Publisher Description

Being a child in American society can be problematic. Twenty percent of American children live in poverty, parents are divorcing at high rates, and educational institutions are not always fulfilling their goals. Against this backdrop, children are often patronized or idealized by adults. Rarely do we look for the strengths within children that can serve as the foundation for growth and development. In Rethinking Childhood, twenty contributors, coming from the disciplines of anthropology, government, law, psychology, education, religion, philosophy, and sociology, provide a multidisciplinary view of childhood by listening and understanding the ways children shape their own futures. Topics include education, poverty, family life, divorce, neighborhood life, sports, the internet, and legal status. In all these areas, children have both voice and agency. They construct their own social networks and social reality, sort out their own values, and assess and cope with the perplexing world around them. The contributors present ideas that lead not only to new analyses but also to innovative policy applications. 

Taken together, these essays develop a new paradigm for understanding childhood as children experience these years. This paradigm challenges readers to develop fresh ways of listening to children's voices that enable both children and adults to cross the barriers of age, experience, and stereotyping that make communication difficult.

A volume in the Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies, edited by Myra Bluebond-Langner.

Author Biography

Peter B. Pufall is a professor of psychology at Smith College and co-editor with Harry Beilin of Piaget's Theory: Prospects and Possibilities. Richard P. Unsworth is a senior fellow of the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute at Smith College where he was dean of the chapel and a professor of religion.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: the imperative and the process for rethinking childhood / Peter B. Pufall and Richard P. Unsworth
pt. I. Children's voice and agency.
Understanding childhood from an interdisciplinary perspective: problems and potentials / Allison James
Children as philosophers / Gareth B. Matthews
Children as theologians / Eileen W. Lindner
Action, voice and identity in children's lives / Jack A. Meacham
pt. II. Voice and agency in education.
"Do you know you have worms on your pearls?": Listening to children's voices in the classroom / Susan Etheredge
Cultural integrity and schooling outcomes of African American children from low-income backgrounds / A. Wade Boykin and Brenda A. Allen
"We have these rules inside": the effects of exercising voice in a children's online forum / Justine Cassell
pt. III. Voice and agency within families.
Advertising and marketing to children in the United States / Enola G. Aird
Children's lives in and out of poverty / Karen A. Gray
Children of divorce / Jan Pryor and Robert E. Emery
pt. IV. Voice and agency in neighborhoods and sports.
Negotiating the dance: social capital from the perspective of neighborhood children and adults / James C. Spilsbury and Jill E. Korbin
Are we having fun yet? / Rhonda Singer
pt. V. Voice and agency as legal rights.
Re-visioning rights for children / Barbara Bennett Woodhouse
Recognizing the roots: children's identity rights / Alice Hearst
Resources for further research: a roadmap for surfing the Internet / Raymond A. Ducharme

Long Description

Being a child in American society can be problematic. Twenty percent of American children live in poverty, parents are divorcing at high rates, and educational institutions are not always fulfilling their goals. Against this backdrop, children are often patronized or idealized by adults. Rarely do we look for the strengths within children that can serve as the foundation for growth and development. In Rethinking Childhood , twenty contributors, coming from the disciplines of anthropology, government, law, psychology, education, religion, philosophy, and sociology, provide a multidisciplinary view of childhood by listening and understanding the ways children shape their own futures. Topics include education, poverty, family life, divorce, neighborhood life, sports, the internet, and legal status. In all these areas, children have both voice and agency. They construct their own social networks and social reality, sort out their own values, and assess and cope with the perplexing world around them. The contributors present ideas that lead not only to new analyses but also to innovative policy applications. Taken together, these essays develop a new paradigm for understanding childhood as children experience these years. This paradigm challenges readers to develop fresh ways of listening to children?s voices that enable both children and adults to cross the barriers of age, experience, and stereotyping that make communication difficult. A volume in the Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies, edited by Myra Bluebond-Langner.

Description for Reader

Peter B. Pufall is a professor of psychology at Smith College and co-editor with Harry Beilin of Piaget's Theory: Prospects and Possibilities. Richard P. Unsworth is a senior fellow of the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute at Smith College where he was dean of the chapel and a professor of religion.

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