Childhood

What is childhood? In recent years, a cluster of critical and complex ideas have emerged around the nature of biological, social and psychological growth in the early years, reflecting the changing nature of adult - child relations, and political and cultural understandings of childhood in the twenty-first century. In this clear and concise book, Michael Wyness offers fresh insights into the current state of play within childhood studies. Drawing on work from a number of disciplines including sociology, geography and history, he discusses the contested terrain of theoretical and research advances with particular attention to the notion of children s agency and the concept of global childhoods. Key conceptual debates are illustrated through a range of contemporary issues that affect children and adults, including inequality, child abuse, ill-health, child labour, sexualization and identity formation. This book will appeal to students and academics within the fields of sociology, education, geography, history and childhood studies.