Key Issues in Childhood and Youth Studies

This fully revised and expanded second edition of Key Issues in Childhood and Youth Studies presents an informed and critical commentary on a range of key issues related to children and childhood, from birth to eighteen years.

Challenging current orthodoxies within the adult world on the nature of childhood, it is an essential text for students of childhood and youth studies as well as those studying relevant professional qualifications in social work, teaching and health. Exploring ideas from the historical development of childhood to the demonising of youth, it is divided into five clearly defined sections, each with their own editorial introduction which highlights the key themes: Creating Childhood, The Developing Child, Children at Risk, The Politics of Childhood, Bordered Childhood and International Perspectives.

Containing 15 newly written chapters and three revised pieces, this invaluable textbook provides an overview of childhood and youth studies and encourages students to think about the issues discussed and to develop their own ideas. Each chapter contains student activities, key concept boxes, recommended further reading and a reflection exercise.

Elizabeth Taylor is a Senior Lecturer in Education, Childhood and Communities at Liverpool John Moores University. Liz has over 30 years of experience of advocating for and supporting children, both as a Primary School teacher and lecturer. She was an editor for Key Issues in Childhood and Youth Studies (2010). Her research interests include creative pedagogies such as drama for learning, children’s literature and home education.

Bee Hughes (they/them) is an interdisciplinary researcher and Senior Lecturer in Media, Culture, Communication at Liverpool John Moores University. Bee’s work spans contemporary art practice, art history, visual cultures and cultural studies. They’ve taught several subjects in Higher Education, including Graphic Design and Illustration, Fine Art, Art History, Education Studies, Sociology and Media and Cultural Studies. Their research examines how everyday visual cultures and fine arts represent and (re)construct menstrual norms.