The critique of Sociology of Childhood
Human capital as the concrete ‘social construction of childhood’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12928630 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sidy Ba (0000-0001-5930-9924, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 73-87 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Power and Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1757-7438 • E-ISSN: 1757-7438 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/17577438211011637 |
| OpenAlex | W3162477193 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 17 |
The ‘New Paradigm’ of Sociology of Childhood famously maintains that childhood is socially constructed and supposedly places a much greater emphasis on the agency of children: children should not simply be framed as the passive receivers of socialisation. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that such a ‘social construction’ of childhood is not concretely articulated and that the theoretical understanding of the ‘social construction’ of childhood is simply delegated to historiographical or ethnographic accounts. In doing so, it advances a new criticism of the New Paradigm and radicalises previous ones. Here, key is the theoretical engagement with the concept of ‘human capital’: foregrounding its critique, this article proposes the link between ‘human capital’ as a neoliberal version of labour power and the concept of socialisation. The aim is to show that the ‘social construction’ of childhood is central, but the New Paradigm uses categories that are at the same time founded on neo-liberal views and abstracted from concrete social relations. This article maintains that a concrete critique of processes of socialisation (which is here understood as the socialisation of childhood as human capital) is needed instead of abstract critique of reified childhood. Two alternative pedagogical practices are used to provide an example of such a concrete critique
Agency (philosophy · Childhood studies · Criticism · Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Epistemology · Ethnography · Foregrounding · Historiography · Political science · Power (physics · Social capital · Social constructionism · Social reproduction · Social science · Sociology · Structure and agency · Children's Rights and Participation · Early Childhood Education and Development · Law · Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
Childhood
The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies
Childhood and Society
Taking a Step Away from Modernity
A history of the sociology of childhood
Questions of agency
Childhood and the politics of scale
The Value of Children
The Economic Value of Education,”
Navigating the bio-politics of childhood
Not so 'new'? Looking critically at childhood studies
How New Is the "New" Social Study of Childhood? The Myth of a Paradigm Shift
An Introduction to Childhood Studies
Giving Voice to Children's Voices
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |