and age) of the effects of the political changes in South Africa on the intergroup orientations of adolescents, as well as their orientations to the new democracy. The study was undertaken between 1992 (before the end of apartheid) and 1996 (after apartheid), with 14-year-old and 17-year-old high school students from formerly designated Black, Coloured, White and Indian population groups. Participants completed Duckitt's Subtle Racism Anti-Black Scale, a Repertory Grid following Kelly and measures of adjustment to political change. The results indicate that levels of anti-Black African racism, particularly among Whites previously advantaged under apartheid, were high in both years, and have increased with the emergence of the new state. The study found in addition, that orientations towards the new political dispensation were related to levels of racism. Some evidence of outgroup preference for Whites was evident among Black participants, while a de...
TL;DR: This article examined the hours worked, wage levels and general working conditions of newspaper deliverers in Belfast and found that the work that children commonly do tends to provide them with few transferable skills.
Abstract: One of the most common forms of employment for children in the UK is newspaper delivery work. The occupation is portrayed as ideally suitable for young teenagers as it enables them to combine attending school with part-time employment. However, as this article demonstrates, the reality is far removed from this rosy image. Drawing on empirical work carried out in Belfast in 1998, the article illustrates the heterogeneous nature of newspaper delivery work. The article demonstrates this by examining the hours worked, wage levels and general working conditions of newspaper deliverers in Belfast. The article also challenges the notion that the work that children commonly do tends to provide them with few transferable skills.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze research and theoretical material from sociological and psychological sources to explore the sexual implications of the corporal punishment of children, showing that such practices can be construed in a sexualized manner, either by the child or the adult, and hence can be seen to constitute a form of sexual as well as physical abuse.
Abstract: This article analyses research and theoretical material from sociological and psychological sources to explore the sexual implications of the corporal punishment of children. Through explicating and utilizing a social constructionist perspective, not only are the shortcomings of some of the current arguments against corporal punishment exposed, but such a perspective enables us to additionally understand how such practices can be construed in a sexualized manner, either by the child or the adult, and hence in some cases can be seen to constitute a form of sexual as well as physical abuse.
TL;DR: Sharon Stephens as discussed by the authors studied the effects of the Chernobyl fallout among the southern Sami in Norway and developed a pioneering way of bringing together insights from many fields within one theoretical vision, a vision she continually shared with others in many workshops she organized, and the research networks she built.
Abstract: 133 Sharon Stephens became an anthropologist by specializing in Sami studies. Her first fieldwork experience, leading to her PhD, was among the Sami in Finland. This interest also took her to the Norwegian Centre for Child Research in Trondheim, in order to study the effects of the Chernobyl fallout among the southern Sami. There she developed her pioneering way of bringing together insights from many fields within one theoretical vision, a vision she continually shared with others in the many workshops she organized, and the research networks she built. Much of her work at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research focused on explorations of how environmental theory and policy are potentially transformed by the research on the distinctive ways that children – of different ‘races’, classes, sexes and religions – experience, understand, are vulnerable to, act within and contribute to shaping the environments of the contemporary world. As is the case with women and the environment, she showed in the introduction to a special double issue of Childhood edited by her that attention to children and the environment issues also calls for reconceptualizations of virtually every major environment-related area – from law to ethics, environmental medicine, community activism and education. Sharon’s particular area of interest lay in the complexities of national and international radiation policy formation, and in the effects of radiation exposures and policies on local communities. She was interested in how radiation has been represented historically by the international scientific community, in debates between ‘mainstream’ and ‘alternative’ scientific researchers, and in the complexities of international and national policy formation. She was also interested in how different communities understand, respond to and sometimes contest expert representations and top-down poliMARIANNE GULLESTAD Institute for Social Research, Oslo