3 Academic perspectives on childhood PDF

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3 Academic perspectives on childhood...

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1 E102 Week One ‘Understanding Childhood’

Chapters/Online Study/Assignment: Online Study Week 1 Week Commencing: 05/10/2020 Activities to Complete: Understanding childhood online activities 1-10 Learning Journal: Part 1 Learning outcomes When you have completed this study material, you should be able to:  outline some of the ways in which knowledge about children and childhood can be framed within childhood studies and child psychology  describe the differences between academic perspectives and everyday ‘common-sense’ views on childhood  reflect on how language is used across different types of texts  recognise the importance of suspending your own judgements and considering alternative views  reflect on your prior learning, and your skills and expectations for the module. 3 Academic perspectives on childhood There are important differences between everyday ideas about childhood, often deriving from our own personal and practical experiences, and the academic perspectives that form the basis for this module. What distinguishes an academic approach is that there is an attempt to clarify and develop ideas using evidence from research with children and young people. A key aspect of this module is to consider how academic perspectives can inform our understanding of the lives of children and young people. It is also important to recognise, as we have already hinted, that there are multiple academic perspectives on children and childhoods, and these generate a range of approaches in seeking to understand the lives of children and young people, across many different topics. This module will introduce you to the key academic perspectives represented by child psychology and childhood studies, and in this block of study we will explore what these perspectives represent. 3.1 Child psychology Psychologists have been interested in children for over a century, attempting to understand how children develop physically, through crawling, walking, and beyond, as well as how children acquire more complex skills, like talking, and thinking about themselves and the world around them. In E102 we use the term ‘child psychology’ to refer to the psychological study of children’s lives that draws on several psychological disciplines, including developmental psychology, educational psychology, and clinical psychology. These disciplines seek to understand, for example, how humans change over time, how they learn, and how they can best be supported to experience well-being in their lives. Child psychology asks these questions particularly in relation to children and young people. The following quote from a developmental psychology textbook refers to developmental psychologists (who

2 E102 Week One ‘Understanding Childhood’

seek to understand change in humans across the entire lifespan) as ‘developmentalists’. Activity 7 Understanding and optimising children's development Read through the quotation below, which attempts to define the way developmental psychologists approach the task of studying childhood. Three major goals of the developmental sciences are to describe, to explain and to optimize development… In pursuing the goal of description, human developmentalists carefully observe the behaviour of people of different ages, seeking to catalog how people change over time. Although there are typical pathways of development that virtually all people follow, no two persons are exactly alike. Even when raised in the same home, children often display very different interests, values, abilities, and behaviours. Thus, to adequately describe development, it is necessary to focus both on typical patterns of change… and on individual variations in patterns of change... So, developmentalists seek to understand the important ways that developing humans resemble each other and how they are likely to differ as they proceed through life. Adequate description provides us with the “facts” about development, but it is only the starting point. Developmentalists next seek to explain the changes they have observed. In pursuing this goal of explanation, developmentalists hope to determine why people develop as they typically do and why some people develop differently than others. Explanation centres both on normative changes within individuals and variations in development between individuals… Finally, developmentalists hope to optimize development by applying what they have learned in attempts to help people develop in positive directions. This is a practical side to the study of human development… (Shaffer and Kipp, 2014, p. 5-6) Think about, and note down the key points made in the quotation, then make notes on how you see psychologists studying children. You should aim to take four or five key points from the article. There are a few key ideas presented in this text:  The goals of child psychology are to describe, explain and optimize development  A critical aspect of child psychology is carefully observing the behaviour of people at different ages (you will learn in Chapter 2 about some of the methods that child psychologists use to make sure their findings are ‘reliable’, ‘generalisable, and ‘objective’)  Focus is on both typical, ‘universal’ patterns of change (those shared by all children) and on individual variations (how children differ from each other)  Seeks to explain why people develop the way they do and why some people develop differently to others

3 E102 Week One ‘Understanding Childhood’

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Seeks to find ways to make children’s experiences and outcomes as good as possible (optimize).

