...The construction of early childhood educators' professional identities are mainly depend upon many features and changes based on their experiences and the emotions (Duncan, 2008). These experiences and emotions are influenced by many factors such as working conditions, pay rates, policies, and relationships with families and other professionals (Dahlberg el., 2007). Early childhood settings are socially constructed and the specific outcomes that the early childhood settings need to create are now widely identified in early childhood policy and literature (Whitehead, 2008). For example, most of the early childhood centres focus on enhancing children’s development and preparing for schooling (starting school-ready to learn) (Dahlberg el., 2007)....
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...evidence for the view that childhood is largely a social construction SUMMARY Sociology emphasises the importance of social factors in the creation of human behaviour rather than biological influences. Therefore the question of whether or not childhood is a social construction or a physical category is an important issue because in it lies the essence of the importance of sociology to our understanding of human behaviour. Attitudes towards children in this and other cultures clearly vary; sociology rejects the idea that what is seen as ‘childhood’ is biologically determined. Instead sociologists argue that the way in which ‘children’ are seen to behave is socially created. You will need to suggest a number of reasons for this, using examples both from Britain and from other cultures. It is also important to try to give a balanced view - although the vast majority of sociological writing on this issue supports the idea that childhood is socially created, you should also try to include one or two arguments from the opposing point of view. Assessment points are italicised in bold in each section of text. A OPENING FOCUS: CHILDHOOD AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION 1. Age is a biological fact but it is also a social fact - that is, the way in which a particular age group is seen in any society may vary a great deal. If it can be shown that in different cultures, subcultures and historical periods there are different expectations of ‘childhood’ and the role of children...
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...ine Different sociological views on changes in the experience of childhood in the past 50 years (24 marks) According to Aries (1962), childhood can be defined as a social construction. Children were once regarded as ‘little adults’ and an economic asset rather than a symbol of love due to the high death rates making it hard to emotionally invest. However, now, according to Pilcher, a key aspect of childhood is ‘separateness’ from adulthood. Aries definition of childhood as a social construction can be supported by cross-cultural differences and more specifically Punch (2001). Punch studied children in Bolivia and found that at age 5 children were expected to work and take on responsibilities. This cultural variation shows childhood to be a social construction as if it were biological everyone would have the same experiences. There have been several state policies that have constructed and defined childhood, one of which is the children’s act which aimed to give children more rights to make a positive contribution to society. It argues the best place to raise children is at home with their parents which brought about the social view that it is essential for children to spend time with immediate family in order to grow up to be independent. In addition to this, another state policy was the Factory Act which saw the removal of young children from work, strict hours placed upon adolescents and compulsory education put into place. This effected society by presenting...
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...The nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society key ideas 1) Industrialisation and changes to childhood Pre-industrial Britain had no concept of childhood - Everyone was held responsible for actions and Tudor law stated that a 7 year old can be hanged After industrialisation, these beliefs stayed within the working class children were an economic asset. Middle class families saw a decline in infant mortality rates and so family sizes declined. In the 19th century, children were banned from working in mines. 2) 20th century childhood A child-centered society emerged at this time due to improvements in living standards and nutrition thus leading to a decrease in infant mortality rates. Children also became an expensive business as parents began to favour consumption over primary interaction. Childhood and adolescence became largely separate from adulthood and children were seen as needing protecting 3) Children and the state Compulsory education lasts until 11 years of age. The role of child services bag to police at-risk families. The 2004 Children Act focuses on wellbeing of children from birth to age 19. In 2007, the Department for Children, Schools and Families was created to make sure children stay healthy, safe and enjoy childhood. The Child Support Act 1991 deals with care and upbringing of children. 4) Teenage parents From studies by the Social Exclusion Unit, teenage parents were said to be caused by low...
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...Changes in the Experience of Childhood in the Past 50 Years or so? Many sociologists see childhood as socially constructed; as something created and defined by society. Many argue that what people mean by childhood, and the position that children occupy in society, is not fixed but differs between different times, places and cultures. It can be seen that by comparing the western idea of childhood today with childhood in the past and other societies. It can be determined by many sociologists that there have been many changes in society that have affected children over the last 50 years, however there are several different sociological views on whether these changes have been beneficial to children or not. Some sociologist such as Aries say that childhood can be defined as being a social construct. Children had been seen as being like ‘mini adults’ and being an economic charge rather than being treated like children and being unconditionally loved by their parents. The elements of the modern childhood gradually began to emerge from the 13th century onwards. Schools started to specialise purely on the education of the young pupils. There was a growing distinction between adult and children clothing. By the 18th century there was a sign of the growing child-centred of family life, mostly among the middle classes. According to Aries these developments lead to the ‘cult of childhood’. He argues that we have moved from a world that did not see childhood as in any way special, to a...
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...Examine the different sociological views on the changes in the experience of childhood in the past 50 years. According to Aries, childhood can be defined as a social construction. Children were once regarded as ‘little adults’ and an economic asset rather than a symbol of love due to the high death and infant mortality rates making it hard to emotionally invest. However, now, a key aspect of childhood is ‘separateness’ from adulthood. There have been several state policies that have constructed and defined childhood, one of which is the children’s act which aimed to give children more rights to make a positive contribution to society. It argues the best place to raise children is at home with their parents which brought about the social view that it is essential for children to spend time with immediate family in order to grow up to be independent. Aries argues that childhood has changed. Instead of children being seen as an economic asset we now live in a child centred society which is good for the child. Some sociologists, such as Functionalists and the New Right argue that children are seen as precious in todays society. Parsons believes it is the parents responsibility to raise their children into being good citizens in society. New right sociologists are worried that this way of raising children has been undermined by a ‘child centered society’. In the 20th and 21st centuries it is argued that families have become increasingly child centred. Children are often seen...
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...Legislation and Law enforcement agencies in the early to mid-nineteenth century focusing on the ways in which they contributed to the development of the concept of ‘juvenile delinquency’. 2. Consider the arguments of nineteenth century social investigators and reformers and their influence both on the legislative process and on the construction of the concept of juvenile delinquency. 3. Finally and by way of a conclusion, briefly discuss the broader social economic and political context of nineteenth century reforms in order to suggest that whilst legislation is important, the claim in the question overstates its significance. The idea that there can be a juvenile delinquent is impossible without the concept of childhood as a distinct phase of individual growth and development. ‘Childhood’ has become a universal category; a status which affords particular rights, for example those outlined in agreements between states such as the universal declaration of the rights of the child. This recognition of the special status of ‘childhood’ is a social construct (Hendrick, 2002). We may take our understanding of what it is to be a child for granted as ‘natural’ but it is not until the late middle ages that a period and morality of childhood began to be distinguished from adulthood within the aristocracy and nobility (Muncie pg. 49). In the English legal system, prior to the late 18th century, no distinction is made between the adult and child offender and consequently the...
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...How does the concept of ‘innocence’ affect our understanding of childhood and children’s lives? Introduction Everyday lives challenge the construction of childhood as a time of innocence Explain the idea of innocence – romantic discourse of childhood and how it shaped our view of childhood Barnados and ‘Painted babies’ Representation of childhood innocence in sexuality and criminality, and the roles, the age and gender play in portraying children as innocent of guilty Innocence Children enjoy dressing up and experimenting with clothes and make up as part of their play – a way to explore gendered identities and expectations. There is suggestion that ‘painted babies’ something more sexualized and provocative is going on promoted from a commercial venture and encouraged by parents Adults are quick to dismiss any loss of innocence or links with sexuality in the girls dressing up or performance. Although childhood innocence is a very powerful discourse...
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...How has the concept of childhood changed though history? Children have been apart of history as long as human beings have existed, however Prior to modern day notion of childhood, Children and childhood appears to be something that traditional historians have never considered, one of the many reasons that became of interest was due to the idea that childhood was a social construction. However the traditional view for a long time is that children were essentially little adults and the most famous proponent of this theory was a French historian named Philippe Aries he wrote a controversial book called the centuries of childhood. His view was that the crucial point in the construction or invention of childhood is something that happened, especially in the 18th and the early nineteenth century, however since 1985 and 1990 there have been a vast amount of theories which have criticised Aries concepts on childhood. Aries tapped into a common belief about the middle ages, which is if the Middle Ages generally was different than it must have been different in terms of children too, so they must not have loved their children and they must not have taken good care of them. Thus taking us to the centre of the argument, being that people in the middle ages and early modern Europe had a lot of children as a sort of self defence mechanism to not invest as much in their children because they knew that half of their children would die before they reached adolescents or adulthood . For...
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...The Ecology of Family Life Report of research conducted by The Social Issues Research Centre 2008 The Social Issues Research Centre 28 St Clements Street Oxford OX4 1AB UK +44 1865 262255 group@sirc.org The ecology of family life Contents 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................................4 1.1 Family and childhood: a paradigmatic review ....................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Space and time in family life...................................................................................................................................................................4 1.3 Pennies and pounds: the socioeconomic relations of families and children in the present.......................................................4 1.4 Theoretical framework.............................................................................................................................................................................5 1.5 Defining consumption ..............................................................................................................................................................................5 1.6 Methodology and sources of data ...........................................................................................
