Childhoods in Context: Second Edition

Childhoods in Context offers a critical exploration of childhood, drawing attention to the physical and social contexts of children’s lives. Through accounts of home and family, school, public spaces, and work, the contributors explore three key arguments: childhood is always located somewhere—either in a place designed for children or territories that children develop for themselves; childhood is experienced through objects, people, places, and everyday routines; and childhood and adult identities are relational—understandings of childhood are dependent on how adulthood is viewed.
 
Raising important questions about methodological approaches to understanding childhoods in context, this book provides a framework for investigating wider questions about childhood, including the power relationships between adults and children and the influence of gender and inequality.