Spatiality and the Construction of Modern Childhood and Its Institutions - Essay Example

What contribution does spatiality make to the construction of modern childhood and its s, and in what ways might understanding this support social constructionism aim to rethink children’s lives? Student name: Institution: Instructor’s name: Course name: Date due: Sociologists and psychologists have studied children as a part of the family, not as individuals. The sociologists have been forced to rethink their way of thinking about children. Spatiality aids a lot in comprehending modern childhood and its institutions. It includes all the practices and conditions of an individual and the social life that are linked up to the relative position of a person and groups concerning one another. Each society tends to arrange its territory in function to spatiality of its own which depends on the norms, values and the choice of activities. Sociologists have been forced to change the way they thought children because of the influence modernization has on the children. When you compare a child who was born two decades ago and the child of today, their manner of thinking and of doing things are very different. This has been influenced by many factors surrounding the child. Spatiality will help us to understand the modern childhood and its institutions. This paper is going to analyse the contributions that spatiality has made to enable us understand the construct of the modern childhood and its institutions. It will also look at how this understanding will help to support social constructionism and rethink the children’s lives. We will look at how a child’s identity is constituted in and through the particular space (Holloway & Valentine 2000, p. 773). The study of children has been ignored in the past few decades. Children were studied has part of family or part of education. This did not give enough information on the children. After the sociologists had noted that the area of children was often being left out, they took it upon themselves to study the children. They note the children were not regarded as human beings reason being they were not of age they were referred to as human becoming. The sociologists opposed this perspective and stated that children were conceived as persons. They backed up their opinion by saying the same children are the ones that grow up to be the human beings. Spatiality helps to understand the modern childhood and its institutions. Due to the advancement in technology sociologists have been forced to change their way of understanding childhood. Technology is a key contributor in the modern childhood and its institutions. Advancement in technology has increased the ability of children to use ICT. Our societies are embracing the use of technology in our day to day lives. This has also been incorporated in schools where children are using ICT in their studies and examinations. Recent studies show the urban children start using technology at the age of 10 to 11 years while in the rural areas is between ages 11 to 16 years. The global processes help to shape the lives of today’s children. Tony Blair said that the children cannot be effective if they are trained using yesterday’s skills. This is a clear indicator revealing that children should be exposed to the changes of the world. Spatiality refers to the conditions and practises that surround an individual. Individuals tend to conform to the changes in their surroundings (Mannion & I’anson 2004, p. 311) When the sociologists understand the modern childhood and its institutions, they will be in a better position to support social constructionism rethink the children’s lives. Social construction refers to a theoretical perspective that explores different ways that realities arise from our environment and our interactions with one another. Through spatiality, we can understand how the modern children have a different way of thinking compared to the past. Today’s children can use technology to get information without the help of a guardian or parent. They are active in the processes and changes that are taking place in our world today. That is the reason sociologists have to rethink about the lives of today’s children. In the past children were dependent on their parents for survival. They were viewed to be innocent human beings who needed protection from the adults. In the 19th century, children were the main source of labour to their families due to the developments that took place in the century. The modern childhood is different from the past childhood. Spatiality has helped us understand the changes that have taken place in the social constructionism of childhood. Through the understanding, these changes can rethink children’s lives. In order to understand the modern child, we should first change our view of the child. Children should be seen as a human being who are capable making decisions and have the ability to protect themselves. Today’s child does not rely on parents or guardians for most information. They are also very independent on their own. By the ages of 15, to 16 years, they already have jobs for support their lives. When studying the modern child, sociologists need to come up with modern methods of studying childhood. For example, when trying to measure the attainment of children they should not only look at their education achievements but also their talents. In the past, all children were ranged according to their educational achievement. In the modern days, people have come to appreciate the fact children are talented in different ways. When trying to gauge children’s achievement one should look at all areas. Different children have different talents that if well utilised can benefit the economy and boost the development process of the country (Barker & Weller 2003, p. 217). All in all, children should be guided by adults in their activities. As much as they should be given room to be dependent on their own they need adult’s guidance. Especially in this modern era, the children have been described as people whose sexuality needs to be controlled. The exposure they get comes with its evils. Use of ICT if not regulated can cause much damage to them. As Tony Blair said we cannot teach children using yesterday’s skills, it is important for the sociologists to come to rethink the lives of children. Children should be exposed to a different environment so as to give them exposure. Bibliography Barker, John, and Susie Weller. Geography of methodological issues in research with children. Qualitative Research 3, no. 2 (2003): 207-227. Holloway, Sarah L., and Gill Valentine. Spatiality and the new social studies of childhood. Sociology 34, no. 4 (2000): 763-783. Mannion, Greg, and John I’anson. Beyond the Disneyesque Children’s Participation, Spatiality and Adult-Child Relations. Childhood 11, no. 3 (2004): 303-318. Read More