Childhood as a Social Problem: A Survey of the History of Legal Regulation

Dingwall, Robert; Eekelaar, John; Murray, Topsy

doi:10.2307/1410040

Cited by 26 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…This was combined with the ‘casework’ approach, whereby visitors would work in the applicant's home to educate them to become responsible and thrifty (Bosanquet, ; Lewis, ; Mowat, ; Prochaska, ; Whelan, ; Woodroofe, ). The principal focus was not on child welfare, but rather on changing adult behaviour (Dingwall and others, ; Maxwell, ). Visitors were advised that poor families would not benefit immediately from COS help, because it was necessary to investigate the causes of poverty rather than focus on the effects (Humphreys, ).…”

Section: The Cos and Its Role In Family Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A Pest to Society’: The Charity Organisation Society's Domiciliary Assessments into the Circumstances of Poor Families and Children

Skinner

Thomas

2017

Children & Society

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This article examines the work of the Charity Organisation Society (COS) in assessing applications for children's admission to care in the late nineteenth‐century. It is based on an archive study of records kept by the ‘Waifs and Strays’ Society in England and Wales between 1882 and 1899, in particular 270 family assessments conducted by the COS. The focus was on parental behaviour rather than children's needs, with a strong narrative of taking children away to relieve parents of a burden. The research illuminates contested assumptions about childhood in the period, with resonance for current issues in policy and practice.

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Section: The Cos and Its Role In Family Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A Pest to Society’: The Charity Organisation Society's Domiciliary Assessments into the Circumstances of Poor Families and Children

Skinner

Thomas

2017

Children & Society

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“…One of these seems to be that children constitute a particular type of social problem in contemporary times, requiring a refocus of the regulatory and explanatory gaze upon them. This is not to say that childhood has not constituted a social problem historically, 160 only that its nature has shifted somewhat.…”

Section: Children As Morally Responsible Victimsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Incomplete Citizens: Changing Images of Post‐Separation Children

Kaganas

Diduck

2004

Modern Law Review

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The image of the child as the victim of separation or divorce is well‐established in legal, socio‐legal and popular discourse. However, the authors argue, alongside this traditional image of the child, there is a different image of the child emerging, that of the autonomous, responsible child. This is apparent in academic discourse, policy documents and legal pronouncements. This child is included in the project of ‘remoralising’ the family by building the ‘good’ post‐separation family. The ‘good’ child of separation or divorce is responsible for safeguarding his or her own welfare and is expected to make those choices that are assumed to best protect his or her best interests. In order to ensure that the child makes the ‘right’ decisions, he or she, like the adults concerned, is the target of education, information and therapeutic intervention. There is a blending of paradigms in which the ideal child is both an autonomous social actor and a vulnerable object of concern.

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“…By the end of the nineteenth century, the Canadian state began to focus on childhood as both social problem and the focus of charitable and state projects of citizenship (McGillivray, 1995;Dingwall et al, 1984). Residential schools emerged as part of this broader shift in Canadian society from governance of the family to governance through the family, 7 which Anne McGillivray describes as the colonization of childhood through the state (1995).…”

Section: Dispossession Of Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering Colonial Legacies: Voices of Indigenous Youth on Child Welfare (Dis)Placements

Navia

Henderson

Charger³

2018

Anthropology & Edu Quarterly

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In this thesis I examine how settler colonialism shapes child welfare (dis)placements. I use the term (dis)placement as a point of departure to understand the historical connection between the child welfare and residential school systems. Indigenous youth collaborators, who recently exited the child welfare system, contributed to this research through arts and storytelling. Their verbal and artistic testimonies attest to the degree that child welfare is part of larger historical and political processes including dispossession of land and resources, assimilation of Indigenous peoples, gendered violence, and violent indifference. I argue that youth resistance to dominant systems takes a distinct urban form and is a means of their survival that carries strong potential for change. This thesis highlights the value of a collaborative research praxis and contributes to broader debates on how Indigenous people experience colonialism and continuously create opportunities for transformation.iii Note on terminology

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Childhood as a Social Problem: A Survey of the History of Legal Regulation

Cited by 26 publications

References 15 publications

‘A Pest to Society’: The Charity Organisation Society's Domiciliary Assessments into the Circumstances of Poor Families and Children

‘A Pest to Society’: The Charity Organisation Society's Domiciliary Assessments into the Circumstances of Poor Families and Children

Incomplete Citizens: Changing Images of Post‐Separation Children

Uncovering Colonial Legacies: Voices of Indigenous Youth on Child Welfare (Dis)Placements

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