Cambodia's orphan dance shows: From cultural salvation to child exploitation?

In Cambodia, orphan dance shows were once popular as a way to preserve endangered art forms and to cultivate children's dignity and well-being. But they came to be seen as exploitative instead, and today are nearly nonexistent. This article examines the confluence of changes that caused this reversal of opinion. The reversal is due to both covert factors such as changes in constructions of childhood, and overt factors such as changes in audience composition. The rise and fall of Cambodian orphan dance shows took place largely within foreign communities, with little local input.

‘No-One Can Tell a Story Better than the One Who Lived It’: Reworking Constructions of Childhood and Trauma Through the Arts in Rwanda

The intergenerational legacies of conflict and violence for children and young people are typically approached within research and interventions through the lens of trauma. Understandings of childhood and trauma are based on bio-psychological frameworks emanating from the Global North, often at odds with the historical, political, economic, social and cultural contexts in which interventions are enacted, and neglect the diversity of knowledge, experiences and practices. Within this paper we explore these concerns in the context of Rwanda and the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. We reflect on two qualitative case studies: Connective Memories and Mobile Arts for Peace which both used arts-based approaches drawing on the richness of Rwandan cultural forms, such as proverbs and storytelling practices, to explore knowledge and processes of meaning-making about trauma, memory, and everyday forms of conflict from the perspectives of children and young people. We draw on these findings to argue that there is a need to refine and elaborate understandings of intergenerational transmission of trauma in Rwanda informed by: the historical and cultural context; intersections of structural and ‘everyday’ forms of conflict and social trauma embedded in intergenerational relations; and a reworking of notions of trauma ‘transmission’ to encompass the multiple connectivities between generations, temporalities and expressions of trauma.

Constructing childhood for children : an analysis of 1970s award-winning children's literature from the Children's Model Collection at Auckland City Libraries

<p>Childhood is not simply a personal experience of an individual human in their early years of life. It is also a social construct which governs the way a society treats its youngest members – if they are considered to be members yet at all. Children’s literature is an acknowledged source of information about the ideologies adults have both intentionally and unintentionally offered children to help them understand the world and their place in it. This research involved both content analysis and discourse analysis of award-winning children’s books from the 1970s, which form part of the Children’s Model Collection held at Auckland City Libraries. These books, considered by local librarians to be ‘model literature’ for New Zealand children to read, were used as a window onto the constructions of childhood in this society at that time. Traditional children’s literature in English supported particular relations of domination through certain ‘institutions’ of childhood – family, friendship, gender, race and religion. The 1970s books also imparted ideologies through these institutions along with themes of land, coming of age and war; all interacting under a humanistic umbrella. Through their treatment of these themes or ‘institutions’, texts in this sample often deliberately challenged traditional relations of domination – with varied levels of success. Children were constructed as leaders in waiting, the hope for the future; a future where tolerance and respect would overcome prejudice, thinking for one’s self would replace conformity and the individual could be the best they could be. However, underlying linguistic mechanisms and ideologies transformed many of these texts into conservators of the very relationships they were intending to change. The methods of analysis used in this project were successful in locating the ideologies in books created for young people and revealing the degree to which these are agents of their time. These methods then are both eminently suitable for future research and would be a valuable addition to the multi-literacies with which we equip young people</p>

Constructing childhood for children : an analysis of 1970s award-winning children's literature from the Children's Model Collection at Auckland City Libraries

