SOC06019 2022 Childhood 2: Repositioning Childhoods

General Details

Full Title

Childhood 2: Repositioning Childhoods

Transcript Title

Childhood 2

Code

SOC06019

Attendance

80 %

Subject Area

SOC - Sociology

Department

SOCS - Social Sciences

Level

06 - Level 6

Credit

05 - 05 Credits

Duration

Semester

Fee

€

Start Term

2022 - Full Academic Year 2022-23

End Term

9999 - The End of Time

Author(s)

Gwen Scarbrough, Susan McDonnell, Breda McTaggart, majella mulkeen

Programme Membership

SG_EEARL_H08 202200 Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Early Education and Care SG_EEARL_B07 202200 Bachelor of Education in Early Education and Care (exit)

Description

Building on the sociological perspectives on Irish society and childhood explored in year 1. This module will consider sociological perspectives on childhood in greater depth. The module will examine how children’s lives and childhood are constituted by structural forces and how children's agency and the concept of gener-agency has come to be central to a contemporary perspective on childhood. Students will learn about socialisation theory, social construction approaches to understanding childhood and the tensions shaping relationships between generations. There has been a cultural shift in the recognition of children as a social group with sometimes separate interests to those of adults and a claim on rights as articulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The module will focus on childhood as a social construction with its emphasis on children’s culture, children’s participation, the role of adults in supporting children’s agency and the centrality of children’s experiences. Children’s experiences, children's culture and children’s agency are at the centre of the analysis.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module the learner will/should be able to;

Identify a variety of sociological approaches to the study of childhood with a focus on the social construction approach

Outline the ways in which children’s lives and childhoods are shaped by structural forces

Analyse how best to support children’s agency in early years settings

Discuss children’s rights and participation in a contemporary context

Understand children's participation in a variety of contexts (e.g. care, early years settings, on-line and digital cultures)

Teaching and Learning Strategies

2 hour lecture/1 hour tutorial/3 hours independent learning

Students will be supported to learn though the development of a dedicated Moodle page, lectures and discussions in tutorials. There will be a strong emphasis on group work, interaction with the lecturer, research and sharing of insights with fellow students. Students will be supported to talk about their learning and consider how it shapes their formation as early years practitioners. Workshops and guest speakers will provide additional learning opportunities.

Module Assessment Strategies

Accessible course material, Active Learning, Brainstorming, Buzz Groups, Case studies, Consideration of diverse learning abilities, Debates, Discussions, Essays, Feedback Loop, Fieldtrips, Flipped classroom, Group work, Inclusive teaching, Integratation of prior knowledge, Interactive experiences, Lectures, Modelling, Podcasts, Peer-review, Planning, Poster (or Infographic), Presentation, Problem Solving, Reading, Reflection, Research, Specified learning activities, Team teaching, Tutorials, UDL, Use of Moodle as a repository, Video (or Presentation).

Group presentation 60%. Formative feedback will be offered after presentations, which will inform students' planning for the project element.

Children's participation project 40%

Repeat Assessments

Repeat assessments are determined by the decision of the exam board with the input of the lecturer.

Indicative Syllabus

LO 1. Identify a variety of sociological approaches to the study of childhood with a focus on the social construction approach

Defining and representing childhood: Historical and social construction of childhood
Discourses of childhood, the 'new' Sociology of Childhood and Childhood Studies
Child as social actor: Competence, rights and agency
Universalism vs. cultural relativism
- Critical examination of developmental ‘phases’ of childhood; childhood seen as ‘period of formation’
- The changing views and social value of children
The social construction of a 'good' childhood (What kinds of care do children need? How do children ‘become’ complete members of society? What do children need to learn and how?)
- Individualism vs interdependence; ‘soft’ individualism v. ‘hard’ individualism (Kusserow 2004); child as 'project' (Halldén 1991)
- Infant and child care practices
- Emotional, cultural and social training of children
- The education of children
‘Being and becoming’; the ‘end’ of childhood

LO 2. Outline the ways in which children’s lives and childhood is shaped by structural forces and supporting children's agency

Intersections in the construction and experience of childhood (social class, gender, and ethnicity) and “different forms of childhood”
The concept of agency in sociology and its application to childhood studies
The structure and/or agency debate in sociology; the influence of 'gener-agency'

LO 3. Analyse how best to support children’s agency in early years settings

Agency in children's lives: agency as competence, agency as self-determination and agency as practical action in everyday contexts
The structuration of agency in children's lives
Children's rights and the limits of agency

LO 4. Discuss children's rights and participation in a contemporary context

The implications of a universal construction of children’s individual rights
Everyday and formalised spaces of participation
Protection, innocence and citizenship
Race, gender, disability

LO 5. Understand children's participation in a variety of contexts (e.g. care, early years settings, on-line and digital cultures)

Children's peer culture
Play, sociality and learning
Family life and care

Coursework & Assessment Breakdown

Coursework & Continuous Assessment

100 %

Coursework Assessment

	Title	Type	Form	Percent	Week	Learning Outcomes Assessed
1	Group presentation with individual written component	Project	Group Project	60 %	Week 7	1,2
2	Children's participation project	Project	Assessment	40 %	Week 13	3,4,5

Full Time Mode Workload

Type	Location	Description	Hours	Frequency	Avg Workload
Lecture	Flat Classroom	Theory, case studies, discussion	2	Weekly	2.00
Tutorial	Flat Classroom	Case studies, discussion, debate, enquiry learning	1	Weekly	1.00
Independent Learning	Not Specified	Reading, reflection, writing	3	Weekly	3.00

