Policy Press

Childhoods in Context

Edited by Alison Clark

Published

Mar 1, 2013

Page count

336 pages

Browse the series

Open University Childhood

ISBN

978-1447305811

Dimensions

189 x 246 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Oct 16, 2013

Page count

336 pages

Browse the series

Open University Childhood

ISBN

978-1447309246

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Oct 16, 2013

Page count

336 pages

Browse the series

Open University Childhood

ISBN

978-1447309628

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
Childhoods in Context

Childhoods in context offers a critical exploration of childhood, drawing attention to the physical and social context of children and young people's lives. Three key themes are explored:

· Childhood is always located somewhere. The book offers insights into childhood by focusing on places specially designed for children as well as the territories that children develop for themselves.

· Childhood is experienced through objects, people and places and through everyday routines. Discussions about childhood are rooted in the details of children's lives, whether on the street, in an institution or in different definitions of home.

· Childhood and adult identities are relational. Definitions and understandings of childhood are dependent on how adulthood is viewed.

These themes are explored through accounts of home and family, school, public spaces and sites of work in local and global settings. They raise questions about methodological approaches to understanding childhoods in context which is the focus of the concluding chapter.

This is the third in a series of four books, written by experts in the field, which provides an introduction to childhood degree programmes and related modules. The series features international case studies, examples and readings to supplement the chapters, and is illustrated in full colour. Other books in the series are:

· Understanding childhood: a cross-disciplinary approach

· Children and young people's cultural worlds

· Local childhoods, global issues

Alison Clark is a Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies at The Open University, UK. Her research interests include children’s experiences of place, school design and the development of participatory research methods with young children.

Children in and out of place ~ Alison Clark ~ Lesley Gallacher; Home and family ~ Alison Clark ~ Mary Jane Kehily; Public spaces ~ Peter Kraftl; Making schools: spaces, objects and relationships ~ Alison Clark; Children and work ~ Lindsay O'Dell ~ Sarah Crafter ~ Heather Montgomery; Using visual data in research on childhood ~ Martyn Hammersley.