3.2 Childhood studies Researchers taking a ‘childhood studies’ perspective usually focus not on universal stages or pathways of development, as child psychologists often do, but rather they research the experiences of children themselves, within and alongside wider social and cultural factors. Childhood studies researchers consider how children experience their worlds, as well as how they are socialised into different cultures, and how this shapes their beliefs, attitudes and behaviour. They argue that what children learn and how they learn it are the product of their social and cultural environment (Christensen and James, 2008). Childhood studies as a term includes multiple academic disciplines, such as the perspectives of sociologists and social anthropologists who take the child and their immediate environment as the starting point when explaining childhood. A childhood studies perspective often emphasises that:  Childhood is socially constructed  Children have rights  Children have agency The activities that follow will give you a flavour of how the field of childhood studies provides another perspective on our understanding of childhood. Activity 8 Developmental psychology, sociology and social anthropology of childhood Although some psychologists study children's social and cultural worlds, these receive most attention within the field of childhood studies, which encompasses the views of sociologists and anthropologists among others. Researchers within childhood studies consider the child’s experiences within his or her immediate social and cultural environment. Read the two extracts below, which outline the perspectives of psychological, sociological and social anthropological researchers. Extract 1 In the early twentieth century, developmental psychology became established as the dominant paradigm for studying children (Woodhead 2003). Developmental psychology documented the stages and transitions of Western childhood. Within this framework, childhood is seen as an apprenticeship for adulthood that can be charted though stages relating to age, physical development and cognitive ability. The progression from child to adult involves children in a developmental process wherein they embark upon a path to rational subjectivity. Sociological approaches by contrast have been concerned with issues of socialization; ways of exploring how children learn to become members of the society in which they live. The differences

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between the two approaches are outlined and discussed in an academic intervention that sets out the parameters for a ‘new sociology of childhood’ (James and Prout 1997). James and Prout propose that ‘the immaturity of children is a biological fact of life but the ways in which it is understood and made meaningful is a fact of culture’ (p. 7). (Kehily, 2009, pp. 7–8) Extract 2 [S]ocial anthropology is the study of culture, especially, in the early days of the discipline, of ‘other’ cultures; that is, those outside the minority world. … Along with colleagues in sociology, cultural studies and geography, anthropologists contributed to what has become known as the ‘new social studies of childhood’. This way of analysing children’s lives is often described as ‘child-centred’ or ‘childfocused’ and in anthropology demands the use of children as primary informants, focusing on their agency and experiences of childhood. … Doing research with children means taking all these issues into account, realising that children are very likely to be bored by an adult stranger asking endless questions, while trying to focus on children’s own experiences and understandings. There are no easy solutions to this, but those anthropologists who specialise in childhood try to work with children, recognising their own expertise about their lives. (Montgomery, 2012, pp. 163, 181) Spend a few moments thinking about how the social world is described in the different perspectives.   

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Childhood studies focuses on childhood as the product of culture rather than as a universal phenomenon. Sociologists consider how the experience of childhood may change over time and over different social contexts. Childhood studies focuses on issues around socialisation and how a child’s experience in their social environment can shape their lives in quite different ways. Anthropology focuses on the ‘child-centred’ or ‘child-focused’ approach to understanding childhood experience. Anthropology concentrates on exploring how culture shapes the lives of children and young people.

3.3 Children’s agency and autonomy In addition to recognising the social and cultural world of the child, childhood studies emphasises that children have rights and autonomy over their own lives – an issue considered in the next activity. Activity 9 Recognising autonomy Childhood studies emphasises the importance of giving children autonomy.

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The text below summarises the approach of childhood studies and its take on how children should be viewed. During the past decade, developments in developmental psychology, sociology and t he consumer movement (in recognition of children as service users and recipients, s ee Fajerman 2001) have generated a model of the young child as a social actor who shapes her or his identities, creates and communicates valid views about the social world and has a right to participate in it (Buckingham 1996; Corsaro 1997; Hill and Ti sdall 1997; Alderson 1999, 2000). ... traditional developmental views of the child have often meant that children are exc luded from decisions that affect them. In the ‘social actor’ model, the child is seen to have valid ideas, values and understandings of her or himself and of the world; and t he capacity to act as a partner with adults to develop new policies and practices (O’B rien 1997; Reimer 2003). As Christensen and James argue, to regard children as so cial actors is to treat them as active participants in ‘contexts where, traditionally, they have been denied those rights of participation and their voices have remained unhea rd’ (2002: 2). This model of the child as a social actor embodies and expresses three research bas ed ideas: 1 Young children construct valid meanings about the world and their place in it. 2 Children’s knowledge of the world is different (not inferior) to adults’ knowledge. 3 Children’s insights and perspectives on the world can inform and improve adults’ u nderstandings of children’s experiences (MacNaughton et al. 2007). (Kehily, 2008, p. 161) 1. Read through the text above. Don’t worry about the citations (names and dates) given within the text: they are here because this is academic material, and we will be talking about this type of material in later weeks. Just note for now the key points being made. Make some brief notes on these in the box below.

2. Read through the text again and highlight some of the key ideas. What words jump out at you as you read? As the text suggests, childhood studies seeks to focus on understanding the child’s own perspective on development rather than on how adults view development as occurring. This text really emphasises two main points. First, that children are ‘social actors’ and their knowledge of the world is simply different from that of adults. Second, it

6 E102 Week One ‘Understanding Childhood’

assumes that the child’s own voice often goes unheard and their ideas about their lives go unrecognised. It suggests that ‘the child is seen to have valid ideas, values and understandings of her or himself and of the world’. Here, the emphasis concerns the child’s own experiences, and not experts’ opinions about childhood. 3. Compare this text with the newspaper articles you read for Activities 3 and 4.

How is the language different from that used in those articles? Make some notes on the differences between the two types of material in terms of the language and style of writing. You may have noticed that the style of the text above is quite different from that used in the newspaper articles. This text uses more complex words, such as ‘autonomous’ and ‘capacity’, and language that is less simple and more complex. It also includes a lot of names and dates, such as ‘Buckingham (1996)’ and ‘Corsaro (1997)’; this is because the writer is acknowledging where the ideas have come from. This is something you will learn to do on this module in the process of learning about academic writing. Summary As you have seen, childhood can be framed in quite different ways, depending on the academic perspective adopted and on how we interpret the concepts of a child and of children’s development. Developmental psychologists may focus on broader, universal patterns of development, while those working in the field of childhood studies often seek to consider the child’s own perspective, experiences and social factors. The table below summarises some of the key differences. Child psychology …

Childhood studies …

Is the scientific study of children, including their development, learning, mental health and other factors.

Sees childhood as socially constructed. Focuses on social or cultural factors influencing children’s experiences.

Seeks to explain why children develop the way they do and why some develop differently to others.

Seeks to explain how children’s experiences are influenced by the time and place they grow up in.

Considers how genetic and environmental factors and their interaction can influence development.

Sees children as having agency that are social actors in their own right (children as being).

Aims to describe, explain and optimize children’s development and well-being. Can focus on children’s progression to adulthood (children as ‘becoming’)..

Examines childhood by drawing on sociology, anthropology, history and law, among others.

7 E102 Week One ‘Understanding Childhood’

The disciplines of child psychology and childhood studies both offer useful perspectives on understanding the lives and experiences of children and young people. Understanding both perspectives gives a more insightful and rounded view of the factors that affect children and young people’s lives, how they experience these, and what kinds of childhoods they have. Within all four blocks of the module, you will encounter research and insights from both child psychology and childhood studies. These perspectives can influence both policy and practice around supporting children and young people – an issue addressed in the next section....