Childhood, Agency and Education Reform

Abstract

This article provides commentary on the relationship between childhood and agency within the context of education reform. The prominence of a `child-centred' social science and the trends in childcare policy, at least in some countries, towards the articulation of children's voices suggest possibilities for children as both research subjects and competent members of society. The article will address these possibilities through the analysis of a series of local and global issues connected to organizational, curricular and pedagogic changes in schooling. Although the focus is British pupils, reference is made to changes taking place in other countries. The position of pupils in schools is examined with reference to several themes: the role of the market and the individualizing of education; the need to produce `schooled' citizens by drawing attention to the relationship between the school and the wider community; and public concerns over behavioural and curricular standards. Reference is also made to children's potential as social agents in schools, but the main thrust of the argument is that recent education reform provides few channels for pupil participation.