Childhoods in Context

Childhoods in context offers a critical exploration of childhood, drawing attention to the physical and social context of children and young people's lives. Three key themes are explored:

· Childhood is always located somewhere. The book offers insights into childhood by focusing on places specially designed for children as well as the territories that children develop for themselves.

· Childhood is experienced through objects, people and places and through everyday routines. Discussions about childhood are rooted in the details of children's lives, whether on the street, in an institution or in different definitions of home.

· Childhood and adult identities are relational. Definitions and understandings of childhood are dependent on how adulthood is viewed.

These themes are explored through accounts of home and family, school, public spaces and sites of work in local and global settings. They raise questions about methodological approaches to understanding childhoods in context which is the focus of the concluding chapter.

This is the third in a series of four books, written by experts in the field, which provides an introduction to childhood degree programmes and related modules. The series features international case studies, examples and readings to supplement the chapters, and is illustrated in full colour. Other books in the series are:

· Understanding childhood: a cross-disciplinary approach

· Children and young people's cultural worlds

· Local childhoods, global issues