This article explores the role of children in household livelihoods among the Gedeo ethnic community in Ethiopia. Three themes are discussed--reproductive activities, entrepreneurial work in marketplaces and sociospatial mobility--in the context of recent theoretical debates over children's agency and social competence. With shifts in rural…

Children's participation is increasingly ambiguous and contested. Such complexity emerges in response to its emancipatory possibilities as well as unresolved tensions and power practices. The authors argue that closer attention must now be given to the interpretative milieu of children's participation, that is, to the act of dialogue that has…

Analyzes how parents and children perceive and experience commercial playground environments, how such environments are marketed to them, and how they make use of them. Considers the marginal role children play in the production and visitation of these environments, and that the playgrounds provide primarily for the needs of adults. (JPB)

Draws on research on families of seasonal migrant laborers in Mexico to consider the role of work in socializing children growing up in extreme poverty. Argues migrant work represents an effective form of socialization that prepares children for their future. Discusses whether minimum employment age should be raised from 8 to 14 years and the…

Reevaluates Lev Vygotsky's theory of children's development. Argues that we can understand development as history only when we think simultaneously about how changing contexts affect what children appropriate from them, and how children's appropriations modify the contexts that guide development. (JPB)

Proposes rethinking citizenship so as to include children, maintaining that such thinking can prompt consideration of the similarity of concerns confronting children and adults. Argues that we need to rethink the value of the language of rights and its social significance. Concludes with examination of the requirements of such a vision of…

Reports three case studies on the position of children within adult institutions, focusing on difficulties surrounding children speaking for themselves. Argues that adult institutions are unable to decide the status of children's utterances, and that institutional deferral pushes the burden of ambiguity onto children's shoulders, thereby making…

Presents an annotated and categorized bibliography to foster an explicit concern with the geography of children. Includes articles on (de)constructing children, children in the environment, designing environments for children, environmental hazards, indirect experience of place, social issues, citizenship and agency, and children's geographical…

Argues that discourses on children and participation in Norway are linked to international children's rights discourses as well as to Norwegian cultural context. Focuses on how different constructions of children as participants are related to discourses on sustainable local communities. Describes supporting empirical studies and summarizes…

Discusses literature on children's community participation and analyzes case studies on children's involvement in neighborhood improvement in Finland, Switzerland, and France. Case-study findings indicate that the creation of child-friendly environments with young people requires a shift toward more ecological and socially supportive settings with…