People and agency
The following suggestions develop further ideas about the roles, identities and influences of teachers:
Two books that celebrate the positive aspects of teaching especially against a background of current public criticism are:
- Richardson, R. (2002) In Praise of Teachers: Identity, Equality and Education, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.
- Brighouse, T. & Woods, D. (2002) The Joy of Teaching, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Teachers of 'looked-after' children may find the following publication helpful. It compares policies and practices relating to children in care in six European countries:
- Petrie, P., Boddy, J., Cameron, C. and Wigfell, V. (2005) Working with Children in Care: European Perspectives, Maidenhead: Open University Press.
The employment status of teachers cannot be ignored:
- Carter, B., Stephenson, H. P. and Passey, R. (2010) Industrial Relations in Education: Transforming the School Workforce. Abingdon: Routledge.
A classic text by Aries demonstrates that the concept of childhood is constructed according to its historical context.
- Aries, P. (1973) Centuries of Childhood, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
The following texts also provide a challenge to our assumptions about, and constructions of childhood. They incorporate a range of perspectives on the study of childhood, show how the concept of childhood is developing, discuss adult-child relations and examine contradictions in our attitudes to children and the impact of this on public policy.
- Mills, J. & Mills, R. (1999) Childhood Studies: A Reader in Perspectives of Childhood, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Moss, P. & Petrie, P. (2002) From Children’s Services to Children’s Spaces: Public Policy, Children and Childhood, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Prout, A. (2002) The Future of Childhood, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- James, A. & Prout, A. (1997) Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood (2nd edition), London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Wyness, M. (1999) Contesting Childhood, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Kehily, M.J. (2004) An Introduction to Childhood Studies, maidenhead: Open University Press.
There have been several publications examining the relationship between home and school and offering a critique of the rhetoric of partnership and its achievements and shortcomings in practice:
- Edwards, R. (2001) Children, Home and School: Regulation, Autonomy, or Connection? London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Vincent C. (2000) Including Parents? Education, Citizenship and Parental Agency, Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Crozier, G. and Reay, D. (2005) Activating Participation: Parents And Teachers Working Towards Partnership, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.
- Stern, J. (2003) Involving Parents, London: Continuum.
- Ramaekers, S. and Suissa, J. (2012) The Claims of Parenting: Reasons, Responsibility and Society. New York: Springer.
- Feiler, A. (2010) Engaging 'Hard to Reach' Parents: Teacher Parent Collaboration to Promote Children's Learning. London: John Wiley & Sons.
Books looking beyond families to social service provision include:
- Stafford, A., Parton, N., Vincent, S. and Smith, C. (2012) Child Protection Systems in the United Kingdom: A Comparative Analysis. London: Jessica Kingsley.
- Edwards, A. (2009) Improving Inter-Professional Collaborations: Multi-Agency Working for Children’s Wellbeing. Abingdon: Routledge.
The following book by Garner and Clough takes a specific look at fathers' involvement in their sons' schooling:
- Garner, P. and Clough, P. (2007) Fathers and sons in and about education, Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham.
A book, offering a particularly innovative analysis of the changing relationships between childhood, schooling and consumer culture is:
- Kenway, J., & Bullen, E. (2001) Consuming Children: Education- Entertainment- Adventure, Buckingham: Open University Press.
More in this chapter