<p>Childhood is not simply a personal experience of an individual human in their early years of life. It is also a social construct which governs the way a society treats its youngest members – if they are considered to be members yet at all. Children’s literature is an acknowledged source of information about the ideologies adults have both intentionally and unintentionally offered children to help them understand the world and their place in it. This research involved both content analysis and discourse analysis of award-winning children’s books from the 1970s, which form part of the Children’s Model Collection held at Auckland City Libraries. These books, considered by local librarians to be ‘model literature’ for New Zealand children to read, were used as a window onto the constructions of childhood in this society at that time. Traditional children’s literature in English supported particular relations of domination through certain ‘institutions’ of childhood – family, friendship, gender, race and religion. The 1970s books also imparted ideologies through these institutions along with themes of land, coming of age and war; all interacting under a humanistic umbrella. Through their treatment of these themes or ‘institutions’, texts in this sample often deliberately challenged traditional relations of domination – with varied levels of success. Children were constructed as leaders in waiting, the hope for the future; a future where tolerance and respect would overcome prejudice, thinking for one’s self would replace conformity and the individual could be the best they could be. However, underlying linguistic mechanisms and ideologies transformed many of these texts into conservators of the very relationships they were intending to change. The methods of analysis used in this project were successful in locating the ideologies in books created for young people and revealing the degree to which these are agents of their time. These methods then are both eminently suitable for future research and would be a valuable addition to the multi-literacies with which we equip young people</p>

Roots, Rights and Risk: Canada, Childhood and the COVID-19 Global Pandemic.

The COVID-19 global pandemic highlights pre-existing inequities as well as the challenge of ensuring the protection of children’s human rights in countries like Canada that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. SARS-CoV-2, referred to as the 2019 novel Coronavirus disease or COVID-19, presents a significant threat to public health. Although children are considered to be low risk of contracting, spreading, and serious complications of the disease, are considerably impacted by COVID-19 government-sanctioned distancing measures. COVID-19 is a persistent public health threat, thus, the long-term consequences are largely unknown. This qualitative research study, a content analysis of online Canadian media reports of COVID-19 and children, engaged transdisciplinary social justice methodology, social constructions of childhood at the intersection of race, socio-economic status, gender, and disability. The findings suggest COVID-19 reinforces the impact of social exclusion and economic disparity on equity-seeking young people and families in Canada.

A New Debate About Children and Childhood. Could it Make a Difference to Early Childhood Pedagogy and Policy?

<p>The study analyses constructions of childhood within early childhood education pedagogy and policy in New Zealand. Constructions are evaluated against criteria for an education based on a concept of the "child as citizen" and children's rights. Qualitative research methods were used. Constructions of childhood in pedagogy were examined through analysis of pedagogical documentation and discussions of teachers who met together over a year within a teachers' network. The teachers' aims were to base their practice on notions of the "child as citizen" and extend their thinking and practice from this basis. Constructions of childhood in policy were studied within two arenas: focus groups of government officials and representatives of early childhood organisations who met to discuss key issues in early childhood education policy; and early childhood education policy documents and commentary produced during the period 2000-2007. The analytic approach enabled an evaluation to be made of how children were represented within policy and practice, and the implications of constructions of childhood which would lead to democratic citizenship. Constructions of childhood were found to be dominant influences on thinking about early childhood pedagogy and policy, and were associated with views about the purposes and breadth of early childhood education; the roles of teachers, children, families, community and the government; and favoured pedagogical and policy approaches. I argued that organisational cultures exert a pervasive influence on participants' assumptions and values. Three main areas where policy could be developed to better support democratic citizenship were identified. First, citizenry rights should be established as a predominant goal for policy as it is for pedagogy. Where policy and pedagogical goals are integrated, both can work together to reinforce each other. One contention is that the process of making meaning of beliefs and critiquing them within collective forums can enable participants to contemplate what the child as citizen means conceptually and in practice and policy, and in this way incorporate the beliefs into the ways children are treated in these domains. Secondly, I argued for inquiry into the nature of early childhood education provision that we want in New Zealand society and within communities. Institutional thinking can raise barriers to envisaging new forms of provision that cater well for all children, and contribute to a wide range of outcomes, including dispositions for participating in a democratic society, support for families, social cohesiveness and community building. A third challenge is for policy frameworks to support teaching and learning. Action research approaches with support from a professional development adviser were shown to enable teachers to explore the value base of their pedagogy and experiment with change. Although such approaches are being supported by some Ministry of Education initiatives in New Zealand, working conditions are not conducive to these approaches in many early childhood settings. I have argued that structures are needed to support debate in pedagogy and policy and enable all parties, including parents, to participate in it. A new debate could enable different voices to be heard and new possibilities constructed for early childhood services as sites for building a democratic society.</p>

A New Debate About Children and Childhood. Could it Make a Difference to Early Childhood Pedagogy and Policy?

