CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL POLICY

Analyse And Evaluate Contemporary Social Policy In Relation To The Welfare Of Young Children And Their Families

Analyse And Evaluate Contemporary Social Policy In Relation To The Welfare Of Young Children And Their Families

Introduction

The wellbeing of young people is a concern of every society. This stems in part from the fact that young people, and in particular young children, cannot secure their own welfare and therefore depend, to a greater or lesser extent, on adults. The discursive construction of children as universally dependent and vulnerable is problematic, in part because it neglects the extent of children's agency and differences related to age and other factors, as well as casting adults as fully independent. However, there are many respects in which the young do require particular investment in their wellbeing (Parton, 2006). Young children, for instance, are particularly susceptible to disease and accidents, and suffer relatively high morbidity and mortality rates. Children face real risks, which they may be ill-equipped to confront. Children are also often the first to experience adverse consequences in times of crisis, as was observed in the recent economic crisis in Argentina, and the consequences may be more enduring than for adults if, for instance, their education is interrupted.

Geographers and other social scientists have explored many aspects of young people's welfare, ranging from hunger and homelessness to bullying (and opportunities for play (Parton, 2006). Although wellbeing is multidimensional and cannot be simplistically measured, the capacity and effectiveness of societies in delivering welfare is far from uniform. Clearly, there are immense geographical variations in children's well-being, along many dimensions, both within and between countries, as highlighted in numerous official reports.

The significance attached to caring for young people is not, however, simply a reflection of children's dependence and vulnerability. Children's welfare has immense symbolic significance, and this is one of the key reasons why societies, individually and collectively, dedicate such substantial resources to ensuring the material and psychosocial wellbeing of their young (Gill, 2008, 136-142).

While UK education policy may be premised on the idea that social exclusion can be reduced by bringing everyone into active economic participation, it is unlikely to seriously address inequality. Academic achievement is persistently low in some regions, suggesting that in practice schooling continues to reinforce inequality Indeed, through a variety of strategies, education systems have long served to reproduce the class structure of Western society (Williams, 2004, 406-427). Moreover, in countries like the UK and USA where an economic model of childcare dominates, whereby parents have to pay market rates for commoditized services which vary considerably in terms of quality, it could be argued that social inequalities will be reproduced as the opportunity to enhance 'cultural capital' also varies.

Education in Western societies is not simply about producing a skilled labour force. It is increasingly geared at moulding particular kinds of future economic actors - 'neoliberal subjects' - fully autonomous individuals (albeit autonomous largely in relation to the economy rather than other aspects of life), exercising rational choice in production and ...