Indicators and methods - to study childhood in the center of social and economic transformation in China

The applicability of western theories, concepts and indicators of childhood to China What terms and methods can be used to capture phenomena across cultures? Some of the structural and material conditions that could turn into challenges for a comparative study The potential of a Grounded Theory approach to comparison

A model for interpretative comparative analysis

Childhood as being or becoming at the level of observation Western theories of childhood have moved from seeing childhood as a stage of preparation to seeing childhood as a condidtion in which individuals participate, and finally a development towards including both considerations. Question for comparison: Under what conditions do we see children as beings and what circumstances makes them in preparation, as thus seen as becoming?

Childhood and the pace of social change The social construction of childhood depends upon traditions, on present possibilities and constraints, but not least upon a group ’ s conception of a future context of opportunity. The future, and childhood as preparation, becomes especially prevalent in times of rapid social change

Economic socialization and the generational contract In the west: From seeing the child as an economic contributor to defining children as an emotional asset for the family (Zelitzer 1985) For comparison: The structural condition of the generational dependency relation, as these are also transformed by economic transformations

”They have to sacrifice so much” Chinese mother A childhood transformed from playful and innocent, to a childhood of high demands on preparation (qualification exercises) and time

The impact of consumer society on socialization Western theory is again spit about the impact of growing up in a consumer society: Is it a context where powers, rights, comptetences etc. are played out, and debated vs. A devious force that children need protection from? Chinese scolars point to the same diverging attitudes. In both east and west the conclusions are mostly drawn from data on familie’s and children’s consumption patterns, actions and potential buying power.

The impact of consumer culture can be found in every day life What about the child’s position within the family and conditions for economic socialization and participation in consumer affairs? The experiences must be studied in the context where they are made and we can then develop links between experience and explanation locally.

Children as victims of globalization? Media studies: The vulnerable child and the brutal world OR The technological world and the smart child. Reception of globalized commercial messages must thus be interpreted both on an individual and a cultural level. The mechanisms of the interplay between global and local significants can only be understood locally. Thus, comparison is again left to the level of comprehension and explanation.

Let me repeat the model: Level of observation Intention: Childhood as preparation Reception: Childhood as a condition. Level of analysis Comprehension: Structural and material conditions as well as symbolic carrying capacities Explanation: Drawing of connections between the local and the global context, connections that are mediated by reception and intention.

Comparison by way of Grounded Theory By using a GT approach, the unit for observation and comparison, the one element creating similarity between the cases is the phenomenon itself. The phenomenon (or the problem) is at the core of a GT approach as the stem from where theory is developed. Through a focus on the interaction with a phenomenon such as consumer culture, I am able to disclose local cultural norms, practices, child rearing ideas and strategies as well as symbolic carrying capacities of a local culture.

It will also allow for a discussion which places the phenomenon into a larger interacting context, through looking at e.g. interaction between social institutions. If such studies are done locally, the comparison must be done at the level of substantial theory, or theory which explains locally which factors, mechanisms and or conditions for a phenomenon to be the way it is. Western theories, concepts and indicators of childhood are not directly applicable to a Chinese context. But these theories sensitize the perception and guide the interpretation of general mechanisms or generic features.