Nada Babi J.J.

Strossmayer University Osijek

Contemporary childhood: ideals and reality

Why exactly the topic Contemporary Childhood: Ideals and Reality, within another, Facing the Future Together: Teachers and Students in the Educational System? Manifold are the reasons for such a choice. First and foremost, the reason might found in the inconsistencies between the contemporary global educational and contemporary childhood reality, as well as in the critical research into child pedagogy. The beginning of the 21st century was characterized by some political decision on acquiring economic prestige and social cohesion for the European Union, l field of education, it means refocusing attention onto its human potential a main factor of economic and social prosperity. Capital movement, labor force and knowledge, as the basis for a global vision of economic prosperity, demand changes in education. Development of excellence, innovation, competitiveness: social cohesion is of primary concern when it comes to educational aims v the context of the European Union long-term development. Teachers are regarded as the key solution to successful education. Teaching is thus considered to t important profession in the "production" of the assumed political and educational goals1. We assume that the scientific and professional discussion on the contemporary global changes and access to education might contribute to deeper understanding of childhood reality in the institutionalized contexts (nurseries, kindergartens, schools), as well as to making and choosing the approaches based on a more coherent theoretical background. Apart from that, they can be useful in raising awareness the reality of the pragmatic approach to childhood and education, in both c and national educational policies.

N. Babi, Kompetencije i obrazovanje uitelja (u:) N. Babi (ur.), Kompetencije i kompetentnost uitelja, Kherson 2007, s. 23-43.

Globalization and contemporary childhood

Global and national educational policies appear in the time of global trends such as: poverty growth, demographic changes, cultural diversity, and regulation. Their reading2 leads to understanding childhood diversities and framing a general childhood concept. By pointing to the existing duality between childhood perception and childhood research - adults vs. children, structure vs. "agency", individual vs. social, existence vs. creation Alanen3 offers some new ideas which suggest that social life is not possible to be reduced to a mere "social" or "technological" aspect. Adults and children have specific positions and mutual relations, defined by social structures. In political and academic fields, the dominant ideas are those of generational boundaries between adults and children, as well as the idea of the protective social roles of the adults, that is, of the society or a country. In the current political discussions on childhood welfare and children's education, among the countries of the European Union, the prevailing opinion is that of social investment strategy. The future of the European countries and global economy is seen in investment as the best solution4. A more specific interpretation of the social investment strategy, according to Alanen5 , is clarified as the expected social investment profit. Behind ali this is an instrumental approach to children, who are perceived only as a supplement to a discourse for their own benefit. "Being a child" means being in a preparation phase of adulthood and citizenry. Modern western societies (as well as the ones which are yet to become such) are unthinkable without institutionalized childhood. In "the new sociologies of childhood", childhood is seen as a social construct. Mierendorff6 claims that different social groups (parents, professionals, children, executive institutions, etc.) are involved in a permanent reproduction of
2

L. Alanen, Explorations in generational analysis, (in: ) J. Alanen, B. Mayall (eds.), Conceptualizing child-adult relations, London 2001, p. 11-22
3

Ibidem.

J. Mierendorff, Western childhood and the welfare state. Some theoretical reflections about an old interrelationship, 2007; http://www.euro.centre.org/data 1180014089_84824.pdf
5

L. Alanen, Theorizing childrens welfare, 2004; http://www.cimu.org/webs/wellchi/reports/workshop_1/w1_alanen.pdf

6

J. Mierendorff, Western childhood and the welfare state...

childhood as an institution. From the relational point of view7, childhood is a culturally institutionalized relation bervveen children and adults, defined by the generation hierarchy. Generation hierarchy, as a kind of social order crucial to modern societies, is a part of a social structure. Childhood on its own is a part of social changes. Generation organization comprises a process throughout which individuals are construed "as children" or "as adults", which immediately affects their identities and mutual relationships. The process of generation structuring exists in all walks of social life8. If childhood is perceived as an element of generation hierarchy, then it is important to protect it. Generation hierarchy permanently reproduces the maintenance of such a social and contemporary phenomenon, bearing in mind that "social countries" play a important role in the reproductive process. If the main function of a "social country, lies in preserving an economic and social order, and if a generation hierarchy is or of the basic economic and democratic assumptions, then the key motivation for "the social country" is in reproduction of such a system. Specifically, it means to regulate childhood within different walks of life: providing, health, education ... Mierendorff9 associates this specified regulation with a child status and social expectations. O one hand, maintenance of the generation hierarchy is based on a neglected childhood/child status. On the other, childhood regulation is purposefully focused o the future. Country welfare comes before child welfare. Instead of perceiving childhood i a lived life, the dominant perception of children is as future citizens and labor force thus in accordance with global and national policies. In the time of globalisation, which is perceived as the process of world uniting and awareness raising of the same as a whole, the global system of education as one of the components of the world culture, seems to be spreading (Anderson-Levitt10). Despite the differences on the global and national levels, schooling a global phenomenon, a mechanism of "social reproduction", in

