The child has a very special place in society, and society defines and shapes childhood. Understanding childhood is essential to early years students and this book offers a great introduction.

Taking a thematic approach, chapters cover:

• Historical and Cultural Perspectives
• Policy and Economic Perspectives
• Psychological and Biological Perspectives
• Contemporary Views.

Each chapter prompts you to reflect on core issues and interrogate your practice and attitudes towards children in your care.

This fantastic foundation will help you to begin to understand the relationship between the child and society.

About the Author
Dr Hazel Wright is a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University where she teaches on early years courses from undergraduate to doctoral level and supervises research students. She is an active researcher whose work is interdisciplinary, often using a biographical approach. It draws, in particular, on theories and ideas from within education, sociology, psychology and economics. Hazel graduated in geography, but maintained an earlier interest in history and literature, particularly children's fiction. She worked in publishing for years before retraining to work with young children whose actions and thoughts she finds fascinating and has taught early years staff in Community, Further and Higher Education. Her doctoral research focused on the educational experiences of early years staff from the voluntary sector, analysing their life histories using a Capability Approach framework. The thesis was published in 2011 as Women Studying Childcare (Trentham Books), freeing Hazel to refocus on children and childhood.

Reviews

A fascinating journey through the analysis of childhood. The author draws on a wide-range of material from across the disciplines to explore childhood through a variety of lenses. Accessible, well-written and a joy to read. Hazel. R. Wright has produced perhaps the best multi-disciplinary book yet to be written exploring childhood.

-- Nick Frost
This is a fabulous book which manages to provide both breadth and detail, and also manages to be academically rigorous whilst being very accessibly written. This book addresses different disciplinary approaches to this field of study, which Wright skilfully builds into a coherent and in-depth account of childhood across time and place.
-- Mandy Lee

The range and ambition of this book is impressive and the diversity of topics gives a broad framework and a wealth of information from which to examine childhood... In addition, free access to selected journal articles relating to the various topics extends the scope of the text and points for reflection at the end of each chapter engage the reader and provide opportunities for discussion - all these aspects are likely to appeal to tutors and students. Wright's ambition, as identified in her preface, was to 'bring multiple ideas together to form a single narrative'; in this she certainly succeeds and the book provides a useful addition to early childhood texts.

-- Rory McDowall Clark, University of Worcester



Book Information
ISBN 9781446266335
Author Hazel R Wright
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 410g