“… the book successfully presents clear and convincing arguments about the need to re-direct childhood studies and children’s care towards an appreciation of children and care, by providing a careful and very thorough examination of care theory, policy, practice and research.” NetworkChildren's care in the 21st century is increasingly a public issue as well as parents' private concern. A limited vision of children as the responsibility of mothers held sway in Britain long after mothers joined the workforce. Formal childcare is now growing but in the context of care work continuing to be low qualified and low status. A dearth of care looms large as Britain rapidly turns into an overworked society. This critically orientated book draws on a range of key empirical studies carried out in a variety of care contexts. It examines care from the perspectives of children, parents and care workers. It also takes an historical perspective. The discussion is situated in an analysis of economic, social and political change, from modernity to late modernity. It focuses on four key issues: the conceptualisation of care; how care translates its public policy; the nature of the care relationship; how care might be transformed in the future. Rethinking Children's Care will be of interest to students of childhood studies, the sociology of childhood and child welfare. It is also directly relevant to policy makers, trainers and researchers as well as practitioners involved in children's care.

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This book explores the relationship between children and citizenship, analyzing international perspectives on citizenship and human rights and developing new methods for facilitating the recognition of children as participating agents within society.

This book takes a broad and critical look at policy and practice in residential child care and the ideas that have shaped the development of the sector.

Rethinking Children's Rights explores attitudes towards and experiences of children's rights. Phil Jones and Sue Welch draw on a wide range of thought, research and practice from different fields and countries to debate, challenge and re-appraise long held beliefs, attitudes and ways of working and living with children. This second edition contains updated references to legislation and research underpinning children's rights, reflecting on recent scholarship and on the current world context. New research and examples are discussed around: - online protection and privacy - evaluating UK progress and the children's rights review by the United Nations - recent insights on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) - new debates about the construction and development of children's rights - new debates about the relationships between social exclusion and children's rights Recent developments in the definition of rights are considered from a variety of perspectives and in relation to different arenas of children's lives. This second edition brings an increased focus on exploring the notion of disjunction between the rhetoric of policy and legislation and the enacted and perceived experiences of children's rights. Themes discussed include power relations between adults and children, the child's voice, intercultural perspectives, social justice, gender and disability. Examples of research, activities, interviews with researchers and guidance on further reading make this an essential text for those studying childhood.

How do we understand children and young people's lives in ways that do not rely on nostalgic romantic ideals or demonising prejudices? Can the geographical concepts of space, place and spatiality enhance our understanding of childhood and how children experience their lives as social actors? This book draws on a rich and growing academic literature concerned with the spatiality of childhood and the spaces and places in which children live, learn, work, and play. It examines changing ways of seeing space, place and environment and how these can promote rethinking about children's lives across local and global scales. In common with other texts in the “New Childhoods” series, it asks for a reappraisal of modernity's assumptions about childhood and for a move towards full participation of children and young people in matters that concern us all. Combining critical discussion of theory with examples drawn from research, Rethinking Children's Spaces and Places offers readers a language to facilitate rethinking and catalyse active responses to the challenges of 21st-century childhoods.

Considers the way people approach research into childhood and children's lives and examines the debates concerning the forms and goals of such research. >

Residential child care is a crucial, though relatively neglected area of social work. And yet, revelations of abuse and questions of effectiveness have led to increasingly regulatory and procedural approaches to practice and heightened political and professional scrutiny. This book provides a broad and critical look at the ideas and policy developments that have shaped the direction of the sector. The book sets present-day policy and practice within historical, policy and organisational context. The author applies a critical gaze to attempts to improve practice through regulation and, fundamentally, challenges how residential child care is conceptualised. He argues that it needs to move beyond dominant discourses of protection, rights and outcomes to embrace those of care and upbringing. The importance of the personal relationship in helping children to grow and develop is highlighted. Other traditions of practice such as the European concept of social pedagogy are also explored to more accurately reflect the task of residential child care. The book will be of interest to practitioners in residential child care, social workers and students on social work and social care courses. It should be required reading for social work managers and will also be of interest to policy makers and students of social policy, education and childhood studies.

Care work and care workers past, present and future are examined in this edited collection which guides readers through an introduction to care work towards a critical understanding of potential futures for the field.

Rethinking Children and Inclusive Education examines attitudes towards, and experiences of, children's marginalization and inclusion. Sue Pearson draws on a wide range of thought, research and practice from different fields and countries to debate, challenge and reappraise long held beliefs, attitudes and ways of working and living with children with differing needs and learning challenges. This book adopts a broad view of inclusive education that embraces all, with examples mainly but not exclusively related to special educational needs; takes a nuanced perspective which goes beyond reductionist debates about placement; and gives attention to the wider educational and social contexts that envelop schools and those that follow schooling. Throughout, Rethinking Children and Inclusive Education acknowledges some of the tensions, contradictions and overlaps in policies and practices by exploring a variety of UK and international sources. Making an original contribution to current debates, the text emphasises research that adopts a socio-cultural/ecological perspective alongside that which focuses on child factors, including participatory or emancipatory research, and highlights the links between principles, research, policies and practices. Including extensive examples of research, practical activities, key points and guidance on further reading, Rethinking Children and Inclusive Education is essential reading for all those studying childhood at undergraduate and graduate level and of great interest to those working with children in any field.