Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T18:02:20.440Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Adults’ Perspectives on Tweens’ Capacities: Participation or Protection?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2014

Jonathon Sargeant
Jonathon Sargeant*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Australian Catholic University, St Patrick's Campus, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
*
addresses for correspondence: Dr Jonathon Sargeant, Faculty of Education, Australian Catholic University, St Patrick's Campus, Level 4, Room 4.52, 115 Victoria Parade, Locked Bag MDC, 4115 Fitzroy, VIC 3065. E-mail: jonathon.sargeant@acu.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Childhood, its stages, purpose and duration are matters of ongoing debate in many contemporary societies. Much of the debate centres on the interpretations of childhood as a time of being, becoming or a combination of both, with the varying perspectives compounded by the rapidly evolving information age of the 21st century that offer children access to more unregulated information from multiple sources than at any time in history. As such, the adult community is confronted by a conundrum: prepare children for their future or preserve childhood as a time romanticised and defined by freedom and carefree living. In order to advance a policy and research agenda, whereby adults and children can share their expertise, a clear understanding of the contemporary societal view of childhood is necessary. This paper presents the views of a range of adults regarding children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old, the tween years.

Keywords

children’s rightsparticipationtweenschildhood
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 9 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aries, P. (1962). Centuries of childhood. Harmondsworth: Penguin Education.Google Scholar
Australian Human Rights Commission. (2010). An Australian Children's Commissioner:Discussion Paper. Canberra: Australian Human Rights Commission.Google Scholar
Benson, P. L., Leffert, N., Scales, P. C., & Blyth, D. A. (2012). Beyond the ‘village’ rhetoric: creating healthy communities for children and adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 16 (1), 3–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brassard, M. R., Hyman, l., & Dimmitt, C. (1991). What can children expect? Protecting and nurturing children in a school and community context. School Psychology Review, 20 (3), 369–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherney, I., Greteman, A., & Travers, B. (2008). A cross-cultural view of adults’ perceptions of children's rights. Social Justice Research, 21 (4), 432–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chorpita, B. F., Tracey, S. A., Brown, T. A., Colica, T. J., & Barlow, D. H. (1997). Assessment of worry in children and adolescents – an adaptation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35 (6), 569–581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, A. (2010). Young children as protagonists and the role of participatory, visual methods in engaging multiple perspectives. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46 (1), 115–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckersley, R. (2001). Being young – never better, or getting worse? Retrieved from http://www.auseinet.com/suiprev/occpapers/Google Scholar
Fattore, T., Mason, J., & Watson, E. (2009). When children are asked about their well-being: towards a framework for guiding policy. Child Indicators Research, 2 (1), 57–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, M. (2010). Why it remains important to take children's rights seriously. In Rix, J., Nind, M., Sheehy, K., Simmons, K. & Walsh, C. (Eds.), Equality, participation and inclusion 1: Diverse perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 99–105). Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Furedi, F. (2001). Paranoid parenting: abandon your anxieties and be a good parent. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Gidley, J., & Inayatullah, S. (2002). Youth futures: comparative research and transformative visions. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.Google Scholar
Goldgehn, L. A. (2004). Generation Who, What, Y? What you need to know about Generation Y. International Journal of Educational Advancement, 5 (1), 24–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, A., & Fitzgerald, R. (2010). Children's participation in research: Some possibilities and constraints in the current Australian research environment. Journal of Sociology, 46 (2), 133–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, D. (2011). An encounter with children: seeking meaning and understanding about childhood. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19 (3), 331–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, D., & Sargeant, J. (2011). The challenges of conducting ethical research with children. Education Inquiry, 2 (3), 421–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, R. B., & Covell, K. (2010). Miseducating children about their rights. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 5 (2), 91–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamrozik, A., & Sweeney, T. (1996). Children and society: the family, the state and social parenthood. Melbourne: Macmillan Education.Google Scholar
Jans, M. (2004). Children as citizens: Towards a contemporary notion of child participation. Childhood, 11 (1), 27–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, M. (2007). The Sociology of Childhood as Scientific Communication: Observations from a social systems perspective. Childhood, 14 (2), 193–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambert, V., Coad, J., Hicks, P., & Glacken, M. (2013). Young children's perspectives of ideal physical design features for hospital-built environments. Journal of Child Health Care, 1367493512473852. doi:10.1177/1367493512473852Google ScholarPubMed
Langstead, O. (1994). Looking at quality from a child's perspective. In Pence, P. M. A. (Ed.), Valuing quality in early childhood services (pp. 28–42). London: Paul Chapman.Google Scholar
Lansdown, G. (2005). The evolving capacities of the child. Sienna: UNICEF.Google Scholar
Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal, 33 (6), 927–942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mannion, G. (2007). Going spatial, going relational: why ‘listening to children’ and children's participation needs reframing. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 28 (3), 405–420.Google Scholar
Marshall, D. E. (2010). Understanding children as consumers. London: SAGE.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayall, B. (2006). Beyond listening: Children's perspectives on early childhood services. Childhood – a Global Journal of Child Research, 13 (2), 287–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, T., McArthur, M., & Noble-Carr, D. (2008). Little voices and big ideas: Lessons learned from children about research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 7 (2), 77–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morss, J. R. (1990). The biologising of childhood: developmental psychology and the Darwinian myth. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Muller, P. (1969). The tasks of childhood. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.Google Scholar
Riley, K., & Docking, J. (2004). Voices of disaffected pupils: implications for policy and practice. British Journal of Educational Studies, 52 (2), 166–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenkoetter, L. I., Rosenkoetter, S. E., & Acock, A. C. (2009). Television violence: An intervention to reduce its impact on children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30 (4), 381–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saraga, E. (1998). Children's needs who decides? In Langan, M. (Ed.), Welfare: needs, rights and risks. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sargeant, J. (2007). Children being children: the value of an ‘importance filter’. Journal of Student Wellbeing, 1 (1), 15–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sargeant, J. (2008). Australian children: locally secure, globally afraid? In Gerber, R. & Roberston, M. (Eds.), Children's lifeworlds: Locating indigenous voices. New York: Nova Science. Retrieved from http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs/217/Google Scholar
Sargeant, J. (2010). The altruism of pre-adolescent children's perspectives on ‘worry’ and ‘happiness’ in Australia and England. Childhood – a Global Journal of Child Research, 17 (3), 411–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sargeant, J. (2012). Prioritising student voice: tween children's perspectives on school success. Education, 3–13, 1–11.Google Scholar
Shanahan, S. (2007). Lost and found: the sociological ambivalence toward childhood. Annual Review of Sociology, 33, 407–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, B. (2004). Children and television. New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Smith, A. B. (2007). Children's rights and early childhood education: Links to theory and advocacy. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 32 (3), 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strazdins, L., & Skeat, H. (2011). Weathering the future: climate change, children and young people, and decision making. Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. Canberra.Google Scholar
Tucci, J., Mitchell, J., & Goddard, C. (2005). The changing face of parenting. Melbourne: Australian Childhood Foundation. Retrieved from http://cmapspublic3.ihmc.us/rid=1J77N33R7-XD8B8T-QHW/The%20Changing%20Face%20of%20Parenting.pdfGoogle Scholar
United Nations. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Geneva: UN.Google Scholar
Wall, J. (2012). Can democracy represent children? Toward a politics of difference. Childhood, 19 (1), 86–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wyness, M., Harrison, L., & Buchanan, I. (2004). Childhood, politics and ambiguity: Towards an agenda for children's political inclusion. Sociology – The Journal of the British Sociological Association, 38 (1), 81–99.Google Scholar