Childhood Sociological Analysis

In the 1980s, there has been an important change of trends in the work of childhood sociology. Prout (2016) states that the adjustment of structural perseverance regarding children’s power was characterized by the acceptance of social constructionism. Throughout the time where biological immaturity was acknowledged as a common ground, childhood was recognized as a social and cultural experience indicated by geographical and historical differences (Heywood, 2013). The shift to social constructionism has then resulted in creating a fundamental disconnection between the society and biology (Wyness, 2011). Therefore, it is not surprising that this discourse of childhood gave little importance to the cognitive influence even though the present literature

With the onset of a plenty of socio-economic variation, the advancement of technology, globalisation, and the recognized insufficiency of the traditional model, Western communities and other nations have infiltrated into the transitional stage of childhood. This period of time has been followed by an exemplar transformation in which the approach many professionals study about childhood and settle it in different aspects of life (i.e. social, cultural, political, and economic). Childhood was recognized as a social structural zone because it is a consistent factor of the structure that children would go through the phase and they occupied the space in the society (Qvortrup, 2009). This means that, childhood is a universal aspect of all societies, as the consistency of having common space within the social structure is seen in any community. Nevertheless, whilst the social space does persist, the historical nature will change and constructed by the changes in legislations, policies and social experiences (James & James, 2012). This in turn, relates back to the fact that childhood is not universal for the differences in social, cultural and historical position. Moreover, James and Prout (2015) states that it is no wonder that childhood in the Western countries is influenced by the fall of the industrialized economic measures as the

Typically, the standards and beliefs of an ideal childhood (safe, happy and guarded) are shaped culturally and historically by the social fixations and concerns of nations such as Europe and the United States (Boyden, 2009). However, Burman (2008) mentions that the conceptualisation of childhood being perceived as a duration of innocence and happiness is often regarded as ‘lost’ or ‘stolen’ and that the weakened children to form a diversified representation of victimhood. Images of ‘stolen childhood’ are specifically important strategy in sociologists’ plans targeted at showing the seriousness of certain issues and at preparing limited resources in support of children (Poretti et al, 2014). As mentioned above that childhood is socially constructed, childhood within a particular context and social norms are differentiated by societies and saturated by power issues (Woodhead,