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Using a ‘Family Language Policy’ lens to explore the dynamic and relational nature of child agency
Author(s) -
SmithChristmas Cassie
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/chso.12461
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , sociology , competence (human resources) , through the lens metering , linguistics , psychology , social psychology , lens (geology) , social science , philosophy , engineering , petroleum engineering
This article contributes to a dialogue between childhood studies and the sociolinguistic subfield ‘Family Language Policy’ (‘FLP’). The article argues that the two fields provide complementary vantage points for exploring child agency. It explains a revised version of a model I developed to conceptualise child agency in FLP, consisting of four intersecting dimensions: compliance regimes; linguistic norms; linguistic competence and generational positioning (Smith‐Christmas, Handbook of home language maintenance and development . De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 218–235, 2020a). The article examines two conversational excerpts as a means to illustrating the dynamic and relational nature of child agency and how it is both shaped by as well as shapes interactional practices over time and space.