1. Sociology of Childhood
Idea retrieved from http://www.ecceleadership.org.au/node/11 and modified according with the requirements of this specific ECE course

2. Why to discuss this topic?
• Today we take for granted that there’s a stage in life which is
known as “childhood”
• However, it has been argued that “childhood” is rather a creation
of society than a natural phenomenon
• As ECE professionals we will have our own ‘mental models’ of
childhood, which are the images, assumptions, and stories we
carry in our minds (Raelin, 2007 p. 501).

3. The views
• Early childhood care and education also has a history of different
images and beliefs about children and the way that children
develop and learn.
• The beliefs and practices of ECE professionals have been
influenced by the writings of philosophers and researchers such
as Froebel, Montessori, and Steiner and more recently by the
ideas from the works of
Piaget, Vygotsky, Rogoff, Bronfenbrenner, etc. (Edwards &
Hammer, 2006; Kennedy, 2006).

4. Depiction of Children
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
Retrieved from
http://artblogbybob.blogspot.co
m/2008/01/great-
expectations.html
William Hogarth
‘The House of Cards’ 1730
Retrieved from
http://hogarth.chez-
alice.fr/gallery20.htm
Children at Play
Retrieved from
http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.
org.uk/people/victorian_childhood/
playtime
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a dominant image of childhood was
universalised with the introduction of mass schooling and new laws that sought to provide
children with greater protection. This resulted in a more sentimental view of children that
emphasised their innocence and vulnerability (Prout, 2005, p. 9).

5. Childhood by Ten
as it is presented in R. Sorin’s Changing Images of Childhood –
Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Practice” (2005)
1. The Innocent Child
2. The Noble/ Saviour Child
3. The Evil Child
4. The Snowballing Child
5. The out-of-control child
6. The Miniature Adult
7. The Adult-in-Training
8. The Child as Commodity
9. The Child as Victim
10. The Agentic Child

6. A Child in Need or a Competent Child?
• In developmental psychology, as Verhellen (1997)
suggests, “children are in a state of ‘not yet being’; the dominant
image of the child is of a ‘human becoming rather than a human
being”
( Woodhead & Faulkner, 2008,p. 15)
• Image of the child in need is associated with protection of
children’s rights
• Image of the competent child is associated with participation
rights
• Recently, there’s been a shift away from a traditional belief that
early childhood is a time when immature human beings are
socialized and developed towards adulthood
• It’s been acknowledged that young children have their own
concerns, interests, points of view

7. Present-day Depiction of Children
Dankin toy company in
opposition to violence games
Retrieved from
http://www.focusonlinecommuni
ties.com/blogs/Finding_Home/20
11/06
On the other side
Played out over time and shaped by different
circumstances the modern idea of childhood came
into existence.

8. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 12
Express your opinion
The United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child (1989) is an international legal
instrument that outlines a specific body of
identifiable rights for children. One of its
guiding principles, age-appropriate
participation, holds that young people have
the right to express their views in matters
affecting them (Article 12). While all members
of the United Nations have ratified the
Convention (with the exception of the United
States and Somalia), there is still a great
deal of controversy surrounding the
participatory principle. Critics argue that
children do not possess the emotional or
cognitive capabilities needed to make rational
choices (Purdy, 1992).
Johny,L. (2006). Reconceptualizing childhood: Children’s rights and youth participation in schools.
International Education Journal, 2006, 7(1), 17-25. Shannon Research Press. http://iej.cjb.net

9. http://www.childfriendlycities.org/

10. What can ECE professionals do?
The young child is understood and recognized
as being a part of & a member of society
Active engagement of young children with
the world requires adults to take this
engagement seriously
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P. & Pence, A. (2007). Beyond Quality in Early Childhood
Education and Care: languages of Evaluation. (2nd ed.). Routledge: New York