Berry Mayall

In Britain, class differences in children’s health remain wide, and it is often assumed that an important contributory factor is class differences in the attitudes and behaviours of mothers. Originally published in 1986, Keeping Children Healthy draws on an empirical study to throw light on mothers’ actual health care of their young children and to consider what differences, if any, there are between groups of mothers. The book is about how women care for their children’s health: what they think matters, what they actually do, and what affects their actions. Throughout, mothers’ perspectives are considered in the light of the social and material context of their family lives: their income, their housing, the neighbourhood, the network of friends and relatives, access to services, and the quality of services available. The author shows that mothers have a highly responsible approach to child health care, and high standards for good health in children, despite the fact that socially disadvantaged mothers have to contend with many constraints in caring for their children as they wish. A central aspect of the book is the question of whom mothers turn to for help, and what they consider to be the role of professionals in helping them in their child care work. Indeed, the book provides essential and illuminating reading for all those who have professional dealings with the parents of young children such as doctors, social workers, health visitors and teachers and the policy makers and administrators who plan and run health and day care services. Parents who work continuously to ensure their children’s health will find much to recognize and much to think about in this book.

In Britain, class differences in children’s health remain wide, and it is often assumed that an important contributory factor is class differences in the attitudes and behaviours of mothers. Originally published in 1986, Keeping Children Healthy draws on an empirical study to throw light on mothers’ actual health care of their young children and to consider what differences, if any, there are between groups of mothers. The book is about how women care for their children’s health: what they think matters, what they actually do, and what affects their actions. Throughout, mothers’ perspectives are considered in the light of the social and material context of their family lives: their income, their housing, the neighbourhood, the network of friends and relatives, access to services, and the quality of services available. The author shows that mothers have a highly responsible approach to child health care, and high standards for good health in children, despite the fact that socially disadvantaged mothers have to contend with many constraints in caring for their children as they wish. A central aspect of the book is the question of whom mothers turn to for help, and what they consider to be the role of professionals in helping them in their child care work. Indeed, the book provides essential and illuminating reading for all those who have professional dealings with the parents of young children such as doctors, social workers, health visitors and teachers and the policy makers and administrators who plan and run health and day care services. Parents who work continuously to ensure their children’s health will find much to recognize and much to think about in this book.

This book addresses the inter-linked lives and fortunes of children and women in the first two decades of the twentieth century in England. This was a time of shifts in thinking and practice about children’s and women’s status, lived lives and experiences. The book provides a detailed explanation of how children experienced home, neighbourhood and elementary school; as well as discussing the impact of the women’s movement, namely its suffrage and socialist work. These two concerns are linked by the work women did about and for children. Essentially, the book explores childhood and womanhood; generation and gender; and socialism and feminism. Using existing studies on women’s work, and autobiographies and interviews about childhood, Mayall argues that women played a large part in re-thinking childhood as a special period in life, and children as participants in learning and in politics. This book will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of history, education and sociology,particularly those interested in the women’s movement, and the history of childhood.

This book addresses the inter-linked lives and fortunes of children and women in the first two decades of the twentieth century in England. This was a time of shifts in thinking and practice about children’s and women’s status, lived lives and experiences. The book provides a detailed explanation of how children experienced home, neighbourhood and elementary school; as well as discussing the impact of the women’s movement, namely its suffrage and socialist work. These two concerns are linked by the work women did about and for children. Essentially, the book explores childhood and womanhood; generation and gender; and socialism and feminism. Using existing studies on women’s work, and autobiographies and interviews about childhood, Mayall argues that women played a large part in re-thinking childhood as a special period in life, and children as participants in learning and in politics. This book will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of history, education and sociology,particularly those interested in the women’s movement, and the history of childhood.

