From Children's Services to Children's Spaces - 9780415247818

Taylor & Francis

This book explores the apparent contradictions and complexities highlighted in the current attitudes and actions towards children: increasing attention is paid to children's rights, but they face more and more regulation and normalisation. > More than ever before, children are apparently being recognised as social actors and citizens. Yet public policy often involves increased control and surveillance of children. This book explores the contradiction. It shows how different ways of thinking about children produce different childhoods, different public provisions for children (including schools) and different ways of working with children. It argues that how we understand children and make public provision for them involves political and ethical choices.Through case studies and the analysis of policy and practice drawn from a number of countries, the authors describe an approach to public provision for children which they term 'children's services'. They then propose an alternatives