Critical Analysis of the Globalization of Childhood and the Cultural Politics of Childhood - Essay Example

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF 'THE GLOBALISATION OF CHILDHOOD' AND 'THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF CHILDHOOD' Traditionally the focus of the whole community has been on the young generation which actually follows to inherit the earth. The young generation has ensured that there is perpetuation of the society as it brings forth life back to the earth. Different communities in the world have had different perspectives of bringing up their young ones, but the overall goal has been one: bringing an upright generation that will take care of this earth same as we have taken care of it. Hence though implemented in different ways and in different perspectives, the aim of brining up the young generation has been one and the same. (Small1998, p. 254) Different communities have had different perception of their young ones and have brought them up in different ways. The economic activity of a community which is dictated by the resources available in that region has greatly affected the way these communities brought up their young ones. For example many western communities have emphasized on education of their children since their economies have been driven by industrialization. Contrary to this, many communities in the developing countries especially in Africa and Asia may not have attached so much value on formal education of their young ones but rather on the main economic activity that they are engaged in. Take for example herdsmen. In many communities who are herders in sub-Saharan Africa, their children spend most of their time looking after their animals and hence have little chances of attending formal education. (Heather et al., 2003, p. 43) However we should understand that even those communities which did not have any organized formal education for their children, they carried out extensive informal education in their homes. While formal education is aimed at bring some kind of expertise in the growing children, informal education had the same aim of bringing up expertise children in their economic activities and in their cultural values. The perception each community had on their children also affected the way these communities looked after their children. In most western communities, they attached so much value looking after their children till they were grown up adults while in most developing world they did not dedicate so much time in looking after their children. As a result, it is to be found out that most of the western families were lean with not more than four children while in the developing world they had bloated families with more than ten children. (Ransom 1998, p. 129) But the advent of the concept of globalization seems to have brought about some standard in perception of children. Globalization can be regarded as bringing together the world culture which has reduced the world to a global village. This has been achieved through improved technology. As a result there has been great mix up of culture from different communities which has changed perception of many issues. The western cultures seem to have benefited from the effect of globalisation as it has spread very fasts. This paper will look closely at the effects of globalization on childhood. It will first look at the discourse of childhood and how they are changing under the new social and economic conditions which are being caused by globalization. It will then look at how globalisation has played part in changing the images of ideal childhood and how this has been standardized and exported globally which has seen all countries being judged by a single set of standards. As we have said, the western culterue ahs had effect on the way other societies had perceived children and hence we will look at how these societies have changed their construction of childhood and children's role. Finally it will look closely at the globalisation of childhood and the effects it has brought on poor countries and how this has brought power differential between them and the richer nations Discourses of childhood are changing under the new social and economic conditions caused by globalization. Under the new globalized world, there have been many changes in the way communities perceive children which has come with changes in discourse of childhood. There have been changes in discourse of childhood which has developed with the mix up of different cultures. This has changed with the social construction of childhood in different communities which has been due to external influence of other cultures. Globalization has changed childhood in different ways. In some communities there have been a complete change of the way they perceive children and their generation of yesterday is totally different from the generation of today in the way they bring up their young ones. Perception of children in our communities has been constructed by the philosophies and cultural practices in our community. But with globalization, there has been development of one culture with which we view children. (Scraton 1997, p. 76) One of the greatest forces behind the changing discourse in childhood has been the lobby groups led by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICIEF). In collaboration with other groups, this has been one of the bodies that have fought for change in childhood and the way communities handle children and bring them up. These international and national bodies have campaigned for adoption of children right in all parts of the world. This has been possible as the world has been reduced to one community and any countries which deviates from the wish of these communities fears being left in the mainstream of the world. This led to adoption of children's rights now observed in all parts of the world. (Kangas 2004, p. 84) One of the way in which globalisation has changed perception about children is in the area of education. As was highlighted in the introduction, different communities in the world valued education differently which was due to different purposes and intents those communities had in educating their children. This has changed with time and the formal education has taken root as a basic right for children. With time, informal education has been slowly replaced by formal education mainly due to the changing economies of the world. Basic education has not only being declared as a basic right for children but it has also been declared as mandatory in some countries with parents facing legal action in case they do not take their children for formal education. (Plewis 1996, p. 34) The mix up of