Children, their World, their Education is the definitive text for students, teachers, researchers, educational leaders and all who are interested in primary education. As the culmination of the Cambridge Primary Review, the most comprehensive enquiry into English primary education for half a century, its publication provoked instant and dramatic headlines. Widespread support from teachers and eminent public figures demonstrated that the book had identified the issues that really mattered. Ministerial unease showed that here were findings that politicians could not ignore. But Children, their World, their Education is much more than a report. It is an unrivalled educational compendium that systematically covers the issues that are central to the daily work of students, teachers and heads. For trainee teachers on undergraduate and postgraduate courses it effectively maps the territory of primary education and provides the context, information and insight which are essential to the development of classroom skill. Its vast range of carefully evaluated evidence makes it a core resource for those undertaking research and advanced study. Its direct engagement with the policy process during a period of unprecedented change makes it an indispensable tool for policy analysis. It places England’s education system in the global context, and combines evidence on recent developments with a vision of how primary education should be. Part 1 sets the scene and tracks primary education policy since the 1960s. Part 2 examines children’s development and learning, their needs and aspirations, and their lives in a diverse society and fragile world. Part 3 explores what goes on in schools, from the vital early years to educational aims and values, the curriculum, pedagogy and classroom practice, assessment, standards and school organisation. Part 4 deals with the system as a whole: educational ages and stages, the work and training of primary teachers, school leadership, local authorities, funding, governance and policy. Part 5 pulls everything together with 78 conclusions and 75 recommendations for policy and practice. Companion volume: The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys, edited by Robin Alexander with Christine Doddington, John Gray, Linda Hargreaves and Ruth Kershner. The Cambridge Primary Review is supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: www.primaryreview.org.uk.

Children, their World, their Education is the definitive text for students, teachers, researchers, educational leaders and all who are interested in primary education. As the culmination of the Cambridge Primary Review, the most comprehensive enquiry into English primary education for half a century, its publication provoked instant and dramatic headlines. Widespread support from teachers and eminent public figures demonstrated that the book had identified the issues that really mattered. Ministerial unease showed that here were findings that politicians could not ignore. But Children, their World, their Education is much more than a report. It is an unrivalled educational compendium that systematically covers the issues that are central to the daily work of students, teachers and heads. For trainee teachers on undergraduate and postgraduate courses it effectively maps the territory of primary education and provides the context, information and insight which are essential to the development of classroom skill. Its vast range of carefully evaluated evidence makes it a core resource for those undertaking research and advanced study. Its direct engagement with the policy process during a period of unprecedented change makes it an indispensable tool for policy analysis. It places England’s education system in the global context, and combines evidence on recent developments with a vision of how primary education should be. Part 1 sets the scene and tracks primary education policy since the 1960s. Part 2 examines children’s development and learning, their needs and aspirations, and their lives in a diverse society and fragile world. Part 3 explores what goes on in schools, from the vital early years to educational aims and values, the curriculum, pedagogy and classroom practice, assessment, standards and school organisation. Part 4 deals with the system as a whole: educational ages and stages, the work and training of primary teachers, school leadership, local authorities, funding, governance and policy. Part 5 pulls everything together with 78 conclusions and 75 recommendations for policy and practice. Companion volume: The Cambridge Primary Review Research Surveys, edited by Robin Alexander with Christine Doddington, John Gray, Linda Hargreaves and Ruth Kershner. The Cambridge Primary Review is supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: www.primaryreview.org.uk.

"...explores some very timely and critical issues in the current development of Childhood Studies... It will be especially valuable for students because it integrates concrete empirical studies with reflection on underlying theoretical assumptions." - Leena Alanen, Professor in Early Childhood Education, University of Jyvaskyla, FinlandThis important book moves the sociology of childhood forward. Berry Mayall argues, that, since childhood is a permanent component of society, in order to understand how society works, we must take account of children as well as adults, otherwise our explanation omits an important social group. Children's lives are shaped by policies and practices, but they are also agents, who make a life for themselves through their relationships with adults and other children. This book argues that feminist theory and practice is useful for understanding childhood; we should start from the children's own accounts to show how the organisation of social relations provides an explanation for their social position. This is a political book: through analysis of children's own descriptions and evaluations of childhood, it argues for an improved social status of childhood, including respecting children's rights. The book also shows that in order to understand childhood we must take account of both child-adult relations (generational relations) and gender relations. It is essential reading for childhood sociologists and feminists, and for all those seeking to raise the social status of childhood. It is highly recommended to students of childhood studies, at all levels.

Argues the need for schools to examine the school environment and its effects on children's and staff's well-being.