L. Alanen, Exploration in generational analysis...

L. Alanen, Childhood as a generational condition. Towards a relational theory of childhood, (in: ) J. Olesen, N. De Coninck-Smith, F. Mouritsen, J. Qvortrup (eds.), Research in childhood. Sociology culture and history. A collection of papers, Odense 2000, p. 1-19; L. Alanen, Theorizing childrens welfare...
9

J. Mierendorff, Western childhood and the welfare state...

10

K. M. Anderson-Levitt, Schoolyard gate: Schooling and childhood in globale perspective, Journal of Social History 2005, 34 (5), p. 987-1006.

other vvords, "social mobility"11. Considering global education, schooling and childhood, AndersonLevitt12 starts with two major guestions: What effect does a global schooling hav on children's lives, and how does it affect a cultural organization of childhood? He sees the answer in reaching the status of adulthood. Experiences are shaped by the same or similar kinds of schooling within structured contexts in which groups of children learn and develop. Anderson-Levitt13 concludes that schools and schoolin are constantly pushing back other forms of socialization, such as peer groups, sex segregation, or informal kinds of learning, which results in children grouping according to their age, developmental stage, as well as new concepts of intelligence an maturity. Extended schooling postpones adulthood. Schooling affects the cultural organization of childhood. Age, intelligence, academic experiences, are all terms underlying both teachers' and children's academic success and failure. Western style of child upbringing and schooling, which embraces enthusiasm14, is credited with uniformity in socializing experience. "Enthusiasm" is credited for "voluntary" acceptance of foreign pedagogical ideals which, according to cultural ideology, belong to the global culture of "contemporary" schooling15. Does it necessarily refer to a "voluntary" choice of modernity as selfdetermination, or is it a result of the economic pressure by the dominant countries and international centres of economic power? Tomas, Sarmento, and Soares16 consider promoting modem childhood as an important aspect of contemporary globalization. School and schooling, as essential components of contemporary globalization, are characterized by similarity, increased age grouping among children,

11

Ibidem; P. N. Stearns, Globalization and childhood, Journal of Social History 2005, 38 (4), p. 845-848. K. M. Anderson-Levitt, Schoolyard gate... Ibidem P. N. Stearns, Globalization and childhood...

12

13

14

15

K. M. Anderson-Levitt, N. Alimasi, Are pedagogical ideals embraced or imposed? The case of reading instruction in Republic Guinea, (in: ) M. Sutton, B. Lewinson (eds.), Policy as practice: Toward a comparative sociocultural analysis of educational policy, Westport 2001, p. 25-58.
16

F. A. Tomas, M. J. Sarmento, N. F. Soares, Globalization, education and (re)institutionalization of contemporary childhood, Lifelong Education and Libraries 2006, 6, p. 57-66.

emphasized individuality, and mass educational institutionalization. Contemporary educational policies are associated with homogeneity and globalization. With regard to childhood images, Tomas, Sarmento, and Soares17 have noticed some changes directed tovvards deconstruction of childhood's abstract image and towards rejection of ideas related to children's grouping based on homogeneity. They also stress the importance of more precise childhood definition, with respect to "diversity among children's social and cultural worlds"18. Observed conflicting processes, as a part of globalization of the contemporary childhood institutionalization, are noticeable in different forms of social exclusion, especially of the lower class children from undeveloped countries. Children's taking part in decision making, relevant for them as individuals, and relevant as a form of democracy practice, is in opposition with adults' increased discipline and control. Once again, the "old" guestion of socialization as an ideological viewpoint, characterized by adultocentricity and paternalism, becomes relevant19. Perceiving children as unsociable beings, along with a large interest in social expectations, contributes to children/childhood marginalization. It is the fact that children nowadays live and grow up in the society in which institutions, professionals and experts in the field of education have a profound influence on their lives. In pedagogy and its related social sciences, childhood has still the symbolic meaning. Traditional interpretation of children as "passive products" of socialization, development, and education is still prevailing. Models of children education are based on childhood stereotypes in adult culture. The most important role of the educational institutions, according to Canella's words20, is regulation of children's lives. Educational programmes, teaching methods and evaluation are legitimate ways of controlling children's unexpected behaviour.

