The First International Society for Child Indicators Conference The Dynamics of Childhood, Anticipatory Socialization and the Development of Indicators Ivar Frønes Department of Sociology, University of Oslo, Norway Norwegian Centre for the Studies of Conduct Problems and Innovative Practice Ltd Chicago, 26 June 2007 The Dynamics of Childhood, Anticipatory Socialization and the Development of Indicators Ivar Frønes Department of Sociology, University of Oslo, Norway Norwegian Centre for the Studies of Conduct Problems and Innovative Practice Ltd Chicago, 26 June 2007

Childhood of The Industrial Society  Affluent industrial society provided access to well-paid jobs for unskilled male workers, and produced young families with the housewife at the centre.  Protection of children from work.  Most left school after compulsory education.  Young people were integrated into work at an young age.  Children, as children, were outside the production system  Little pressure from the educational system.  Strong mechanisms for integration into adult roles:  Work and family (Willis, Learning to Labour).  The great narrative of the family:  The family dominated the life course, factually and culturally.  Minor children at home (Popenoe/Whitehead 2006).  1970: Children at home: Women aged 25-29: 74% 50-54: 27%  2000: aged 25-29: 49% 50-54: 15%  Affluent industrial society provided access to well-paid jobs for unskilled male workers, and produced young families with the housewife at the centre.  Protection of children from work.  Most left school after compulsory education.  Young people were integrated into work at an young age.  Children, as children, were outside the production system  Little pressure from the educational system.  Strong mechanisms for integration into adult roles:  Work and family (Willis, Learning to Labour).  The great narrative of the family:  The family dominated the life course, factually and culturally.  Minor children at home (Popenoe/Whitehead 2006).  1970: Children at home: Women aged 25-29: 74% 50-54: 27%  2000: aged 25-29: 49% 50-54: 15%

Post-industrial Childhood  Post-industrial children enter work at a mature age, but childhood is at the centre of educational production (human capital) and future national competitive power (see e.g. PISA/OECD).  Post-industrial childhood is characterized by early social and sexual maturation and late and differentiated transitions to adult roles.  Post-industrial socialization is underlined as navigation, requiring planfulness and cultural/social capital to move successfully into the future.  Post-industrial children enter work at a mature age, but childhood is at the centre of educational production (human capital) and future national competitive power (see e.g. PISA/OECD).  Post-industrial childhood is characterized by early social and sexual maturation and late and differentiated transitions to adult roles.  Post-industrial socialization is underlined as navigation, requiring planfulness and cultural/social capital to move successfully into the future.

The Post-industrial Family  Parents are more important than under the industrial regime.  Time with children is increasing in general  Children are at the centre of the family.  The (hyper)active supermoms of to day are different from the good mothers of the 1950s.  Mothers are becoming better educated than fathers.  Parents’ educational level is correlated.  Changing narratives of the life course and the family.  The marriage gap.  Parents are more important than under the industrial regime.  Time with children is increasing in general  Children are at the centre of the family.  The (hyper)active supermoms of to day are different from the good mothers of the 1950s.  Mothers are becoming better educated than fathers.  Parents’ educational level is correlated.  Changing narratives of the life course and the family.  The marriage gap.

Educational Reframing  Educational culture and educational reframing.  After-school activities and Baby Einstein.  Chinese children; more than 80% do homework at the weekend (Hongyan, 2003).  78% of Chinese students identify studies as their greatest worry, only beaten by students from South Korea (84%) (Hongyan 2007 ).  Educational pressure on the children.  Japanese junior high students spend more time studying than college students.  Increase in homework among the youngest in the US/UK. Producing both “The hurried child” and marginalization.  Educational culture and educational reframing.  After-school activities and Baby Einstein.  Chinese children; more than 80% do homework at the weekend (Hongyan, 2003).  78% of Chinese students identify studies as their greatest worry, only beaten by students from South Korea (84%) (Hongyan 2007 ).  Educational pressure on the children.  Japanese junior high students spend more time studying than college students.  Increase in homework among the youngest in the US/UK. Producing both “The hurried child” and marginalization.

