Childhood

The sociology of childhood http://www.educationforum.co.uk (based on a resource found at http://www.esociology.co.uk/ )

Childhood is a social construction. It is created by society rather than simply a biological stage. Different societies and different historical periods have different ideas about what is a child and what is expected of a child

Childhood

 Pre Industrial Society Aries 1962‘Childhood’ is a recent inventionIn pre industrial society children were little adultsThey were an economic asset – they were expected to help the family unit of production

Childhood

Childhood In 20th Century The 20th century became ‘child centred’Health and diet improved and the infant mortality rate declined.

Childhood

The 20th century saw the increasing need to protect children via a number of pieces of legislation.  1945 Butler Education Act – schooling for all 5-15(Raised to 16 in 1972)The Children Act 1989 – giving more rights to children

Childhood & The State

1990 Child Care Act1991 Child Support ActThese deal with the care, upbringing and protection of childrenSocial Services and Social Workers have powers to take children away from dangerous home situations

Childhood & The State

Recent changes have undermined the distinctiveness of childhood, according to some sociologists. TV and other media have penetrated our homes and teat children as fully fledged consumers of products.On the other hand the need to protect children against the ‘evils’ of the adult world are reflected in the policies shown above.Hence the messages have become confusing and the debate about the status of children in contemporary society has developed into a source of tension

Childhood & The State

Squeezed in between childhood and adulthood is the unclear term ‘youth’

Youth

Pilcher 1995Says it is best treated as a transition between child and adult.From compulsory education to employmentFrom family of origin to family of destination (orientation to procreation)

Youth

1950’sYouth Culture first emerged in post war UkTeenagers found jobs quickly and earned high wagesHence they had strong spending powerClothes, music etc exploited this new market

Youth

1960’sProsperity and media combined to give new independence to youthsConflicts with the older generation were more marked

Youth

1970’s1972 school leaving age was raised to 16By the end of the 1970’s unemployment was starting to bite

Youth

1980’sUnemployment became more widespreadSpending power of youth declinedMore staying on longer in full time education

Youth

1990’sTransition to economic independence has become longerHouse price increases have led many to stay living with parents into their 20’sPeople are marrying later and having children later. (Average age for first time mums was 24 in the 1970’s, now it’s 28) University loans replacing grants has led to more dependence on family for financial support

Youth

Exam Questions on childhood

May 2002Identify and briefly explain 2 reasons why the position of childhood has changed in the last 100 years (8 marks)

June 2001Identify and briefly explain 2 reasons why childhood as a separate age-status is a ‘relatively modern invention’ (8 marks)

Jan 2002Examine the arguments and evidence in favour of the view that childhood is socially constructed (20 marks)

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