Sociology Of Childhood And Youth

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This paper is in keeping with the theoretical orientation of a growing body of work in the sociology of childhood and youth that underscores the continuing need to attend to young people’s voices, experiences, and practices, as well as the contextual factors that shape their experiences and life conditions (Corsaro, 2015; James, Jenks, & Prout, 2005; James & Prout, 1997; Qvortrup, 2005; