Product Description:  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...read more

Product Description: This book asks how far and in what way social inclusion policies are meeting the needs and rights of children and young people. Leading authors write from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines including social policy, education, geography and sociology...read more

Product Description: In this ground-breaking book, Alan Prout discusses the place of children and childhood in modern society. He critically examines 'the new social studies of childhood', reconsidering some of its key assumptions and positions and arguing that childhood is heterogeneous and complex...read more

Hearing the Voices of Children provides a fresh perspective on social policy. At the heart of the book is the emergence of 'children's voices' and the implications of this for social policy. The authors argue that children's voices should be heard much more strongly in the process of policy formation at all levels. Although there is growing support for this idea, it is not without opposition, and the authors themselves make many critical points about the current attempts to put it into practice.The book is divided into four main themes: hearing children's voices; discourses of childhood; children and services; and resources for children. Childhood experts from the UK, Scandinavia, Germany and Australia, examine how assumptions and models about childhood and discuss ways in which children's voices might become more influential in shaping policy. There are many obstacles to overcome, but the contributors to this volume show that children's participation is possible, and needed, if services are to be improved.This book is essential reading for students and academics in the field of childhood studies, sociology, social policy and education. It will also be of interest to practitioners in the social, child and youth services.

Product Description: Both "childhood" and "the body" are of growing importance in sociology and social theory. The Body, Childhood and Society examines how children's bodies are constructed in schools, families, courts, hospitals and in film. Recognizing that children's bodies are target for adult practices of social regulation, the contributors show that children are also active in their construction, employ them in resistance and social action, and generate their own meanings about them...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

This volume develops key links beween the study of childhood and social theory, exposing its historical, political and cultural dimensions. The authors set out the theoretical contexts within which more empirical studies of childhood are embedded.