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Childhood Ethics: An ontological advancement for childhood studies
Author(s) -
Carnevale Franco A.,
CollinVézina Delphine,
Macdonald Mary Ellen,
Ménard JeanFrédéric,
Talwar Victoria,
Van Praagh Shauna
Publication year - 2021
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.12406
Subject(s) - childhood studies , diversity (politics) , early childhood , affect (linguistics) , sociology , maturity (psychological) , psychology , epistemology , developmental psychology , social psychology , anthropology , philosophy , communication
We describe an ontological approach to childhood studies that we refer to as Childhood Ethics . This involves an interdisciplinary hermeneutic orientation towards examining the morally meaningful dimensions of matters that affect young people. We draw on our empirical research with young people from 3‐ to 17‐years old, examining their experiences in a diversity of contexts and geographical settings. Our investigations challenge dominant binary conceptions of young people along lines of decisional in/capacity and im/maturity. We argue for a view of children as active agents with meaningful relational engagements and participation interests and capacities and outline corresponding implications for research and practice.