culture has also changed the way communities perceive value of children. Unlike in the past where many developing countries had bloated families, these days you will find lean families with children staying with their parents to their late twenties. This is unlike in the past when children especially girls were married at their teens. This has been reinforced with demand for education for the children. The changing perception on the value of children has also seen change in gender perception. Traditionally in African communities, males were valued more than females but this has changed with time and there is an aspect of gender equity in value. (James and James 2004, p. 416) The change in culture has also affected the socialization pattern of children. Unlike in the past where children were considered as community assets, there is movement towards nuclear family and more value is being attached to the children rather that the community. These are few of the changes that have taken place with the wave of globalization. There are many other discourses of childhood that have changed that we cannot exhaust in this paper. The concept is to illustrate that globalisation has had several effects on childhood and has led to change in many discourses of childhood especially the social construction of childhood. Images of the ideal childhood have been standardized and exported globally so that now all countries are judged by a single set of standards In the traditional society, different communities had different images of an ideal childhood. This was dictated by the social construction that most of these societies had on the children. But there were some similarities that could be found in these childhood construction of an ideal image of a child though they could be judged differently. For example, an ideal child was supposed to be morally uprights, obedient, respecting the elderly, and bearing many other characteristics. (Rogers 2001, p. 142) With the coming of globalisation, there has been some kind of standardization on the image of an ideal childhood. This has been brought about by the demands from childhood lobby groups which have been calling for observation of children rights as ratified by the United Nations convention. As a result there has been a kind of construction of an ideal childhood which seems to have been accepted all over the world. Unlike in the traditional world where each community had its own standards of judging an ideal childhood, nowadays, all communities are judged by a single set of standards mainly from the international bodies. Each and every country has strived to create childhood laws that are based on the international rights for all children. Since the law of the land dictates how children are perceived and how an ideal childhood is perceived, the international children rights has helped to create a worldwide single standard under which each nation judges an ideal childhood. (Penn 1998, p. 58) For example, ideal childhood is perceived as one that gives equal opportunities to all children of all genders to access education and develops them. Ideal childhood is seen as a framework that provides for observation of children's rights which means that like in other countries, all children have the right to attend to basic education and it is a crime fro parents not to take their children to school. This is unlike in the past were parent decided what was good for their children and what was not good fro their children. Most parents decided for their children and females were married off at a young age. Although this practice may not have died completely, there is awareness by every parent that it is a crime not to give their children an opportunity to attend education. Unlike in the past when children were seen as working objects for their parents, there have been stringent laws that are against child labour. Education has replaced working as a basic role of children in the family. In many communities children were even used in war although moral obligation was considered and children were not taken to war. Child labour laws have banned the use of children in war or any other atrocities that can be committed to children. (Ginsberg 1999, p. 3; Gould 1996, p. 7) Globally there have been adoption of same standards of ideal childhood and childhood in all countries is judged by the way the country observes international children rights. There has been adoption of same social construction of children and many communities now value their children same as in other communities. The spread of information technology has helped children lobby groups to inform all communities of the world on what can be considered as ideal childhood which has influenced the way different communities in the world perceive children and the way they bring up their children. International legislation, direct financial pressure and advertising, have all contributed to impose a western notion of childhood on countries which have previously constructed childhood and children's roles very differently As we mentioned earlier one of the greatest force that has affected the way children are perceived in the world and which has led to change in discourses of childhood has been international legislation that have recognized that like other individuals, children have their own rights that need to be observed. As a result, there have adoption of the charter of children rights created by the United Nations and at the same the UNICIEF has worked hand in hand with government in many countries in the world to put forward what need to be observed fro children. The international community has played a crucial role in reconstruction of childhood perception in the world. It has put pressure on many countries which apparently have not been observing children's rights. In particular the international community through the UNICIEF has strived to liberate children who have been used in wars like in Uganda where Lord's Resistance Army has been kidnapping and recruiting children as war soldiers. The international community has used several means in order to achieve this common perception of children globally. Let us look at some of the means that have been used. (Harder 1997, p. 54) One of the most effectful means has been economic pressure on countries which have neglected children rights. As we have mentioned, globalisation has caused a pattern of reliance all over the world which have seen many countries become dependant on each other. There have been systematic pressures from the international community especially on developing countries which have been slow to adopt and observe children rights. At the same time the have been economic support for