Whose Childhood Is It: The Roles of Children, Adults and Policy Makers

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The purpose of this book is to promote a thoughtful engagement with key issues and theories that inform our understanding of childhood. Readers will enjoy, and be provoked by, a sophisticated analysis of the role and function of childhood in twenty-first century Britain, which can be used as a springboard for further enquiry and exploration. Two intertwined themes permeate the text: - Children's sense of self and adults' temporal and cultural fabrications of childhood, and the articulation of these with policy and provision for young children. - Young children and representation: how they are represented, the sense they make of such representations and their own representational activity. Whose Childhood Is It intends to turn readers away from our collective tendency to simplify the experiences of young children and replace this with a fuller, more complex, and more realistic understanding of the social dynamic that constitutes childhood today. This book takes a user-friendly approach, with key questions and reflection boxes throughout as well as chapter summaries and suggested further reading. It will provide a rich resource for students of Early Childhood Studies, and for Early Years professionals and those training to be Early Years practitioners.

Reviews

"This book sets out key issues and theories that inform our understanding of childhood." Nursery World, November 2009
"...it provokes further key questions and evokes discussion around big issues...an academic text that strives for a user-friendly approach - it has key questions and reflection boxes throughout, chapter summaries and suggested further reading. With 10 highly qualified contributors, students of Early Childhood Studies, early years professionals and those training to be early years practitioners will find a thought provokingly informative text and a useful resource to add to their collection." EYE, December 2009
'I found this book interesting, readable and, at times, challenging. The authors have managed to thread the title question through each chapter...This book is well organised, with many techniques designed to engage the reader in reflection and in seeking further knowledge of the issues at stake...It could be a very useful learning and teaching tool.' -- Early Years Journal
'The text provides a clear and provocative introduction to a number of themes and issues that are central to the contemporary study of early childhood...The inclusion of activities, case studies and questions ensure that complex ideas are addressed in a lively and engaging way.' Professor Trisha Maynard, Swansea University -- Professor Trisha Maynard
This book offers an insightful and provocative analysis of the factors that shape contemporary childhoods and the role that children themselves play in this process. The authors challenge restrictive policy-making that is driven by economic and political concerns and instead emphasise the need to respect the voices and agency of children, as expressed through multimedia, multimodal meaning-making practices. This is a book that will be of great value to students and early years educators and will enable them to engage critically with some of the key issues currently informing early childhood policy and practice.' Professor Jackie Marsh, Sheffield University -- Professor Jackie Marsh
"The emphasis on policy and childhood representation made the book easily accessible and enabled effective links to be made with theory thereby supporting the reader in contextualising the information and relating it to their practice." Mrs Sandra Shaffi 4 August 2009 * ESCalate *

Author Bio

Richard Eke is Joint Head of Academic Development in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. Helen Butcher is Lecturer in Early Childhood Provision and Developments at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. Mandy Lee is Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of the West of England, UK, where she specialises in children's engagement with contemporary media.