Focusing on children's citizenship, participation and rights, this edited collection draws on the work of a number of leading scholars in the sociology of childhood. The contributors explore a range of themes including: tensions between pragmatism and grand theory; revisiting agency/structure debates in the light of children; the challenging of binary thought prevalent in studies around 'generations' and other aspects of sociology; the manifestation of power in time and space; the application of theories into the 'real' world through NGOs, practitioners, policy makers, politicians and empirical research. The collection will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including childhood studies, sociology, politics and social policy, as well as policy makers and practitioners interested in the citizenship, rights and participation of children.

This book is a genealogical foregrounding and performance of conceptions of children and their childhoods over time. We acknowledge that children’s lives are embedded in worlds both inside and outside of structured schooling or institutional settings, and that this relationality informs how we think about what it means to be a child living and experiencing childhood. The book maps the field by taking up a cross-disciplinary, genealogical niche to offer both an introduction to theoretical underpinnings of emerging theories and concepts, and to provide hands-on examples of how they might play out. This book positions children and their everyday lived childhoods in the Anthropocene and focuses on the interface of children’s being in the everyday spaces and places of contemporary communities and societies. In particular this book examines how the shift towards posthuman and new materialist perspectives continues to challenge dominant developmental, social constructivist and structuralist theoretical approaches in diverse ways, to help us to understand contemporary constructions of childhoods. It recognises that while such dominant approaches have long been shown to limit the complexity of what it means to be a child living in the contemporary world, the traditions of many Eurocentric theories have not addressed the diversity of children’s lives in the majority of countries or in the Global South.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophies and Theories of Early Childhood Education and Care brings together leading writers in the field to provide a much-needed, authoritative guide to the major philosophies and theories which have shaped approaches to Early Childhood Education and Care. Providing a detailed overview of key concepts, debates and practical challenges, the handbook combines theoretical acumen with specific examples to show how philosophies and theories have evolved over the centuries and their impact on policy and society. It examines the ways in which societies define and make sense of childhood and the factors that influence the development of philosophies about young children and their learning. The collection offers an insight into the key theorists and considers how the economics and politics of their time and personal ideology influenced their ideas about childhood. It looks at curricula and provision which have proved inspirational and how these have impacted on policy and practice in different parts of the world. The handbook also explores alternative and perhaps less familiar philosophies and ideas about babies and young children, their place in society and the ways in which it might be appropriate to educate them Bringing together specially commissioned pieces by a range of international authors, this handbook will enable academics, research students, practitioners and policy-makers to reflect on their own understandings and approaches, as well as the assumptions made in their own and other societies.

Seeing young children as competent and capable social actors, The Theory and Practice of Voice in Early Childhood looks at how we can better understand young children’s perspectives. Drawing on the ‘Look Who’s Talking’ project, it focuses on the eight talking point posters: voice, democracy, culture, listen with purpose, space and place, skills and tools, enable and build capacity to help readers critically reflect on what voice means to them and for the children with whom they work. Combining the work of scholars and academics with front line workers and practitioners, each section groups two of the posters and provides an overview of the key theory followed by international case studies to illustrate how this thinking might be translated into practice. The book looks at all aspects of children’s voice and how to ensure that all children, including those traditionally viewed as too young, with special needs or too disengaged, have a voice. Including reflections and suggesting points for exploration and dialogue between practitioners, families and children, this will be valuable reading for those who wish to make the ideological principles of children’s voice a practical reality.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Theories in Childhood Studies brings together an international group of childhood studies scholars who work with a range of critical theories. It speaks to both scholars and students by addressing questions such as how childhoods are diversely constructed and how children's experiences can be better understood. The volume draws together a diversity of theoretical perspectives from the social sciences and humanities such as critical race studies, disability studies, posthumanism, feminism, politics, decolonialism, queer theory and postcolonialism to generate a much-needed conversation about how to move childhood studies forward as a grounded field of research. The volume is subdivided into three sections - subjectivities, relationalities, and structures - each of which addresses different but interrelated approaches to childhood studies theorization. This handbook will be an essential text not just for childhood studies researchers, but for all those interested in theorizing what childhood is, what work it does and who children are.

By focusing on key figures in early years education and care, this book considers the influential thinkers and ground-breaking approaches that have revolutionized practice. With contributions from the leading authorities and researchers in the field, chapters provide an explanation of the approach, an analysis of the theoretical background, case studies from practice and questions and discussion points to facilitate critical thinking. Written in an accessible style and relevant to all levels of early years courses, from undergraduate to graduate degrees, the book asks the reader to engage with debates and to develop their own views and opinions.

The editors maintain that there is a compelling need to explore the child's role in major familial decisions such as divorce, moving house, employment or childcare.

Theories of Hope: Exploring Affective Dimensions of Human Experience is a collection of essays dedicated to inquiring into the nature of hope in its multiple and varied guises. Looking specifically at the ways in which some experiences of hope emerge within contexts of marginalization, transgression, and inquiry, this volume seeks to explore the experiences of hope through a lens of its more challenging aspects.

Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning focuses on how education is understood in different cultures, the theories and related assumptions we make about learners and students and how we think about them, and how we can understand the principle actors in education - learners and teachers. Within this volume, internationally renowned contributors address a number of fundamental questions designed to take the reader to the heart of current debates around pedagogy, globalisation, and learning and teaching, such as: What role does culture play in our understanding of pedagogy? What role do global influences, especially economic, cultural and social, have in shaping our understanding of education? How does language influence our thinking about education? What implications does our view of childhood have for education? How do learners negotiate the transition between the different phases of education? How best can children learn the 'school knowledge'? What is a teacher? And how do teachers learn? How do we understand learners, their minds, identity and development? To encourage reflection, many of the chapters also include questions for debate and a guide to further reading. Read alongside its companion volume, Knowledge, Values and Educational Policy, readers will be encouraged to consider and think about some of the key issues facing education and educationists today.