Defining the Child
‘The Child’
“Childhood” or theory of “the child” are difficult concepts to explore because there is no single accepted definition of childhood, or what constitutes a child. Although it might seem easy to differentiate a child from an adult – physiologically, cognitively or emotionally, childhood can also be regarded as an artificial construct, because historically, and across different cultures, approaches to childhood vary markedly. Simplistically, childhood in the UK starts at birth, ending at the age of 18. This chronological, legalistic approach ignores at least three alternative viewpoints – biological, sociological and psychological.
A biological approach would encompass physical maturation processes that differentiate children from adults. The concept of a "biological life-cycle" (progression from birth to death) can be empirically demonstrated. In physical terms at least, a young baby is different to a fourteen year old, whilst a fully-grown adult is different to both. However, because of great variations between individuals, e.g. height, weight, strength, gender, this approach has limitations, because behaviours and learning differ so widely.
Secondly, sociologists may argue that human childhood is essentially a social construct where society categorises biological development in terms of ideas such as: Childhood, Adolescence / youth, Adulthood and Old age. The interpretation of such categories varies across societies; "youth" appears to be a relatively modern categorisation in industrial societies with few pre-industrial societies categorising people in this way. In our society we tend to associate childhood with such characteristics as "innocence / naiveté" and old age with increasing physical frailty, loss of mental faculties etc. However, not all societies insist on such categorical associations. Philippe Aries (1962) has, for many years, been considered to be the definitive work on the subject of changing conceptions of childhood. Aries argues
“Childhood” or theory of “the child” are difficult concepts to explore because there is no single accepted definition of childhood, or what constitutes a child. Although it might seem easy to differentiate a child from an adult – physiologically, cognitively or emotionally, childhood can also be regarded as an artificial construct, because historically, and across different cultures, approaches to childhood vary markedly. Simplistically, childhood in the UK starts at birth, ending at the age of 18. This chronological, legalistic approach ignores at least three alternative viewpoints – biological, sociological and psychological.
A biological approach would encompass physical maturation processes that differentiate children from adults. The concept of a "biological life-cycle" (progression from birth to death) can be empirically demonstrated. In physical terms at least, a young baby is different to a fourteen year old, whilst a fully-grown adult is different to both. However, because of great variations between individuals, e.g. height, weight, strength, gender, this approach has limitations, because behaviours and learning differ so widely.
Secondly, sociologists may argue that human childhood is essentially a social construct where society categorises biological development in terms of ideas such as: Childhood, Adolescence / youth, Adulthood and Old age. The interpretation of such categories varies across societies; "youth" appears to be a relatively modern categorisation in industrial societies with few pre-industrial societies categorising people in this way. In our society we tend to associate childhood with such characteristics as "innocence / naiveté" and old age with increasing physical frailty, loss of mental faculties etc. However, not all societies insist on such categorical associations. Philippe Aries (1962) has, for many years, been considered to be the definitive work on the subject of changing conceptions of childhood. Aries argues
Bibliography: Aries, Philippe. Centuries of Childhood. New York: Vintage Books, 1962. Cohen, David. How the child 's mind develops. London: Routledge, 2002 Driscoll, Marcy Feeney, Stephanie, et al. Who am I in the lives of children? (5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1996 Henniger, Michael Kagan, Spencer and Miguel Kagan. Kagan Cooperative Learning (2nd. ed.). San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2009. research and social issues. Ed. Thomas Lickona. New York: Holt Rineheart and Winston, 1976. 31-53. Piaget, Jean. The Psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books, 1972. Piaget, Jean. The Child 's Conception of the World. New York: Littlefield Adams, 1990. Seefeldt, Carol and Nita Barbour. Early Childhood Education. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998. Smith, Peter, et al. Understanding Children 's Development (3rd Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. Vygotsky, Lev. “Extracts from Thought and Language and Mind and Society”. Language, Literacy, and Learning in educational practice: a reader. Eds. Barry Stierer & Janet Maybin. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1994. 45-58. Vygotsky, Lev. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.