countries which have been striving to achieve the ideal image of childhood. For example, countries in the developing world like Kenya which have initiated free education for all children have been supported economically by the international community. On the other hand, countries which have been slow in adoption of such measures aimed at achieving an ideal image of childhood have faced economic sanctions. The international donor community has played a great role in assisting international bodies like UNICIEF in carrying out their mandate of achieving ideal image of childhood. This has been through the use direct financial pressure on these countries and at the same time they have provided financial support to help these bodies in rehabilitating children who have been trapped in cycles of mistreatment like those being used in wars. (Bernstein and Brannen 2001, p. 59) There have also been systematic efforts by the international bodies to reach to the mass and educate them on some important aspects of ideal childhood. Mass media have been used extensively to encourage communities which have stacked to their tradition way of bringing up children in order to encourage them to adopt the internationally accepted standard of childhood. For example, there have been campaigns in communities which have been practicing early marriage of females and other still practicing female genital mutilation at an early age. Public education is one of the most powerful means that can be used to bring change in most communities and it seems to have been used effectively. Since most of the international communities are supported by the western countries, they have been mostly propagating for adoption of western notion of ideal image of childhood. As was mentioned earlier, the western culture seems to have emerged as winner in the tide of globalization and in the same way it has emerged most influential in adoption of ideal childhood. The western notion of childhood has been set as the standard for gauging other countries childhood practices in maters of education, children rights and other practices. (Stuchliffe 2001, p. 27) The globalization of childhood has also had several unforeseen effects which have penalized poorer countries, stigmatizing them and reinforcing power differentials between them and richer nations" Globalization of childhood has been one of the most important means of achieving international standard of childhood which ensures that all children in the world are brought up using one set single standard. This is important in the sense that globalisation has brought about movement of labour and capital and the whole world has become more competitive than ever. Without an ideal childhood standard, it means children from some parts of the world would be exposed to an unhealthy competition as regards the way they have been brought up. (Kjorholt 2002, p. 34) But at the same time we have to acknowledge that childhood globalisation has had several effects on poorer nations as regarded their obligation of obeying the international set of standards for ideal childhood. The poor nations have been left at the mercy of the developing nations since an ideal childhood has been used as one gauge for qualifying for international assistance. In this case countries which have not moved in the direction of the international community as regards the observation of children's right have been left in the cold with little international help. The western countries which have been campaigning for adoption of this notion of ideal standard of childhood have assumed the role of prefects for the developing nations as regards the way they adopt this standard. This has been one of the unforeseen effects of globalisation of childhood. The richer nations have assumed a form of power over the developing nations which have been seen as infringement of the sovereignty of these countries. The way the country observes children rights and the way it follows what it dictated by the richer nations as regards children has been used as the yardstick for improving the relationships between the two countries. In a way it has developed as cycle of dependency as some poor countries have been forced to adopt some children projects which they cannot sustain. For example, some countries have granted free basic education to its citizen which their economy cannot afford and which is financed by the international community. As a result, these countries dance to the tune of the international community in order for the funding of these programmes to continue. This has been seen as one way in which developed world has assumed power over the developing nations. There are other effects that are indirect like the breakdown of traditional childhood culture in many communities and the adoption of the western culture. This has brought about change in behaviour pattern of these communities which has come with many effects like breakdown of sexual practices with an effect of increased unwanted pregnancies in these communities. Hence we can say that though childhood globalisation has been effectful in ensuring that children all over the world live under the same conditions, there are other unwanted effects that have been due to the effect of globalisation. (Wisner and Bradley 1997, p. 12) References Ginsberg, N 1999, Sweden: the social democratic case, Sage, London. Gould, A 1996, Sweden: the last bastion of welfare democracy, Macmillan, London. Harder, M 1997, Child protection in Denmark, Aalborg University Press, Aalborg. Heather, M., Woodhead, M., & Burr, R 2003, Changing Childhoods: Local and Global, Wiley Publishers James, A. & James, A. L 2004, Constructing Childhood: Theory, Policy and Practice, Basingtoke, Palgrave Macmillan Kangas, O 2004, The merging of welfare state models Journal of European Social Policy, Vol. 4, issue 2, pp. 79 - 94. Kjorholt, A 2002, Small is powerful: Discourses on 'children and participation' in Norway. In Childhood Vol. 9, Issue 1, p. 63 Penn, H 1998, Comparative research: a way forward Sage, London Plewis, I 1996, Young Children at School: Inequalities and the National Curriculum", in Bernstein, B. & Brannen, J 2001, Children, Research and Policy, Taylor and Francis, London Ransom, D 1998, Eye to Eye: Childhood, New Internationalist, Oxford. Rogers, W 2001, Constructing Childhood, Constructing Child Concern, Palgrave, London. Scraton, P 1997, Childhood in Crisis, University College of London Press, London. Small, M 1998, Our Babies, Ourselves, Anchor Books, New York Stuchliffe, B 2001, Ways of seeing and unequal world, Zed Book, London Wisner, T. & Bradley, C 1997, African Families and Crisis of Social change, Bregin and Garvey, Westport Read More