Childhood studies

How things matter in everyday lives of preschool age children: Material-semiotic investigations in psychology and education

by Michalis Kontopodis

This article draws on materials from ethnographic and participatory research on everyday eating practices in Berlin... more This article draws on materials from ethnographic and participatory research on everyday eating practices in Berlin kindergartens. It argues that agency is not always a-priori located in the human subject. Agency can be translated and distributed over relational networks that include people and things; it can even be left over to things depending on the constellation in question. A material-semiotic approach is thus outlined that pays attention to micro-configurations and closely explores action – a focus which can further advance psychological theory and methodology.

Education (an on-line bibliography)

by Kathryn Anderson-Levitt

Education (10,000 word peer-reviewed annotated bibliography). In Oxford Bibliographies Online: Childhood Studies, Heather Montgomery, Editor.  New York: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

Colloquially, “education” usually means “schooling,” and thus this bibliography focuses on... more Introduction

Colloquially, “education” usually means “schooling,” and thus this bibliography focuses on schooling, although it will briefly consider education more broadly defined. It is limited to pre-primary, primary, and secondary education, excluding postsecondary even though some university students arguably fall on the border between childhood and adulthood. The interdisciplinary field of educational studies is largely an applied field and much of its literature is devoted to efforts to improve schooling; however, this bibliography identifies descriptive studies of actual practices and beliefs rather than prescriptions for reform. The main thrust of literature identified here is that schooling has recently become among the most important settings in which children live and develop, meaning that the current global form of schooling as well as variations in schooling “on the ground” have huge consequences for children’s lives and powerful meanings for all of us.

La cooperación al desarrollo y la infancia. Apuntes estratégicos para el caso de España

by Alberto Castillo

Co-authored with Alonso, José Antonio y Aguirre, Pablo y Castillo, Alberto

The aim of this work is to support a strategic approach to the cooperation on the childhood field. For this purpose,... more The aim of this work is to support a strategic approach to the cooperation on the childhood field. For this purpose, the article starts analyzing the relations between childhood and development and proposes a comparative study of the international approaches adopted by different donors. By using a methodology elaborated for this purpose, the study provides an impact assessment, considering both direct and indirect effects, of the Spanish aid in this field. Finally, it elaborates a strategic definition proposal to childhood policies within the framework of the international aid planning systems. Even when the impact assessment and the strategic proposal are related to the Spanish cooperation, the methodology for measurement elaborated in this study and the discuss about the strategic approach could be generalized to other donors.

"Why Do You Write Your Name Long Like That?" Language and Literacy In a San Francisco Kindergarten

by Espen Helgesen

Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Bergen 2008

In this thesis I investigate the role of language awareness in early literacy, and argue that skills acquired when... more In this thesis I investigate the role of language awareness in early literacy, and argue that skills acquired when becoming literate can provide resources for manipulating social as well as textual relations. Based on ethnographic research among a group of 5- and 6-year old kindergartners in a San Francisco public school, I describe how the kids' personal names provided them with stable landmarks with which to explore both oral and written language. The capacity of names to facilitate communication was, however, countered by the equally powerful capacity of names to obstruct communication. Presenting the kids' personal names as examples of how language is often polysemic, or ambiguous, I argue that, even if the words they used did not have a singular meaning, they were often treated as if they did. I argue that there was a mismatch between two dominant perspectives on names among the kindergartners. Whereas some of the kids primarily used names as markers of identity, others challenged this stability by manipulating names in what I refer to as name joking; the playful manipulation of phonemes or letters for humorous effect. The assumed fixity of names seemed to make them particularly suitable for joking purposes, and a tension could often be found between the kids who considered names to be attached to individuals, and those who considered names to be detached or detachable from individuals. I argue that metalinguistic awareness, understood as the ability to attend to elements of language as objects, was a prerequisite for name joking. Rather than emphasizing this single skill, however, I argue that the kids' different perspectives on language was the product of a difference in communicative flexibility. As such, the kids who were able to switch between considering names to be attached and to be detached from people had a distinct advantage both in conversation and play among the kindergartners. Although teachers encouraged the kids to consider language to be a fluid and flexible tool, they also treated language as a direct reflection of reality by responding with sanctions when the kids used what was referred to as "bad words".

