Dion Sommer

The reconstruction of childhood–implications for theory and practice

Abstract First, the article deals with selected aspects of change that have framed the lives of contemporary families and children in Scandinavia: urbanization; secularization and norm-pluralism; changes in work-conditions; ideologies about the role of mothers; structural changes in family patterns; and the modern professionalization of care. Second, how change induces a crisis in the grand developmental approach within child psychology is investigated. It is argued that any a priori universal and non-contextual derived type of knowledge about development fails to grasp what is going on within families and in care and socialization in rapidly changing cultures such as Scandinavia and other Western European countries. An alternative paradigm is presented that should make us better able to understand development as embedded in culture and time. Third, some new challenges for educating the skilled practitioner are focused upon. Here reflective competence will be addressed: expertise as an ‘eternal process of...

Associations between older maternal age, use of sanctions, and children’s socio-emotional development through 7, 11, and 15 years

Abstract In developed countries more women are giving birth later in life and this trend has been linked with perinatal medical risks as well as with improved psychosocial adaptation. This study examined whether older maternal age was associated with less use of sanctions and with positive child outcome at age 7, 11, and 15. A random population sample of 4741 mothers from the Danish Longitudinal Survey of Children was used. Data were obtained through face-to-face interviews and self-report questionnaires. Older maternal age was associated with less frequent use of verbal and physical sanctions towards children at age 7 and 11. At age 15 this association remained significant for verbal sanctions but not physical sanctions. Older maternal age was associated with fewer behavioral, social and emotional difficulties in children at age 7 and at age 11 but not at age 15. The associations reported were significant independently of all observed demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Introduction: Child Perspectives and Children’s Perspectives – The Scandinavian Context

This book presents a search, a presentation, and a discussion of child perspectives and children’s perspectives that are manifestly or latently occurring in theoretical positions within childhood sociology, selected parts of recent developmental psychology, and pedagogic. The intention is to develop a genuine professional paradigm built on recent child research. Furthermore child-oriented understandings that have relevance for practice as well will be presented in depth.

Adult attachment and the perceived cost of housework and child care

Objective: This study examined the link between new mothers’ attachment orientation and the perceived cost of sole responsibility in housework and child care. Background: The transition to motherhood can be very stressful, and according to the Vulnerability Stress Adaptation Model (VSA model), the way it affects the couple relationship is likely to depend on interacting factors from different domains of risk (e.g. individual and couple level). We expected interactions to appear between domains of attachment and labour division. The hypothesis was that sole responsibility in child care and housework would predict lower relationship satisfaction, particularly among mothers who were high on attachment insecurity. Methods: Data from self-report measures of adult attachment, child care, housework and relationship satisfaction were collected from 255 first-time mothers at six months postpartum. Results: Sole responsibility in child care predicted lower relationship satisfaction, particularly among mothers who were high on attachment avoidance. This interaction effect was significant but small. Among main effects, higher levels of either attachment anxiety or avoidance were linked with lower relationship satisfaction and lower levels of sole responsibility in childcare was linked with higher relationship satisfaction. Conclusion: These findings provide new data on the how risk factors from separate domains combine, and implications are discussed in terms of applying the VSA model when developing preventive interventions for new mothers.

In Search of Child Perspectives and Children’s Perspectives in Childhood Sociology

Selected childhood sociologies are scrutinized for their basic understandings of childhood, children, and child. These questions will be answered: Are child perspectives apparent? If yes: How are children conceptualized in ways that enhance adult’s recognition and awareness of children’s perceptions and life-experiences? Do children’s own experiences take a central position within these bodies of theories? If yes: How do they show and represent children’s own perceptions and life-experiences? The answering of these questions is first pursued within the macro-sociological proposition of childhood as a social structure in society. Second, the micro-sociological paradigm of children as active interpretative reproducers of everyday life culture is evaluated. Third, the explicit fundamental programmatic statements of childhood sociology as the study of “real children” and “the experience of being a child” are investigated. Last the ethnographic, interpretative empirical approach used by childhood sociologists is searched for child perspectives and children’s perspectives.