17

Ibidem. Ibidem, p. 61. L. Alanen, Theorizing childrens welfare...

18

19

20

G.S Canella, The scientific discourse of education: predetermining the lives of others Foucault, education, and children, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 1999, 1 (1), p. 36-44.

Approaches to childhood research

20th century, known as "the century of the child", was marked by observing childhood as a specific part of one's life. Childhood is believed to represent the age of immaturity, which is a synonym for insertion and dependence. Mason and Steadman21 point out that most research in the field of sociology considers childhood to be just a phase on the way to adulthood, which in turn has a normative status. Ideological viewpoint of children as immature, irrational, incompetent and asocial, seems to be a basis for the adults' "instinctive right" to control children. According to Rautianen's opinion22, child protection deprives them of povver, while marginalization, coming from social policies, excludes them from taking part in decision making on issues that directly concern them. Children become mature, "complete" people by cultural assimilation via institutions23. Canella24 warns about hidden methods of social control and regulation. Baker, Graham, Prescott, and Williams25 see the key of the social construction of childhood in the needs of the society, primarily in retaining the social stability. We are talking about a dissonance between the real child experience and adult expectations26. Living a complex and conflicting contemporary life, children are often the object of adults' attention, without a "real life purpose" and with "changed identity".

21

J. Mason & B. Steadman, The significance of the conceptualisation of childhood for child protection policy, Family Matters 1997, 46, p. 31-36; http://www.aifs.org.au/institute/arfcrapers/mason.html
22

S. Rautianien, Crossing boundaries between childhood and adulthood, nConference paper. European Sociological A ssociation Conference, Colchester 1997, UK, 27-30 August 1997; http://www.jyu.fi/kastdk/lapsuus/rautianien/cst.htm
23

J. Mason & B. Steadman, The significance of the conceptualisation of childhood...

24

G. S. Canella, Deconstructing early childhood education. social justice and revolution, Peter Lang, New York 1997.
25

C. Baker, J. Graham, I. Prescott, P. Williams, The social construct of Childhood 1996; http://www.chester.ac.uk / djons/HCS/conf96/baker.htm
26

J. M. Hawes, R. N. Hiner, Looking for Waldo: Reflections on the History of Children and Childhood in the Postmodern Era. Paper presented to the History of Childhood in America Conference, D.C., August 5-6, Washington, 2000; http://www.2.h-net.msu.edu/child/conference/hinner.htm

An alternative paradigm to the ideological viewpoint on a child or childhood is in perceiving childhood as a social construct27. In the contemporary sociologv of childhood, children are considered to be an active factor in the creation of their own culture and adult world production28. Children are "human beings", not "people of the future"; better yet, children are beings that exist and are still growing. Child as a ''being" metaphor and child as a "project" metaphor29 both retlect adult conceptualization of children based on social expectations and adult interpretations. On one hand, we have acknowledgement of child competence and full respect of their viewpoints, while on the other - constant emphasizing of child imperfection. Both viewpoints, incorporated into the dynamic relationship adult - child, reveal much about the necessity to protect and provide conditions beneficial to a child, to accept child's personalitv, and to establish a connection betvveen family and social environment30. An important guestion, raised within multiple viewpoints on childhood, is the one of the childhood institutionalization (nurseries, kindergartens, schools). Arguments speaking in favour of inevitable inclusion of children in the institutionalized context are child's potentials and crucial investing into learning for life and future. Only the insight into the adult practice (parent and professional practice) and into a child's experience would allow us to understand the meaning of institutionalized context and institutionalized childhood. Psychological research of childhood at the beginning of the 20th century made a considerable effect on understanding individual human development. Vasta, Haith, and Miller31 state three essential fields of interest among developmental psychologists: natural development vs.
27