What is Childhood?  A life phase.  Childhood as a social construction.  The right to a childhood.  Childhood as a normative concept.  Childhood as a cultural and social framework.  Synchronic structures.  Diachronic structures.  The factual life of children.  A life phase.  Childhood as a social construction.  The right to a childhood.  Childhood as a normative concept.  Childhood as a cultural and social framework.  Synchronic structures.  Diachronic structures.  The factual life of children.

Anticipatory Socialization  Theories of socialization are often accused of not conceptualizing the agency of the child.  Anticipatory socialization.  Socialization is influenced by the future, the future is an active part of the present.  A dynamic model of childhood.  Children are moving within synchronic economic social and cultural frameworks, and diachronic institutional and cultural frameworks.  Children’s activities are formed by the pressure of the future predicted-  Theories of socialization are often accused of not conceptualizing the agency of the child.  Anticipatory socialization.  Socialization is influenced by the future, the future is an active part of the present.  A dynamic model of childhood.  Children are moving within synchronic economic social and cultural frameworks, and diachronic institutional and cultural frameworks.  Children’s activities are formed by the pressure of the future predicted-

Indicators on Being and Becoming  Being: how the child is doing currently, as a child.  Becoming: the field of socialization.  Indicators of being measure the state or order of things, such as demographical patterns, percentages living in poverty, educational levels, number of criminal acts and standard of living.  Indicators on being often refer to normative yardsticks.  The models provide certain thresholds for the set of indicators (like poverty line).  Becoming, based on matrixes of correlations.  Indicators on becoming imply predictions.  CRC underlines being and becoming.  Being: how the child is doing currently, as a child.  Becoming: the field of socialization.  Indicators of being measure the state or order of things, such as demographical patterns, percentages living in poverty, educational levels, number of criminal acts and standard of living.  Indicators on being often refer to normative yardsticks.  The models provide certain thresholds for the set of indicators (like poverty line).  Becoming, based on matrixes of correlations.  Indicators on becoming imply predictions.  CRC underlines being and becoming.

Key Indicator Challenges  Social change requires new domains, and often a reorganization of existing domains.  Predictive indicators on becoming.  Indicators on risk.  Positive indicators:  Indicators on flourishing. (Moore et al: What Do Children Need to Flourish?)  Differentiated data: ethnicity, class, region, gender. Age/cohort etc. and the dynamics of these factors.  Longitudinal data.  Dynamics models:  Models of cumulative risk factors.  Social change requires new domains, and often a reorganization of existing domains.  Predictive indicators on becoming.  Indicators on risk.  Positive indicators:  Indicators on flourishing. (Moore et al: What Do Children Need to Flourish?)  Differentiated data: ethnicity, class, region, gender. Age/cohort etc. and the dynamics of these factors.  Longitudinal data.  Dynamics models:  Models of cumulative risk factors.

Indicators and Evaluation  Challenge: evaluation of policies through trends and indicators.  Evaluation of specific programs with identifiable participants.  Evaluation of MST /multi-systemic therapy through data from databases.  Challenge: evaluation of policies through trends and indicators.  Evaluation of specific programs with identifiable participants.  Evaluation of MST /multi-systemic therapy through data from databases.

Policies and Models  Indicators may give policies direction, but indicators do not provide causal models.  “Knowledge for action” (Aber et al.) must partly be found elsewhere.  Politics is about values, traditions, interests.  Models are political instruments as well as scientific instruments.  Identifying trends does not imply telling people where to go or what to do…  Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?  The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.  The social sciences are part of a civic discourse.  Indicators may give policies direction, but indicators do not provide causal models.  “Knowledge for action” (Aber et al.) must partly be found elsewhere.  Politics is about values, traditions, interests.  Models are political instruments as well as scientific instruments.  Identifying trends does not imply telling people where to go or what to do…  Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?  The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.  The social sciences are part of a civic discourse.