Towards A Sociology For Childhood

Berry Mayall argues in this work that, since childhood is a permanent component of society, in order to understand how society works, we must take account of children as well as adults, otherwise our explanation omits an important social group. Children's lives are shaped by policies and practices, but they are also agents, who make a life for themselves through their relationships with adults and other children. This book argues that feminist theory and practice is useful for understanding childhood; we should start from the children's own accounts to show how the organization of social relations provides an explanation for their social position.

Outlining sociology’s distinctive contribution to childhood studies and our understanding of contemporary children and childhood, The Sociology of Children, Childhood and Generation provides a thought provoking and comprehensive account of the connections between the macro worlds of childhood and the micro worlds of children’s everyday lives. Examining children’s involvement in areas such as the labour market, family life, education, play and leisure, the book provides an effective balance between understanding childhood as a structural phenomenon, and recognising children as meaning makers actively involved in constructing, co-constructing and reconstructing their everyday lives. Through the concept of ′generagency′ Madeleine Leonard offers a model for examining and illuminating how structure and agency are activated within interdependent relationships influenced by generational positioning. This framework provides a conceptual tool for thinking about the continuities, challenges and changes that impact on how childhood is lived and experienced.

The sociology of childhood and youth has sparked international interest in recent years, and yet a reader highlighting Canadian work in this field has been long overdue. Filling this gap in the literature, The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada brings together cutting-edge Canadian scholarship in this important and growing discipline. Thought-provoking and timely, this edited collection explores a breadth of essential topics, including research on and with children and youth, the social construction of childhood and youth, intersecting identities, and citizenship, rights, and social engagement. With a focus on social justice, the contributing authors critically examine various sites of inequality in the lives of children and young people, such as gender, sexuality, colonialism, race, class, and disability. Encouraging further development of Canadian scholarship in the sociology of childhood and youth, this unique collection ensures that young people’s voices are heard by involving them in the research process. Pedagogical supports—including learning objectives, study questions, suggested research assignments, and a comprehensive glossary—make this volume an invaluable resource for students of childhood and youth studies in Canada.

The Sociology of Early Childhood is a theoretically and historically grounded examination of young children’s experiences in contemporary society. Arguing that a sociology of early childhood must bring together and integrate different disciplines, this book: synthesises different sociological perspectives on childhood as well as incorporating multi-disciplinary research findings on the lives of young children explains key theoretical concepts in early childhood studies such as investment, early intervention, professional power and discourse examines the importance of play, memory and place evaluates long term parenting trends uses illustrative examples and case studies, discussion questions and annotated further reading to engage and stimulate readers. Invigorating and thought provoking, this is an invaluable read for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students looking for a more nuanced and progressive understanding of childhood.

William A. Corsaro’s groundbreaking text, The Sociology of Childhood, discusses children and childhood from a sociological perspective. Corsaro provides in-depth coverage of the social theories of childhood, the peer cultures and social issues of children and youth, children and childhood within the frameworks of culture and history, and social problems and the future of childhood. The Fifth Edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the latest research and the most pertinent information so readers can engage in powerful discussions on a wide array of topics.

Published in 1996, this book advocates and persuasively exemplifies a qualitative sociology of childhood, spoken repeatedly through children’s voices. After a long period of dormancy, interest in the sociology of childhood became a focus of attention and scholarly interest. Developments in practice by professionals working and learning in the fields of welfare, education, and youth and community studies have been paralleled by the emergence of specialist courses within sociology degrees. Yet the challenges raised by the sociology of childhood remain marginalised within the social sciences more generally. A Case of Neglect? provides an accessible reader and review of the field. Heard wherever possible through children’s and young people’s voices, it provides a penetrating insight into their understandings and experiences of their own and adults’ worlds. It also provides a readable and absorbing review of qualitative applications in the sociology of childhood, and a counter to the common reliance on evidence derived from quantitative approaches. The fieldwork applications range across the often hidden worlds of children’s and young people’s involvement in prostitution, their experience of abuse, black children’s experiences of social services, children’s school cultures, naturist children and childlessness. Always arresting and sometimes poignant, A Case of Neglect? works towards a sociology which is both of and for childhood. This book was originally published as part of the Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research series edited by Paul Atkinson, Sara Delamont and Amanda Coffey. The series publishes original sociological research that reflects the tradition of qualitative and ethnographic inquiry developed at Cardiff. The series includes monographs reporting on empirical research, edited collections focussing on particular themes, and texts discussing methodological developments and issues.

The Sixth Edition of William A. Corsaro and Judson G. Everitt′s groundbreaking text discusses children and childhood from a sociological perspective—providing in-depth coverage of social theories of childhood, the peer cultures and social issues of children and youth, and children and childhood within the frameworks of culture and history. This revised edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the latest research and the most pertinent information so readers can engage in powerful discussions on a wide array of topics.

This concise book gives a history of how the sociology of childhood has developed, contextualized in the history of sociology. It draws on the author's own experiences, considers a wide range of published documents and includes contributions on specific topics by some of the main players in the field: Jens Qvortrup, Priscilla Alderson, Liesbeth de Block and Virginia Morrow. A History of the Sociology of Childhood describes how this relatively new discipline evolved and considers its principal propositions. It looks back to the post-war period, notably in the US, and shows how sociological ideas about childhood arose from developmental psychology; how they began to be formulated to act in complement to psychological ideas and how some US psychologists began to explore variations in ideas about childhood in varying societies. It also explores the history of sociological ideas about childhood in both the UK and, most importantly, mainstream Europe and considers links between sociological and rights agendas. This book concludes with consideration of the latest developments in this field such as globalization and media studies; work in other languages, such as French and Portuguese and gives an account of work emerging in the majority world and its relevance for theoretical developments. It is essential reading for university students on all varieties of childhood courses. It contextualizes this field within theory and provides a clear picture of the constituents of the discipline. It is also relevant to those working within psychological paradigms but with an interest in considering alternative and complementary approaches.