L. Alanen, B. Mayall, Conceptualizing child...; W. A. Corsaro, The sociology of childhood, CA: Pine Forge Press Thousand Oaks 1997; idem, The sociology of childhood. 2nd edition, CA: Pine Forge Press Thousand Oaks 2004; A. Prout, A.A. James, New paradigm for the sociology of the childhood? Provenance, promise and problems, (in: ) A. James, A. A. Prout, (eds.), Constructing and reconstruction childhood: Contemporary issues in the sociological study of childhood, London 1997, p. 7-33. J. Qvortrup, Varieties in Childhood, (in: ) J. Qvortrup, Varieties of childhood, (in: ) J. Qvortrup (ed.), Studies in modern childhood. Society, agency, culture, Basingstoke Palagrave 2005, p. 1-20.
28

W. A. Corsaro, The sociology of childhood. 2nd edition...

29

G. Hallden, The metaphors of childhood in a preschool context, 2005, p. 7; http://www.aare.edu.au/05pap/hal05001.pdf

30

Ibidem. R. Vasta, M. M. Haith, S. A. Miller, Djeja psihologija, Jastrebarsko 1998.

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education; developmental continuity vs. developmental discontinuity; normative vs. idiographic development. Present-day researchers of child development to a varied extent accept the interactive viewpoint, according to which both nature and educational factors contribute to development, accounting for different proportions of biological and environmental factors in the specific fields of behaviour. In pedagogy, research topics such as child and childhood have varied in im-portance. The recent 20th century, "the century of a child", was characterized by numerous pedagogical concepts that were inclined towards the nature of the child, that vvere trying to humanize one's life and optimize one's development. In the current pedagogy, two perspectives of child and childhood observations can be identified. The first is the perspective of the adults, who are responsible for their children's successful upbringing. It is primarily what adults want, wish or need to do, in order for their children to develop in accordance with their conceptualizations32. The second is the perspective of the child, grounded in the present knowledge of the human nature, its individual development and its historical background. The preference is given to a child as an active being, who is maturing in the process of dialogue exchange with his/her environment. One of the present-day readings of childhood is the anti-pedagogic perspective. Flitner informs of anti-pedagogists, who consider both education and a child an "educator's invention". Therefore, childhood is "a product of pedagogy, created by an educational ideology"33. Educational institutions, which have an influence on the newly existing terms, like childhood and youth, are becoming the key issue of a radical antipedagogic criticism. Critical thoughts toward anti-pedagogy refer to its "extreme individualism and rejection of social responsibility". The scientific, especially pedagogic "truths" about childhood, dependent upon social and individual world view, are often ideologized and mythologized. Such a concept of childhood is also reflected in education: children are expected to master different courses, while simultaneously being prevented from participating in their creation. The most important thing in pedagogic research, focused only on standardized, formal measurements of programme intervention outcomes, is the affirmative judgement and educational and social values of "educational inputs". Science is gradually becoming a stronger method of
32

H. Giesecke, Uvod u pedagogiju, Zagreb 1991. A. Flitner, Konrade, tako je govorila gospoa mama: O odgoju i ne-odgoju, Zagreb 2005, s. 32.

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changing the world, only with less insight into the human life and its multiple meanings34. Along with perceiving a child as an immature, socially irresponsible being, there is a concept of "perfect" childhood. Social and pedagogic meaning of "perfect" childhood is seen in reaching to the heart of it. Juodaityte35 points out the basic characteristics of "perfect" childhood: conceptualizing a child as an individual person in the growing process, whose natural social mission is accepting general human experiences. Focusing on the child's possibilities, adults create a positive image of the child as a "future creator". Education, based on "perfect" childhood, speaks in favour of perceiving childhood as a spontaneous educational value, vvhose substance is realized to the fullest only in a close interrelation between the world of childhood and the socio-cultural world of the society (or the world of adults). However, in reality, preference is given to the pedagogy of the adults, which is losing, or has already lost, both child and childhood. The main objection to the contemporary pedagogy of childhood lies in its cultural uniformity, which reduces its objectivity and universality. This could equally apply to the child development theories in psychology, which are estimated as objective and universal, only to neglect their establishment on moral, social and political choices.

