Conceptualisation Of Childhood In Irelan d In Th e Twenti eth Century
Introduction
This paper offers an historical overview of th e conceptualisation of childhood in Ireland as expressed in the programme/curr i culum in op eration in the primary schools between 1900 and 1999. Firstly, I examine the conceptualisation of childhood and the various influences on it. Secondly, I take a brief look at the various sources of data that enable us to trace and analyse the conceptualisation of childhood in Irel and. I then outline the main source of data that will be used for today’s prese n tation, namely, the t h ree successive primary school curricula in the twenti eth century in Ireland.
Finally, I offer some broad conclusions arising from my consideration of the data.
Conceptualisatio
n o f Ch ildh oo d Hayes (2002:21) gives us a succi nct description of childhood, highlighting the complexity of the term and outlining the multiple factor s that are involved in its definition.
Childhood is both a biological reality and a so cial construct. It is defin e d not only b y biology, but also by a particular society at a particular time in a particular way which represen ts the view th at society has of childhood.
As Hayes outlines, our conceptualisation of childhood is both context-linked and time- specific. Th is means that a particular society will have a different image of children than another and this changes with societal devel o pments (Smyth, 2003:161). For example, in
Ireland, we have a much-altered conceptualisati on of childhood in 2004 as opposed to 1904 or even more recently. In addition, our conceptua lisation of childhood is different to that of society in other countries and cultures across th e world. Therefore, there is no one static universal conceptualisation of childhood.
There are a number of influences that impact upon our conceptualisation of childhood; some of the major influences are outlined. The Stat e impacts on our image of childhood by the
This paper offers an historical overview of th e conceptualisation of childhood in Ireland as expressed in the programme/curr i culum in op eration in the primary schools between 1900 and 1999. Firstly, I examine the conceptualisation of childhood and the various influences on it. Secondly, I take a brief look at the various sources of data that enable us to trace and analyse the conceptualisation of childhood in Irel and. I then outline the main source of data that will be used for today’s prese n tation, namely, the t h ree successive primary school curricula in the twenti eth century in Ireland.
Finally, I offer some broad conclusions arising from my consideration of the data.
Conceptualisatio
n o f Ch ildh oo d Hayes (2002:21) gives us a succi nct description of childhood, highlighting the complexity of the term and outlining the multiple factor s that are involved in its definition.
Childhood is both a biological reality and a so cial construct. It is defin e d not only b y biology, but also by a particular society at a particular time in a particular way which represen ts the view th at society has of childhood.
As Hayes outlines, our conceptualisation of childhood is both context-linked and time- specific. Th is means that a particular society will have a different image of children than another and this changes with societal devel o pments (Smyth, 2003:161). For example, in
Ireland, we have a much-altered conceptualisati on of childhood in 2004 as opposed to 1904 or even more recently. In addition, our conceptua lisation of childhood is different to that of society in other countries and cultures across th e world. Therefore, there is no one static universal conceptualisation of childhood.
There are a number of influences that impact upon our conceptualisation of childhood; some of the major influences are outlined. The Stat e impacts on our image of childhood by the
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