This book examines the notion of children having full citizenship. It does so historically, through intellectual discourse, beliefs, and moral and ideological positions on children. It looks at the status and extent of knowledge of the position of children covering about 2500 years. The book takes European and other cultures, traditions and beliefs into consideration. It reflects on the topic from a variety of disciplines, including social sciences, theology and philosophy. The book places children’s citizenship in the centre of children’s rights discourse. Part of the work is a critical appraisal of ‘children’s participation’ because it diverts attention away from children as members of society toward being a separable group. The book moves on from child participation using a children’s rights based argument toward examination of the relationship of the child with the state, i.e. as potentially full member citizens. ​

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This work reviews the progress of children’s rights 25 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It studies the progress of that human rights instrument as part of an ongoing process. It examines how recent past, present and future generations will benefit or suffer as part of the process in which outcomes cannot be predicted. It does not project into the future. Its emphasis is on a review of the period after 1989 and it comments on what has happened and offering guidance on how children's rights might progress. The book presents a realistic but not always critical review of two and a half decades of intensive activity in the field of children’s rights worldwide. It includes both failures and examples of good practice and positive experiences. It offers a review of progress and lack of progress in child rights and welfare in the twelve countries used as case studies in its predecessor, The Next Generation. Finally, the volume considers the impact of current geopolitical and economic realities on children’s rights in the early years of the twenty-first century. The book is a tribute to Judith Ennew and pays homage to all of the people who have contributed so much to children’s rights over the years and wishes to encourage others to take up the cause.

The focus of this book is centered on the participation of children in countries of the South. In this sense, it will review the possibilities of children's participation, as well as their forms of participation in different contexts of daily life. There has been a tendency to underestimate children’s role as active constructors of their surrounding social space, as well as of the internalized interpretations of the way social life operates. Today it is necessary to recognize that children are agents actively involved in the construction of their own lives and the life of the societies they live in; and in this sense, it is important to consider and re-signify the participation of boys and girls as a fundamental pillar in the process of building societies in the 21st century. The book contains chapters that re-significate children’s participation in different countries from South America and South Africa, in relation with different topics: well-being, methods, citizenship, poverty, education, rurality, ethics and human rights.

Considers how to implement children's rights in the twenty-first century through a child rights-based approach to sustainable development.

By regarding children as actors and conducting empirical research on children’s agency, Childhood Studies have gained significant influence on a wide range of different academic disciplines. This has made agency one of the key concepts of Childhood Studies, with articles on the subject featured in handbooks and encyclopaedias. Reconceptualising Agency and Childhood is the first collection devoted to the central concept of agency in Childhood Studies. With contributions from experts in the field, the chapters cover theoretical, practical, historical, transnational and institutional dimensions of agency, rekindling discussion and introducing fundamental and contemporary sociological perspectives to the field of research. Particular attention is paid to connecting agency in the social sciences with Childhood Studies, considering both the theoretical foundations and the practice of research into agency. Empirical case studies are also explored, which focus upon child protection, schools and childcare at a variety of institutions worldwide. This book is an essential reference for students and scholars of Childhood Studies, and is also relevant to Sociology, Social Work, Education, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and Geography. Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Interest in citizenship has never been higher. But what does it mean to be a citizen in a modern, complex community? Richard Bellamy approaches the subject of citizenship from a political perspective and, in clear and accessible language, addresses the complexities behind this highly topical issue.