Abstract

PRADO, Renata Lopes Costa  and  VOLTARELLI, Monique Aparecida. Childhood social studies: discussing the constitution of a field in the light of Bourdieu. Rev. Elet. Educ. [online]. 2018, vol.12, n.1, pp.279-297. ISSN 1982-7199.  https://doi.org/10.14244/198271991893.

This article seeks to draw upon Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the scientific field in order to better understand the emergence of childhood social studies. This field views children as actors with significant participation in the construction of history and culture, and childhood as a social construction and also as a structural category subordinate in society. By means of a theoretical essay, the ruptures and paradigmatic changes relating to three important fields - anthropology, psychology and sociology, all of which encompass the study of children and the childhood - will be emphasized. The panoramic presentation of dominant trends in these areas and aspects that were the subject to criticism from researchers of childhood social studies will allow differences between traditional paradigms and emerging ones to be illuminated, whilst also allowing for common and shared influences between one field and another to be observed. It is argued here that reflecting on a scientific object is breaking away from common sense (established by speeches over time) and socially accepted scientific representations. The article concludes by proposing that the theory of scientific fields provides a productive field for analyzing the development of childhood social studies. In this regard, other studies which aim to follow up on the discussions presented here are suggested.

Keywords : Childhood Social Studies; Scientific Field; Paradigms.

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