Total Full Time Average Weekly Learner Contact Time 3.00 Hours

Required & Recommended Book List

Required Reading
2016 The sociology of Children, Childhood and Generation SAGE

Required Reading
2008 Key concepts in Childhood Studies Sage

Required Reading
2014-10-17 Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood Routledge
ISBN 1138818801 ISBN-13 9781138818804

When the first edition of this seminal work appeared in 1990, the sociology of childhood was only just beginning to emerge as a distinct sub-discipline. Drawing together strands of existing sociological writing about childhood and shaping them into a new paradigm, the original edition of this Routledge Classic offered a potent blend of ideas that informed, even inspired, many empirical studies of children's lives because it provided a unique lens through which to think about childhood. Featuring a collection of articles which summarised the developments in the study of childhood across the social sciences, including history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, feminist and developmental studies, scholars and professionals from developed and developing countries world-wide shared their knowledge of having worked and of working with children. Now with a new introduction from the editors to contextualise it into the 21st century, this truly ground-breaking text which helped establish childhood studies as a distinctive field of enquiry is being republished.

Required Reading
2013 Understanding childhood Policy Press
ISBN 9781447305804 ISBN-13 1447305809

Understanding childhood is a fresh look at how childhood has changed in recent years and reveals how children's needs and experiences have achieved a new visibility

Required Reading
2019-04-10 Childhood and Society Red Globe Press
ISBN 1137514876 ISBN-13 9781137514875

The new edition of this established core textbook continues to give an insightful, authoritative and accessible overview of competing theoretical positions on the sociological study of childhood. The book explores the ways these theories inform key themes, including education, work, identity and agency. The study of childhood has taken on an increasingly global focus in recent years, honing in on how issues of rights, protection and development shape the lives of children and those around them at political, social and institutional levels across the world. As a result, this book guides students through the theories and research on childhood in both local and global contexts. Author Michael Wyness clearly illustrates how a study of childhood can inform sociological thinking on social crises, changes and problems such as globalisation, criminality and disruption of the social order. Written for students exploring childhood from a sociological perspective, this is the essential introduction to the topic.

Required Reading
2010 Poverty and the Life Cycle in 20th Century Ireland: Changing Experiences of Childhood, Education and the Transition to Adulthood. NUIM Combat Poverty Agency

Module Resources

Non ISBN Literary Resources

Brady, G, Lowe, G. Lauritzen, S.O. (2015) Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing: introduction. Sociology of Health & Illness Vol 37 (2) pp.173-183
McGovern, F. & D. Devine (2015) The care worlds of migrant children – Exploring inter-generational dynamics of love, care and solidarity across home and school. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568215579734
Devine, D. (2008) Changing constructions of childhood in Irish society. In European Childhoods: Culture, Politics & Childhoods in Europe (eds) James, A. & James A. London: Palgrave
HomeWorks; the impact of homelessness on children’s education. Available at childrensrights.ie https://www.childrensrights.ie/sites/default/files/submissions_reports/files/Home%20Works%20Study%20on%20the%20Educational%20Needs%20of%20Children%20Experiencing%20Homelessness%20-%20Full%20Report.pdf
No Place Like Home; children’s experiences of living in family hubs. https://www.oco.ie/app/uploads/2019/04/No-Place-Like-Home.pdf
Irish Traveller and Roma Children Available at http://www.paveepoint.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Pavee-Point-Shadow-Report-for-UNCRC-on-Traveller-and-Roma-Children1.pdf
Roma children starving’ due to relentless poverty. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/roma-children-in-ireland-starving-due-to-relentless-poverty-1.3360375
Direct Division Consultation with Children living in Direct Provision. https://www.oco.ie/directdivision/
Shining a light on seclusion and restraint in schools in Ireland: Inclusion Ireland 2018. https://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/2018/09/shining-light-seclusion-and-restraint-schools-ireland.pdf
Schools ‘illegally’ imposing short school days on vulnerable children. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/schools-illegally-imposing-short-school-days-on-vulnerable-children-1.4007979
Child Migration Matters Immigrant Council of Ireland. www.immigrantcouncil.ie/campaign/child-migration-matters
Children living in poverty in Ireland. Social Justice Ireland https://www.socialjustice.ie/content/policy-issues/more-689000-living-poverty-ireland-over-200000-are-children
Bourdillon, M. (2018) “Child Labour” and Children’s Lives. In Global Childhoods beyond the North-South Divide pp 35-55
On the Lives of Street Children Open Letter. www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/open-letter-on-lives-of-street-children/
Two cultures collide over act of despair Ojaku Shinju https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-24-mn-24484-story.html
Lanclos, D. 2003. At play in Belfast: children’s folklore and identities in Northern Ireland. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
Marshall, L. 2016. ‘Going to school to become good people’: examining aspirations to respectability and goodness among schoolchildren in urban Ethiopia. Childhood 25(3), 423-37.

Journal Resources

Childhood

Journal of Early Childhood Research

URL Resources

Children’s Rights Alliance at www.cra.ie
Barnardos at www.barnardos.ie
Dept of Children and Youth Affairs at www.dcya.ie
Ombudsman for Children at www.oco.ie

Other Resources

NCB (2013) Listening to Children in the Early Years https://www.ncb.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/Early_years_docs/NO13%20-%20developing_a_listening_culture.pdf

Embedding Culture in Practice video series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_Ra8MnFe8

Oropilla, C. (2014) Children’s Voices in Exploring Their Interests Using Different Media https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=aaschssldis

Additional Information