Changing Concepts of Children and Childhood

Course aim

To introduce students to the  development of our understanding of children and childhood.

Course content

Different ways of obtaining and evaluating knowledge. The implications of understanding knowledge as consistent, rational, authoritative, observation based, lawful, cultural, relative and complex. Ideas of children and childhood in the ancient, the Classical, the Medieval, the Victorian and modern worlds. Scientific, religious and philosophical perspectives on children and childhood. Children as precious, as evil, as machines, as innocent, as animals, as creations of society. The emergence of formal perspectives on children and childhood: physical science and behaviourism; evolution and organismic theories; therapy and dynamic theories; culture and socio-cultural theory; relativism and post modernism; complexity science and dynamic systems theory.

Textbook(s)

Cunningham, H 2005, Children and childhood in Western society since 1500, 2nd edition, Longman, Harlow

Green, M & Piel, JA 2010, Theories of human development: a comparative approach, Allyn and Bacon, Boston

Prerequisite(s)

Nil

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Component	Duration
INTERNAL, MAGILL
Lecture	1 hour x 12 weeks
Seminar	2 hours x 12 weeks
EXTERNAL, MAGILL, ONLINE
External (Online learning activities)	3 hours x 12 weeks

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Continuous assessment: weekly completion of tasks, Examination, Learning log/Journal, Referencing task

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 1)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.