Richard Willis, visiting professor at the University of South Wales, reviews a book which showcases up-to-date theoretical work currently being produced within the field of childhood studies
Not for the scholarly fainthearted, Bloomsbury Academic has produced here a series of theoretical contributions based on a diverse and critical range of childhood studies.
The handbook reveals some engaging contemporary themes, drawing on keynote perspectives from the social sciences and humanities.
The work, edited by Balagopalan et al., is subdivided into three parts – subjectivities, relationalities and structures – combining 26 chapters offering a unique conceptual framework underpinned by a wide-ranging scope of inter-disciplinary perspectives.
There is no shortage of applying different theoretical precepts, from critical race studies, disability studies and posthumanism to decolonialism.
For those theorising children’s lives, the handbook pinpoints enriching episodes that are both useful and important. Thirty years ago, such writings would not have been available. Instead, the chapters unravel an up-to-date and modern theorisation of childhood development, moving the analysis forward amid a sea of eclectic and sustained growth.
Part I examines the theory behind how youngsters relate to an understanding of themselves through various theoretical phenomena, consolidated by their own experiences and outlooks. The focus is widened moreover by a consideration of larger discourses, with technological concepts bearing on younger children leading to an outcome that moulds and shapes their lives.
Part II analyses the theory linked to youngsters’ connectivity and interdependencies, concerning wider societal norms and relationships, including other children and external influences.
Part III brings to light the institutional systems suggesting a sociological perspective, including considering international law, legal structures and political and economic cultures.
There are references to several academic disciplines, including sociology, law, politics, economics, history and geography. Inequalities in childhood becomes a central theme, giving a glimpse of children’s lives in a single snapshot. The authors go some way in countering theoretical exclusion in terms of the lack of coverage of certain fields of academic research, such as in the case of an important chapter by Rachel Rosen on childhood and social reproduction theory.
David Oswell’s ideas on ‘children’s agency’ are of no less value, as he calls on its relevance to society since Victorian times. The handbook can further be seen to champion the cause of underrepresented minorities, whether concerned with queer theory and aesthetics or Black feminism.
The handbook can enlighten both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying early years theory.
University College London runs a compulsory module as part of its BA in early childhood education with a concentration on the theoretical perspectives of children’s learning and development. The work feeds into this, and prospective PhD students could benefit by reading this handbook, as it could well trigger an area of research to base or add to their doctoral studies.
The handbook is not suited to the novice but is better understood by the scholar, preferably with a foundational knowledge and understanding of childhood studies. The chapters collectively can be regarded as supporting a market and readership which gives substantive light to in-depth theoretical research and analysis.
