Deconstructing Developmental Psychology

What is childhood? How do actual lived childhoods connect with theories about child development? In this completely revised and updated edition, Deconstructing Developmental Psychology interrogates the assumptions and practices surrounding the psychology of child development, providing a critical evaluation of the role and contribution of developmental psychology within social practice. In the decade since the first edition was published, the role accorded childcare experts and the power of the 'psy complex' have intensified. This book addresses how shifts in advanced capitalism have produced new understandings of children, and a new (and more punitive) range of institutional responses. It engages with the paradoxes of childhood in an era when young adults are increasingly economically dependent on their families, and in a political context of heightened insecurity. The new edition includes an updated review of developments in psychological theory as well as more material on children's rights debates and the changed focus on fathers and fathering. This engaging and accessible text offers critical insights into the politics and procedures that have shaped developmental psychological knowledge. It will be essential reading for anyone working with children, or concerned with policies around children and families. It was also be of interest to students across a range of disciplines, as well as parents and policy makers.Erica Burman is the author of 'Deconstructing Developmental Psychology', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415395625 and ISBN 0415395623.