The Ontology and Social Construction of Childhood in the Caribbean

Actualizing children’s rights through early childhood care and education: A focus on the Caribbean

“…It is important to establish who the young child is in the Caribbean context in order to explore how the CRC impacts developmentally and culturally appropriate care and education of young children. According to Burns (2013), myriad meanings exist in the Anglophone Caribbean for the definition of childhood because of differences along biological, legal and cultural lines.…”

Safeguarding the protection rights of children in the Eastern Caribbean

“…Physical, emotional and sexual VAC is a significant issue in education settings and homes in the ECA: up to 70 per cent of children told UNICEF that they had experienced either physical or emotional abuse in the previous month (UNICEF, 2016). VAC is identified as a legacy of the British Colonial history of some ECA states: neither childhood nor children were protected when children and adults worked together as slaves on Caribbean plantations in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, and the prevalence of physical punishment of children in ECA homes and schools is recognised as a legacy of British Colonialism in the sub-region (Burns, 2013;Meeks-Gardner et al, 2007).…”

Growing sideways: Re‐articulating ontologies of childhood within/through relationships and sexuality education (RSE)

“…Access to such knowledge has been positioned as a necessity for children to gain a sense of control over their lives, empowering them to make informed decisions and reducing their anxiety by allowing them to distinguish between facts, rumours and misinformation. Such responses illuminate the contingent nature of children's subjectivities and the varied ways in which their being and becoming is a constant process of negotiation with both human and non‐human entities and forces (Burns, 2013; Mayes, 2016; Spyrou, 2019).…”