<p>The study analyses constructions of childhood within early childhood education pedagogy and policy in New Zealand. Constructions are evaluated against criteria for an education based on a concept of the "child as citizen" and children's rights. Qualitative research methods were used. Constructions of childhood in pedagogy were examined through analysis of pedagogical documentation and discussions of teachers who met together over a year within a teachers' network. The teachers' aims were to base their practice on notions of the "child as citizen" and extend their thinking and practice from this basis. Constructions of childhood in policy were studied within two arenas: focus groups of government officials and representatives of early childhood organisations who met to discuss key issues in early childhood education policy; and early childhood education policy documents and commentary produced during the period 2000-2007. The analytic approach enabled an evaluation to be made of how children were represented within policy and practice, and the implications of constructions of childhood which would lead to democratic citizenship. Constructions of childhood were found to be dominant influences on thinking about early childhood pedagogy and policy, and were associated with views about the purposes and breadth of early childhood education; the roles of teachers, children, families, community and the government; and favoured pedagogical and policy approaches. I argued that organisational cultures exert a pervasive influence on participants' assumptions and values. Three main areas where policy could be developed to better support democratic citizenship were identified. First, citizenry rights should be established as a predominant goal for policy as it is for pedagogy. Where policy and pedagogical goals are integrated, both can work together to reinforce each other. One contention is that the process of making meaning of beliefs and critiquing them within collective forums can enable participants to contemplate what the child as citizen means conceptually and in practice and policy, and in this way incorporate the beliefs into the ways children are treated in these domains. Secondly, I argued for inquiry into the nature of early childhood education provision that we want in New Zealand society and within communities. Institutional thinking can raise barriers to envisaging new forms of provision that cater well for all children, and contribute to a wide range of outcomes, including dispositions for participating in a democratic society, support for families, social cohesiveness and community building. A third challenge is for policy frameworks to support teaching and learning. Action research approaches with support from a professional development adviser were shown to enable teachers to explore the value base of their pedagogy and experiment with change. Although such approaches are being supported by some Ministry of Education initiatives in New Zealand, working conditions are not conducive to these approaches in many early childhood settings. I have argued that structures are needed to support debate in pedagogy and policy and enable all parties, including parents, to participate in it. A new debate could enable different voices to be heard and new possibilities constructed for early childhood services as sites for building a democratic society.</p>

Iconographies of ‘Childness’ and the Contemporary British Novel: Book Covers, Discourses, and Cultural Models

A sizeable segment of the contemporary British fiction market for adult readers consists of novels that focus on children and childhood. In accordance with interdisciplinary Childhood Studies, such texts can be understood as contributions to the social construction of children and childhood, or ‘childness’. Such constructions appear to be in particular demand in this phase of late modernity, when childhood is conceptualized as an antidote to the many uncertainties contemporary post-industrial societies are faced with. While on the level of societies, public constructions of childhood are best understood in terms of a Foucauldian notion of discourse, discourses are not what individual readers and book-buyers actually have in their minds when choosing a title. Rather, this article argues that the cover illustrations of these novels both activate and reinforce cultural models of ‘childness’ that readers have stored as schemata shared with their cultural community. On the basis of this alignment of discourse theory with a concept from cognitive anthropology, the article demonstrates that book covers play a role in maintaining particular conceptions of ‘childness’, and in feeding them back into the minds of the readers. Furthermore, the relevance of the book as a material artefact is once again acknowledged.1