Hear My Cry: A Manifesto for an Emancipatory Childhood Studies Approach to Children's Literature

by Mary Galbraith

Re-Exploring Childhood Studies

by Anandini Dar

Co-authored with Patrick Cox

The New Sexual Visibility

by Robbie Duschinsky

Draft only; invited by Feminist Theory

A diversifying range of markers of sexuality and desire are today ‘proposed, suggested, imposed’ for subjects,... more A diversifying range of markers of sexuality and desire are today ‘proposed, suggested, imposed’ for subjects, producing a condition I call ‘the new sexual visibility’. These signifiers are capable of simultaneously heteronormative and counter-heteronormative meanings and mobilisation, in response to the directly conflicting demands on young women in contemporary society. In policy and media discourses on ‘sexualisation’, these cultural changes are articulated with a moral and medical problematisation of the credibility of young women as adequate commercial and sexual choice-makers. Drawing upon Judith Butler’s Antigone’s Claim (2000) it will be argued that, in this way, the figure of ‘the girl’ is haunted by the ‘trouble’ young women suffer, and are held responsible for, in negotiating what is thereby situated as acceptable forms of subjectivity. A Butlerian alternative to moral panic theory, for use in considering cases like ‘sexualisation’ where the object of concern cannot be meaningfully quantified, will be set out in the conclusion to the article.

Killing Shakespeare's Children: The Cases of Richard III and King John

by Joseph Campana

Shakespeare's Children

by Joseph Campana

The Girl Child

by Gretchen Heidemann

Man in his world, children in theirs: the material culture of Expo'67

by Frederika Eilers

The many material and nonmaterial artifacts from Montreal's Expo '67 exhibit varying concepts of childhood. In a... more The many material and nonmaterial artifacts from Montreal's Expo '67 exhibit varying concepts of childhood. In a series of short essays, I use individual artifacts as a means to study child-adult relationships. First, I research the depictions of children in film, song, and images. The paper then looks at objects such as postcards, passports, and other ephemeral objects created for Expo that were aimed towards children. The third part looks at spaces designed for children. These include the Children’s Creative Centre, La Ronde, the Youth Pavilion, and Children's World.
These “artifacts” viewed together elicit reoccurring themes. They include nationalism, the resource and potentiality of children, commodification and display of children, the myth of universal childhood, the boundary between child and adult, the islanding of children,  and children's agency. The conglomeration of artifacts in this paper will suggest a multifaceted view of children at Montreal's Expo and describe the experience and cultural landscape of this specific time and place.

'Childhood' in Film (essay in Bengali language)

by Abhijit Roy

Ekak Matra, February, 2001. pp.29-32

On the politics of representation of child and childhood in film. Questions of gaze, pov and spectatorship are... more On the politics of representation of child and childhood in film. Questions of gaze, pov and spectatorship are important here.

Newsletter Nº6 Junio de 2009 / ADOPCIONES, FAMILIAS, INFANCIAS / La adopción internacional hoy: el imperativo moral de una reforma urgente

by AFIN Barcelona

Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau y Diana Marre
Contenidos del Nº 6: Beatriz San Román y Julia Ramiromore Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau y Diana Marre
Contenidos del Nº 6: Beatriz San Román y Julia Ramiro
Edición, Formato y Difusión del Nº 6: Julia Ramiro

No hay duda de que la adopción internacional se encuentra en un punto crítico debido al creciente desequilibrio entre el número y las características de los niños adoptables y los de los ofrecimientos de familias de los países receptores. Lo que resulta más difícil de entender es la falta de adecuación del sistema a esa realidad, a pesar de las múltiples señales de alarma que han aparecido en los últimos años y de sus devastadoras consecuencias.