Values at stake in late modernity relationships between maternal educational background, childrearing views, sanctions and children’s temperament

SummarySome perspectives on society, family and childhood leave us with the impression that contemporary children are growing up in a post-traditional society that has decisively broken away from previous values. Based on a representative study of specific maternal childrearing values in a Scandinavian welfare society (Denmark) this article will present results that challenge this proposition. The actual degree of change and continuity is discussed, highlighting some important relationships between maternal vocational/educational background, childrearing beliefs, sanctions and the child’s temperamental style.RésuméL’étude de société, de la famille et de l’enfance donnent l’impression que les enfants d’aujourd’hui grandissent dans une société post-traditionnelle qui a rompue de façon décisive avec les valeurs préexistantes. Fondé sur une étude représentative des valeurs maternelles d’éveil spécifiques à l’état providence dans la société scandinave (Danemark), cet article présente des résultats relatifs à cette analyse. Le réel degré de changement, comme de continuité est examiné, soulignant l’importance des relations entre le contexte maternel éducatif et professionnel, les dogmes liés à l’éveil, les sanctions et le caractère de l’enfant.ResumenAlgunas perspectivas de la sociedad, la familia y la niñez, nos dan la impresión de que los niños de hoy crecen en una sociedad post-tradicional que se ha separado definitivamente de los valores de las sociedades previas. Sobre la base de una investigación representativa de los valores maternales especificos de una sociedad escandinava tradicional (Dinamarca), éste artículo presenta los resultados que discuten esta proposición valòrica. Se critica el nivel acutal de cambio y de continuación, subrayando algunas relaciones importantes entre la formación profesional de la madre, convencimientos de cómo educar al niño, sanciones y el tipo de temperamento del niño.

Turboladet globalisering og den fremtidsparate skole - en vision

Jacob Klitmoller och Dion Sommer tar sin utgangpunkt i den snabbt okade globaliseringen nar de presenterar sin vision om den ”den fremtidsparate skole”, det vill saga en skola som forbereder dagens ...

Target article incl. comments:Turboladet globalisering og den fremtidsparate skole - en vision

Jacob Klitmoller och Dion Sommer tar sin utgangpunkt i den snabbt okade globaliseringen nar de presenterar sin vision om den ”den fremtidsparate skole”, det vill saga en skola som forbereder dagens ...

What Can We Learn About Child Perspectives and Children’s Perspectives from Empirical Research?

The empirical studies presented in this chapter all look for children’s expressions and perspectives as far as it is possible for an adult to grasp them. In some respect, children express themselves verbally and in others, bodily, so evidently it all becomes a question of the researcher’s skill in putting herself or himself in the child’s position. Video technology has here become a great help in interpreting children’s perspectives. Many of the studies presented here are worked out together with teachers by staging what the researchers want to study, and by this also function as an eye opener for teachers. What we primarily can learn from the presented research studies is that children are often more capable than was earlier thought; teachers are often surprised about this when they discover children’s perspectives and intentions. A Conclusion one can make is also that to become aware of young children’s capabilities, where their perspectives may be traced, adults must look for them – believe they exist! This means that child perspective is a prerequisite for seeing the child’s perspective or, in other words, children’s perspectives cannot be analysed and described if we do not bear the child perspective in mind.

In Search of Theoretical Preconditions for an Early Childhood Education Built on Children’s Perspectives

The central theoretical ideas in this early childhood pedagogy framework are as follows: (1) What we can do, what we can know, springs from what we can “see”, what we can experience or perceive. (2) More and less powerful ways of acting and knowing originate from more and less powerful ways of “seeing”, perceiving, or experiencing something. (3) Ways of seeing and experiencing a certain phenomenon can be defined in terms of the aspects of the phenomenon discerned by learners and focused on simultaneously. (4) In order to discern a certain aspect of a certain phenomenon, the learner has to experience variation in the dimension of that aspect. (5) A certain pattern of variation and invariance is necessary for the learner to experience variation in the dimension of a critical aspect (it must vary while other dimensions are invariant). Each of these points is here discussed and related to children’s perspectives and child perspectives.