This edited collection looks at the changes to the status of the child and childhood wrought by globalization.

The contributors and editors of this volume begin from the assumption that the changes wrought by globalization compel us to reflect upon the status of the child and childhood at the end of the 20th century. Their essays consider what techniques and technologies are used to govern the child, what role the family plays, what is global and what is culturally specific in the changes, and how the subject is constructed and construed.

This is a collection of essays that address the international changes in welfare policy. The book discusses the new patterns of governing associated with the notions of welfare, care, and education that emerge during the late Twentieth and early Twenty-first-centuries. The issues examined are, among others, the role of international donors and their emphasis on efficiency and lower social subsidies, international migration and its impact on welfare policy inclusions (and exclusions), and national policy change. While representing many different locations and traditions, contributors work within a variety of critical theoretical perspectives that critique our cultural ways of reasoning about the care and education of the child, the role and practice of the state, and the social and cultural construction of citizenship and nationhood.

The book interrogates the value of play as an essential component of learning, and the essential role of play in a technological society’s aspirations for progress. Drawing upon the philosophy of technology, this book provides parents, teachers and teacher educators with a critique of predominant perspectives regarding the young child’s increasingly hi-tech world.

Educational Partnerships and the State is a compelling collection of essays by an international group of scholars that provides a critical exploration of the role of partnerships in contemporary educational reform. Their focus is on the expanding role that collaboration between the public and private sector has come to play in the governing of schools, children, and families in response to an array of worldwide economic and social changes. The contributors to this volume highlight the new relationship between civil society and the state through partnerships and what that linkage has come to mean for an array of educational issues including academic achievement, school governance, school parent-relationships, teacher education, the construction of family and community involvement, and the discourses of reform as practices that order participation and action.

Teenage pregnancy is a public health concern that is growing more prevalent in both developed and developing countries. Understanding the problems of teenage motherhood and suggesting relevant preventive strategies and interventions can help break the cycle of poverty, poor education, and risky behaviors that can lead to health and child welfare issues. Socio-Cultural Influences on Teenage Pregnancy and Contemporary Prevention Measures is an essential reference source that discusses the causes and factors responsible for early motherhood, as well as the mental and psychological outlooks of teen mothers. Featuring research on topics such as minority populations, family dynamics, and sex education, this book is ideally designed for healthcare students, medical professionals, practitioners, nurses, and counselors seeking coverage on the issues, reasons, and outcomes of teenage pregnancy, as well as preventive strategies to combat teenage motherhood.

At the turn of the millennium, attitudes and actions towards children are increasingly contradictory and complex. This work explores these apparent contradictions and complexities through a critique of the concept of children's services.