Phenomenological approach to childhood research; our experiences

What is the meaning of phenomenological approach to child and childhood research? As researchers and teachers, we are interested in the interpretative approach as a part of qualitative methodology. Herewith, we assume that this is one of the possible ways to open a dialogue between the world of childhood and the world of adulthood. Past experiences of research into adult - child interaction, within a kindergarten context of play and a context of learning/teaching36 have led us to realize how important the events in a child's real-life context really

34

L. Barrit, T. Beekman, Human Science as Dialogue with Children. Phenomenology + Pedagogy, 1983, 1 (1), p. 36-44; http://www.phenomenologyonline.com/articles/beekman.html
35

A. Juodatyte, The metacontext pedagogical reconstruction of the child phenomenon, (u: ) N. Babi, S. Irovi (ur. ), Dijete i djetinjstvo: teorija i praksa predkolskoga odgoja, Osijek 2003, p. 159-178.
36

N. Babi, S. Irovi, Adult-child interaction and child autonomy, (in. ) E. Giedraitiene, A. Rauckiene (eds.), Realising educational problems, Klaipeda 2001, p. 61-88; idem, Play meeting point for child and adult (pre-school

are. To be more specific, it includes being aware of both adults' and children's roles in a play, and mutual effort to solve some cognitive problems, based on the examples of their own Interactive experience and behaviour pattern. The ability to understand the play from both adults' (teachers' and educators') and children's perspective provides a useful starting point for assessing content-related continuity in child - parent - preschool teacher interrelationship. The awareness of adult tendency towards social conformity, while interacting with children in the above mentioned contexts, proved to be useful in re-examining childhood "theories" - their importance for educational reconstruction. The other crucial realization concerns child perspective of the adults in mutual activities (play and non-play): adult as a real co-player/partner or adult as a power holder. Child perception of the adults, especially in conflicting situations, influences a child's choice: to persist on his/her own, to negotiate or to yield to adult's opinion. Recorded behaviour sequences of children with different levels of autonomy confirm that more autonomous children show tendencies for resistance against adults' regulatory measures, while less autonomous children - tendency for withdrawal from their primary intentions and giving in to adults' demands. Above-mentioned tendencies of child behaviour pattern would be interpretable in the context of child-adults interactive experience. The question here should be whether parents and preschool teachers (as well as other professionals working in preschool education) are aware of the importance of children's perception of them, along with the practical application of the same to their personal theories and educational practices. Pedagogic reconstruction of childhood phenomenon in educational situations, as researched by Juodatyte37, was based on meta-analyses of children and "pedagogists" in education. It shows that children master their social experience not only by interpreting it and reconstructing it in their own unique way, but also individually conceptualizing and evaluating it. Social life of adults is interpreted by children on the grounds of vvhich important situation seems appealing to them. If we accept this interpretation of basic preschoolers' socialization, then we can at least partially understand the behaviour of children with a different level of autonomy. Both autonomous and dependent children conceptualize their positive and negative experiences with adults by sharing

teacher). Play and education: 23rd ICCP world play conference, Krakow 2004; Igra u implicitnim teorijama i edukacijskoj praksi predkolskih odgajatelja, Napredak 2005, 146 (2), 183-192.
37

A. Juodatyte, The metacontext pedagogical reconstruction...

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common "affairs" with adults, especially with parents. In relation with educators, children question, check and further develop their world view on adults. To be able to understand childhood or child reality, it is essential to pose a question of a possible shift in formal and personal theories and practice in preschool education. In this matter, we think of the changes in perceiving childhood as a com-plete period of mon's life. As such, it implies a wealth of social, cultural and educational values. The chosen gualitative methodology within the phenomenological approach has helped us find the right way in understanding "the rational" and "the experienced" in examining adult - child relation in play and instructional dialogue. It has guided us to reconsider our personal theories on childhood and early preschool education, but also to reexamine our scientific points of view. Focusing on integrating children into a social life, via institutions and social services in contemporary educational policies, means focusing on the effects of large-scale social transformations, for the benefit of the whole society, the entire country. It intensifies childhood marginalization. The entire discussion on contemporary childhood sheds light on a hypothetical claim that the world of adults is focused more on children as "projects" (on what children should become), than on children autonomy and individuality (on who children really are, on what children really care about and need). Cultures that appreciate and "celebrate" children, for who they really are, are beneficial to child and childhood, because they see children's future in their actual reality.

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