JAMES & PROUT (1997)- ILLUSTRATING YOUR RESPONSE
framework undercut, recognises children as individual and social beings. Through macro-analysis- Has led to misrepresentation of children’s lives by representing the lives of their caregivers, policy has then followed through with this misinterpretation. Through standpoint – Historical and sociological recount is dominated by the perspective of adult males. Because of this, there may be misrepresentation of both female and child involvement in life and society. Paying attention to the voice of the child through ethnography.
JAMES & PROUT (1997)“Key features of the new paradigm”; 1. 2.
3. 4. 5. 6.
Childhood is understood as a social construction, only in specific societies. This is not co-existent with biological immaturity. Childhood is a variable of social analysis. It can never be entirely divorced from other variables such as class, gender, or ethnicity. Comparative and cross- cultural analysis reveals there is no single definition of the child. Children’s social relationships and cultures are worthy of study in their own right, independent of the perspectives and concerns of adults. Children are not passive recipients, but active agents in their own social lives. Ethnography allows direct participation in sociological data collection. Calling childhood as a new field of sociology is directly engaging in changing the role of childhood within society.
Outlines debate in historical progression of childhood, as it was represented in different ways, but there are arguable opinions on whether that difference negates the concept of childhood altogether. Children’s lives are at the outset influenced, in the majority, by adults.
ILLUSTRATING YOUR RESPONSE Provide examples Use comparisons So what are the implications?
Becoming implies that children who are beyond societal expectation in work/responsibility/sexuality are perverse or being exploited Being, under the dominant framework, implies wholeness or full in terms of socialisation and intellectual growth History of being/becoming in first world contexts- child brides in India etc. Policy on children based on adult perspective New sociology now recognises children as active agents an participants, therefore this needs to be reflected in research practises
Strengths and limitations
Implies a reductionist perspective on solutions. If problems are being reproduced through socialisation alone, the solution is to stop teaching kids OR that solutions may never be fixed because of socialisation. Places disabled (physically or mentally) people as won’t ever be fully human (holds implication in policies)
JAMES & PROUT (1997)“Key features of the new paradigm”; 1. 2.
3. 4. 5. 6.
Childhood is understood as a social construction, only in specific societies. This is not co-existent with biological immaturity. Childhood is a variable of social analysis. It can never be entirely divorced from other variables such as class, gender, or ethnicity. Comparative and cross- cultural analysis reveals there is no single definition of the child. Children’s social relationships and cultures are worthy of study in their own right, independent of the perspectives and concerns of adults. Children are not passive recipients, but active agents in their own social lives. Ethnography allows direct participation in sociological data collection. Calling childhood as a new field of sociology is directly engaging in changing the role of childhood within society.
Outlines debate in historical progression of childhood, as it was represented in different ways, but there are arguable opinions on whether that difference negates the concept of childhood altogether. Children’s lives are at the outset influenced, in the majority, by adults.
ILLUSTRATING YOUR RESPONSE Provide examples Use comparisons So what are the implications?
Becoming implies that children who are beyond societal expectation in work/responsibility/sexuality are perverse or being exploited Being, under the dominant framework, implies wholeness or full in terms of socialisation and intellectual growth History of being/becoming in first world contexts- child brides in India etc. Policy on children based on adult perspective New sociology now recognises children as active agents an participants, therefore this needs to be reflected in research practises
Strengths and limitations
Implies a reductionist perspective on solutions. If problems are being reproduced through socialisation alone, the solution is to stop teaching kids OR that solutions may never be fixed because of socialisation. Places disabled (physically or mentally) people as won’t ever be fully human (holds implication in policies)
