INTRODUCTION: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Abstract

This International Volume of Sociological Studies of Children and Youth shows the breadth of empirical research that focuses on children and youth around the world. Across these articles arranged by region, it becomes clear that we assume different ideas about what childhood is even though these are bound by both cultural and structural factors. We often take “children” or “youth” as a definitive given, and then seek to solve their problems or create policies that serve them. Rarely do we have the luxury of actually thinking about the meaning of these two words. This annual volume creates a space for this particular dialogue to take place. Across these research papers, cultural expectations influence how societies view children and how children view themselves. Immigrant children and youth provide particularly interesting insight as they navigate more than one cultural context and varying expectations for children as they negotiate who they are as individuals and children. Structural factors also become salient, as children come from unequal backgrounds and different levels of economic development, and face varying political concerns.

Citation

Bass, L.E. (2005), "INTRODUCTION: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH", Bass, L. (Ed.) Sociological Studies of Children and Youth (Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Vol. 10), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1537-4661(04)10001-9