Children, Home and School

Book excerpt: In contemporary western societies, there are increasing emphases on children being the responsibility of their parents, contained within the home, and on their compartmentalisation into separate and protected organised educational settings. Thus 'home' and 'school' form a crucial part of children's lives and experiences. This book explores the key institutional settings of home and school, and other educationally linked organised spaces, in children's lives, and the relationships between these. It presents in-depth discussions concerning new research findings from a range of national contexts and focuses on various aspects of children's, and sometimes adult's, own understandings and activities in home and school, and after school settings, and the relationship between these. The contributors assess children from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances and consider how these children see and position themselves as autonomous within, connected to or regulated by home and school. Discussion of the impact of policy and practice developments on the everyday lives of these children is also included.