Childhood-Perspectives(20 marks) Flashcards
intro
Item A sets out the conflict theory of childhood and its change over the past few centuries, which is not necessarily all in a positive direction. The Item focuses on the ‘child-centered family’ which is the concept that children are no longer ‘seen and not heard’, as they were in the Victorian times, instead they are the focal point of the family, consulted on many of the decisions as never before. There are a range of perspectives on this debate, for example, the march of progress (functionalist) sociologists such as Aries and Shorter would agree that the position of children in western societies is steadily improving and today it is better than ever before. Alternatively, conflict theories and New right sociologists would strongly disagree arguing that the ‘innocence’ of childhood is being undermined resulting in not all children experiencing a positive childhood.
