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Collective Action and Agency in Young Children’s Peer Cultures

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Studies in Modern Childhood

Abstract

The notion that children are active agents in their own development and socialization is now generally accepted in psychology, sociology and education. Although nativist or biological and behaviouristic views of individual development still draw attention, constructivist developmental psychology, as seen in the theoretical approaches of Piaget (1950) and Vygotsky (1978), has had great influence on our appreciation of children’s agency. More problematic and enduring is the image of the agency of the individual child; that is a focus on individual human development and how the child internalizes adult skills and knowledge.

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© 2005 William A. Corsaro

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Corsaro, W.A. (2005). Collective Action and Agency in Young Children’s Peer Cultures. In: Qvortrup, J. (eds) Studies in Modern Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230504929_14

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