Changing children's geographies

Abstract

This keynote explores the changing nature of children's geographies as an academic project. It proceeds in four parts. Part 1 considers the shift away from research on children's spatial cognition which envisaged the child in largely biological terms, and contemplates contemporary efforts to rework the nature/culture dualism. Part 2 traces the incorporation of new social studies of childhood into geography, emphasising the importance of children's voices, their positioning within axes of power, and the need for quantitative and qualitative methods. Part 3 explores how feminist research led to interest in parents, educators and other actors/institutions which shape, and are shaped by, children's lives. Part 4 ponders what children's geographies might add to, and learn from, broader interdisciplinary debates, and the benefits and pitfalls of research impact. The conclusion argues that a well-informed appreciation of sub-disciplinary history provides a strong vantage point from which to engage with new ways of thinking.

Digital methodologies and practices in children's geographies

“…We seek, through this commentary and selection of papers, to initiate a broader conversation on the links between children's geographies research, digital technologies and digital childhoods. Holloway's (2014) commentary 'Changing Children's Geographies' on the state of the discipline has been an inspiration in the development of the set of papers which follow. It not only prompts us to propose the addition of digital technologies to debates on future challenges of the discipline, but also to reinforce her call to jettison 'our existing modes of analysis' (Holloway 2014, 388) and engage more explicitly in discussions about 'what we might want to keep, combine or use to refine' children's everyday life.…”

Teenage Kicks: Exploring cultural value from a youth perspective

“…Central to our research design is the belief that young people are social actors and knowing beings in their own right. However, we also wanted to disrupt assumptions of the young person as "all knowing" that has pervaded some participatory work with young people (Gallagher & Gallacher, 2008;Holloway, 2014). Instead we saw young people's experience and understandings of culture as also influenced by others including parents, peers, youth workers, teachers and policy-makers and we included some of these groups in our research design.…”

Care-less spaces and identity construction: transition to secondary school for disabled children

“…Geographers recognise children as social actors (Holloway 2014) in a society where they are relatively powerless (Holt 2004b). Furthermore, research within children's geographies about disability, the ethical processes and lived experiences has come to the fore in the past decade or so (Curran and Runswick Cole 2014, Holt 2004a, 2010, Rogers and Ludhra 2012 , Smyth 2010, as well as hearing the voices of parents speaking in response to their disabled children's education (Hodge andRunswick-Cole 2008, Ryan and.…”