Abstract
This chapter is concerned with exploring the ways in which ideas of ‘childhood’ and the ‘child’ are represented in the educational policies for children aged three to six years old, introduced in England in 1999, as an example of the ongoing construction and reconstruction of English childhood (James and Prout, 1997). However, the purpose of this chapter is not simply to document the particular conceptions and discourses of childhood that are embedded within these new educational policies; more importantly, it is to ask about the ways in which these may potentially shape the everyday experiences of children who attend the various institutions that are now obliged to work within this new regulatory framework. This chapter poses a set of critical questions, therefore, about the cultural politics of childhood (James and James, 2004) that is currently being promoted in England by asking about the kinds of childhoods that are being produced by and for children through these new policies.
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© 2012 Allison James
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James, A. (2012). ‘Child-Centredness’ and ‘the Child’. In: Kjørholt, A.T., Qvortrup, J. (eds) The Modern Child and the Flexible Labour Market. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230314054_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230314054_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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