Global Childhoods in International Perspective gathers a wide spectrum of contributors from Europe, the U.S., South Asia, South Africa and Latin America, who, attuned with present dilemmas in the area of childhood studies, discuss some key theoretical and empirical aspects of child scholarship, such as identity, child wellbeing, child mobility and migration, intergenerational relationships and child abuse. Through these expert contributions, the book explores the many ways in which the relationship between universality and particularities of childhood plays an important role in describing global childhoods. The book highlights childhood as a cross-cutting issue in global sociology with chapters on globalization and schooling in Burkina Faso, child abuse and neglect in India, identity and integration among children of African immigrants in France, social class mobility of Filipino migrant children in Italy and France, and an investigation into Kyrgyz childhoods. Ideal reading for researchers, practitioners and students interested in both childhood studies and the other areas including community research, sociology of education, social stratification, and the sociology of migration.

Global Childhoods in International Perspective gathers a wide spectrum of contributors from Europe, the U.S., South Asia, South Africa and Latin America, who, attuned with present dilemmas in the area of childhood studies, discuss some key theoretical and empirical aspects of child scholarship, such as identity, child wellbeing, child mobility and migration, intergenerational relationships and child abuse. Through these expert contributions, the book explores the many ways in which the relationship between universality and particularities of childhood plays an important role in describing global childhoods. The book highlights childhood as a cross-cutting issue in global sociology with chapters on globalization and schooling in Burkina Faso, child abuse and neglect in India, identity and integration among children of African immigrants in France, social class mobility of Filipino migrant children in Italy and France, and an investigation into Kyrgyz childhoods. Ideal reading for researchers, practitioners and students interested in both childhood studies and the other areas including community research, sociology of education, social stratification, and the sociology of migration.

"An exciting and engagingly written book. The case studies are intriguing and the discussion of previous theories impeccable." - Dr. Heather Montgomery, The Open University "What is a child? Kate Cregan and Denise Cuthbert begin this path-breaking and compelling work with a deceptively simple question. From this seemingly straightforward formulation, they unravel, interrogate and engage with some of the most pressing issues related to children in the early 21st century... This book is an absolute must for scholars in all the fields of childhood studies." - Professor Joy Damousi, University of Melbourne Global Childhoods draws on the authors’ interdisciplinary backgrounds and original research in the fields of embodiment, theorisations of childhood, children′s policy, child placement and adoption, and family formation. The book critically demonstrates how following from the modern construction of childhood which emerged unevenly from the late eighteenth century, the twentieth century saw the emergence of the conception of the normative global child, a figure finally enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The book offers a wide-ranging critical analysis of approaches to children and childhood across the social sciences. Through stimulating case studies which include the experiences of child soldiers, orphans, forced child migrants, and children and biomedicine, Cregan and Cuthbert critically test the notion of the ‘global child’ against the lived experiences of children around the globe. Kate Cregan and Denise Cuthbert draw on and contributes to debates on children and the idea of the child in a wide range of disciplines: sociology, anthropology, education, children′s studies, cultural studies, history, psychology, law and development studies. In its historical coverage of the rise of the concepts of the child and the global child, its critical engagement with the theorisation of childhood, and its detailed case studies, the book is essential reading for the study of children and childhood.

The second edition of this compelling and popular book offers a unique global perspective on children’s lives throughout the world. It shows how the notion of childhood is being radically re-shaped, in part as a consequence of globalization. Taking an engaging historical and comparative approach, the book explores social issues such as how children are constituted as raced, classed and gendered subjects; how children’s involvement in war is connected to the globalization of capitalism and organized crime; and how school and work operate as sites for the governing of childhood. The book discusses wide-ranging topics including children’s rights, the family, children and war, child labour and young people’s activism around the globe. In addition to updated literature throughout, the revised edition includes new chapters on migration and trafficking, and the role of play. The book will continue to be of great value to students and scholars in the fields of sociology, geography, social policy and development studies. It will also be a valuable companion to practitioners of international development and social work, as well as to anyone interested in childhood in the contemporary world.

This popular book provides a compelling introduction to thinking about childhood in rigorous and critical ways. Karen Wells offers a unique global perspective on children’s lives, showing how the notion of childhood varies widely and is continuously being radically re-shaped. Taking children seriously as active participants in society, the book explores key social issues such as how children are constituted as raced, classed and gendered subjects; how school and work operate as sites for the governing of childhood; and how children both shape and are shaped by politics, culture and the economy. Taking an engaging historical and comparative approach, the book discusses wide-ranging topics including children’s rights, the family, play, labour, migration and trafficking. In addition to updated literature throughout, this revised third edition includes extensive new material on children’s activism, politics and war, and a whole new chapter on juvenile justice. The book will continue to be of great value to students and scholars in the fields of sociology, geography, social policy and development studies. It will also be a valuable companion to practitioners whose work involves or impacts children, as well as to anyone interested in childhood in the contemporary world.

This book explores children’s lives across the Global North and Global South in the context of academic discussions of childhoods. The edited volume offers a unique selection of materials suitable for teaching in the areas of children, childhoods, young people, families, and education in a global context, as well as specific aspects of international development and social policy. While the focus of the project is conceptual rather than practical, the holistic understanding of childhoods that it encourages should also enable practitioners to better ensure that they are improving the lives of the children.

This Handbook explores the multidisciplinary field of childhood studies through a uniquely global lens. It focuses on enquiries and investigations into the everyday lives of young children in the age range of birth to 8 years of age, giving space to their voices and involving interrogations about the various aspect of their lives. This Handbook engages with the interdisciplinary field of childhood studies, education, cultural studies, ethnography, and philosophy, with contributions from scholars from across the globe who have focused their work on the complexities of childhoods in contemporary times. By considering a range of epistemologies, ontologies and perspectives to present the contemporary & systematic research on the topic from a wide range of academics and authors in the field, this Handbook provides a significant contribution to the international dialogue of Global Childhoods. Part 1: Global Childhoods Part 2: Researching Global Childhoods Part 3: Contemporary Childhoods Part 4: Pedagogies and Practice Part 5: Creating Communities for Global Children