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...Childhood Obesity David Sholl Western Governors University Task 3 Childhood Obesity Part A: Description of the Problem The primary focus of the literature review will be childhood obesity among American children between the ages of five and eighteen years. Most parents are not aware that their children have problems until they become overweight. For instance, in a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2011, about 49% of American parents believed that their children were of average size. However, after physical examinations, a team of physicians classified them as overweight. Central adiposity is one of the symptoms of childhood obesity. Children with excessive accumulation of fat around the abdominal area are either overweight or obese. Inability to cope with abrupt physical activities is another symptom. Numerous studies indicate that overweight children have diminished physical stamina because their bodies carry excess weight. Snoring is the other notable symptom of childhood obesity. As fat accumulates around the neck region, it obstructs the windpipe leading to snoring among children. Childhood obesity is now a pandemic in the U.S, and has become a national health crisis. One in every three children in America aged between two and eighteen years are considered overweight or obese. The life-threatening problems of obesity create a critical and compelling call for action that should not be ignored. According to numerous sources obesity is related...
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...Billingslea ECE 430 Early Childhood Education Capstone Mrs. Gayla Lloyd December 5, 2011 This essay focuses on the value of play and how important play is in a child’s life. I will show substantial evidence as well as examples that support play as an integral part of early learning along with describing two examples that utilize play as an instructional strategy. Intuitively all early childhood teachers know that play is an integral part of young children’s lives, and that being able to play, both alone and with others, is a hallmark of children’s healthy development. We also understand that play enhances children’s physical, social and emotional, and creative growth, and we daily assess this growth by observing children at play. We observe individual children engaged in different types of play at different times, and we quickly notice that their play becomes more complex and more social as the year progresses. We are able to assess children’s growing abilities to direct their own play, to make decisions about materials and props, and to assert their own ideas and opinions about what they want to play. As children begin to play interactively, we see growth in their abilities to follow the rules of a game, to take turns, to share materials, and to begin to cooperatively solve problems that emerge during the play. By taking a closer look at children’s play, we see that it does more than stimulate physical, social-emotional, and creative...
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...experience of childhood in the past 50 years or so. (24 marks) Childhood is something that is difficult to define; many sociologists see it as something that is “socially constructed” (IE something that is created, shaped and defined by society.) Many people argue that the position of children in society isn’t fixed, but it changes as there are changes within societies, between societies and through time. Childhood in society nowadays in comparison to childhood in the past and in other societies is very different. Although it is evident that childhood has changed a lot in the last 50 years or so, there are many sociological views on whether these changes are good or not. Functionalists believe that society is like a human body, where if one aspect doesn’t work properly, society as a whole will collapse. They believe that childhood has improved over the last 50 years or so. They think that childhood is socially constructed and varies as society changes. For example, in the 19th century, child labour was part of every day life for almost all families and education was only available to the wealthy. In that day and age, children were seen as “mini adults” as they dressed like their parents, worked in similar jobs to the rest of their family and had to behave like adults. Functionalist sociologists argue that over the past few centuries, the position of children within society and the family has steadily improved. Aries studied the social construction of childhood and believes that...
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...Sociology Outline and explain two ways in which childhood could be considered socially constructed (10 Marks) Childhood can be easily considered socially constructed. Social construction is the way society shapes a person creating the ‘norms’ and ‘values’ of a person. In the U.K. children are split depending what social class they are. Usually there is three different classes, these are; Lower Class, this class is for people who don’t have much money and they can be in poverty. Next is Working Class, this is most of the U.K. population, they usually go out and do paid labour. Finally there is the Upper Class these are some of the richest people in the country most of the children in the Upper Class go to private schools, this means they have more opportunities to succeed as they can find work quicker. Meanwhile in places such as Tanzania many, if not all children are lower class and survive on the bare minimum and struggle to even attend a school because of social class where children in the lower class are treat like adults and have to do domestic labour for example going to get water from the river to survive. Time period can be considered socially constructed because children in the 21st Century have an easier life compared to children in the middle ages. This is because of the influx of technology makes it easier to live. A study done by a sociologist named Aires came to an accurate conclusion that childhood didn’t really exist in the middle ages because children didn’t...
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...Running head: Analyzing Brain Research Influence Analyzing Brain Research Influence Kouyate, Kelly EDU5001-8 Northcentral University November 25, 2014 The first few years of a child’s life are very crucial. It’s a time that a child’s brain functions are developing. That is from conception to at least five years of age. There are many important factors that assist with the development of the brain such as: genetics, nutrition, physical interactions and the emotional interactions between parent and child. The brain is comprised of three main structures the brain stem, cerebrum and the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is divided into four different lobes and made up of neurons. The frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes control various parts of the cognitive function. Your fine and gross motor skills, vision and memory are controlled by the various functions of the brain. During this time of a child’s brain development many things are happening to the function of the body. This is why children are capable of learning so much in their early years because their brain is functioning at a rapid and active pace. That is why when I child enters this world the learning process for them begins. How a child is treated and nurtured at the beginning of conception can play a role in the development of the brain functions and can cause a lasting effect on a child through adulthood...
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