Newsletter Nº5 Junio de 2009 / ADOPCIONES, FAMILIAS, INFANCIAS / La adopción en España: un punto de inflexión

by AFIN Barcelona

Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau y Diana Marre
Contenidos del Nº 5: Ana Berástegui
Edición, Formato y... more Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau y Diana Marre
Contenidos del Nº 5: Ana Berástegui
Edición, Formato y Difusión del Nº 5: Julia Ramiro

En unos meses se cumplen quince años de la entrada en vigor del Convenio de la Haya sobre adopción, que fue el pistoletazo de salida de la adopción internacional en España. El retraso en la edad de las primíparas y el aumento de los problemas de fertilidad, unido a la escasez de niños pequeños, sanos y adoptables en nuestro sistema de protección y a la difusión en los medios de comunicación de la adopción como una vía para formar familias, favorecieron la rápida inclusión de España como país receptor de menores extranjeros para su adopción.

Newsletter Nº4 Junio de 2009 / ADOPCIONES, FAMILIAS, INFANCIAS / Factores de riesgo y de protección en la adopción internacional

by AFIN Barcelona

Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau y Diana Marre
Contenidos del Nº 4: Neus Abrines y Natalia Barcons
Edición,... more Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau y Diana Marre
Contenidos del Nº 4: Neus Abrines y Natalia Barcons
Edición, Formato y Difusión del Nº 4: Julia Ramiro

La mayoría de los y las menores procedentes de adopción internacional logran una adaptación adecuada a su entorno, por lo que, en general, la mayor parte de las adopciones son satisfactorias tanto para los hijos e hijas cuanto para padres y/o madres. A pesar de la buena adaptación de estos niños y niñas, la investigación indica que los menores procedentes de la adopción, nacional e internacional, suelen estar expuestos a
experiencias vitales que pueden conllevar problemas en su desarrollo cognitivo, emocional y conductual. Existe cierto consenso profesional y científico en la importancia que tienen algunos factores preadoptivos así como otros postadoptivos.

Newsletter Nº1 Marzo de 2009 / ADOPCIONES, FAMILIAS, INFANCIAS / Un lugar para la reflexión y el debate

by AFIN Barcelona

Contenido, formato y difusión del Nº 1: Esther Grau,
Diana Marre y Julia Ramiro.
ISSN: 2013-2956
more Contenido, formato y difusión del Nº 1: Esther Grau,
Diana Marre y Julia Ramiro.
ISSN: 2013-2956

Este es un nuevo espacio desde donde descubrir y compartir nuevas miradas en torno a temas sociales que nos preocupan o, mejor, que nos ocupan. Nuestra labor de investigación y difusión sobre temas relacionados con las adopciones, las infancias y juventudes y las familias, se ha concretado a través del proyecto I+D Adopción Internacional: la integración familiar y social de los menores adoptados internacionalmente. Perspectivas interdisciplinarias y comparativas financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SEJ2006-15286/SOCI), que llevamos a cabo un amplio equipo de investigadores y asesores provenientes de diversas disciplinas, actividades profesionales e instituciones, desde hace dos años.

Re-Exploring Childhood Studies

by Patrick Cox

Co-authored with Anandini Dar

Our editorial to our special edition of Childhoods Today. Our editorial to our special edition of Childhoods Today.

Subjectivity in the novel: A Phenomenological and Linguistic Approach to the Narration of Childhood Self

by Mary Galbraith

This dissertation was not published in its entirety. However, three chapters have been published and are downloadable on this site: "What Everyone Knew vs What Maisie Knew," "Pip as 'Infant Tongue' and Adult Narrator in Chapter One of Great Expectations", and "Deictic Shift Theory and the Poetics of Involvement in Narrative."

Agony in the Kindergarten: Indelible German Images in American Picture Books

by Mary Galbraith

Sorry about page 133--I'll rescan this in the near future. This article was published in _Text, Culture and National Identity in Children’s Literature: International Seminar on Children’s Literature, Pure and Applied_, Jean Webb editor, University College Worcester, England June 14-19, 1999.
NORDINFO (Organization)
ISBN-10: 9525204065|ISBN-13: 9789525204063

Deconstructing Childhood Vulnerability: An Introduction

by Kristen Cheney