THEMES AND ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD
Abstract
This paper surveys the central themes and historiographic issues in the history of childhood in the 19th and 20th centuries. By selecting four themes - i) changing patterns of child-rearing, ii) children and youth at work, iii) adolescence in historical perspective, and iv) changing perception and treatment of neglected, delinquent and dependent children - this paper accomplishes two purposes: one, demonstrates that the life-experience of children and youth changed significantly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and two, raises critical questions about our current "ways of seeing" or "making sense" of aspects of children's experience and adult perception of childhood. To illustrate each theme, examples are selected from Canadian, British, and American sources. RÈSUMÈ Le présent article analyse les thèmes centraux et les problèmes historiographiques de l'histoire de l'enfance au 19e et 20e siècles. Par son choix de quatre thèmes - i) l'évolution des modèles d'éducation des enfants, ii) les enfants et les jeunes au travail, iii) l'adolescence dans une perspective historique, et iv) la modification de la perception et du traitement des enfants abandonnés, délinquants et à charge - cet article atteint deux objectifs: d'une part, il démontre que l'expérience vécue des enfants et des jeunes s'est beaucoup transformée aux 19e et 20e siècles, et de l'autre, il soulève des questions essentielles sur nos façons de voir ou d'interpréter les aspects de l'expérience des enfants et de la perception que les adultes ont de l'enfance. Pour illustrer chaque thème, nous avons choisi des exemples au Canada, en Grande-Bretagne et aux États-Unis.Downloads
Published
1986-09-01
How to Cite
Welton, M. R. (1986). THEMES AND ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 21(003). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/7680
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