Unit description
Provides an understanding of childhood in its historical context and explores theoretical perspectives influencing conceptualisations of children and childhood, including the way these have changed over time and continue to vary between different social and cultural groups. Discusses ways in which these conceptions influence policy, practice and decision making by parents, professionals, government and the public are explored via case-studies drawn from contexts including education, family, social welfare, law, health, commerce, media and popular culture.
Unit content
1. Frameworks for describing and analysing children and childhood
- Psychological, anthropological and sociological theories about childhood
- Introduction to the social construction of childhood and the changing conceptions of children over time
- Critically reflecting on your personal construction of childhood
2. Historical constructions of childhood
- Western historical images
- Indigenous historical images
- The influence of the historical on the contemporary
3. Contemporary constructions of childhood
- Contemporary images of childhood
- Images of difference
- Contemporary contexts (e.g. education, family, social welfare, law, media and popular culture, commerce)
4. Implications for professional practice with children
- Recognising the varied childhoods experienced by children in the minority and majority worlds
- Working ethically with children and young people
- Facilitating children's agency and participation respectfully
- Applying theoretical principles to best practice.
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
Learning outcomes and graduate attributes
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | critically evaluate several theoretical perspectives influencing the conceptualisation of children and childhood both historically and currently, and the social and cultural influences on these | Intellectual rigour | Knowledge of a discipline | Cultural competence | ||||
| 2 | discuss the socially constructed nature of childhood and critically reflect on their personal construction of childhood | Intellectual rigour | Cultural competence | |||||
| 3 | evaluate how the assumptions and principles underpinning different theoretical approaches impact on current understandings about children and youth, and our contemporary approaches to practice and policy in such contexts as education, family, social welfare, law, health, commerce, media and popular culture | Intellectual rigour | Knowledge of a discipline | |||||
| 4 | explain how conceptual understandings can inform professional practice with children and their families, including how to work ethically with children and young people and to facilitate their agency and participation. | Intellectual rigour | Knowledge of a discipline | Cultural competence | ||||
Prescribed texts
Session 1
- No prescribed texts.
Teaching and assessment
Online
| Teaching method |
| Structured online learning 130 (Self paced) |
| Assessment | |
| Text analysis | 25% |
| Reflective writing | 25% |
| Position paper | 50% |
Fee information
Domestic
Commonwealth Supported courses
For information regarding Student Contribution Amounts please visit the Student Contribution Amounts.
Commencing 2018 Commonwealth Supported only. Student contribution band: 1
Fee paying courses
For POSTGRADUATE or UNDERGRADUATE full fee paying courses please check Domestic Postgraduate Fees OR Domestic Undergraduate Fees
International
Please check the international course and fee list to determine the relevant fees.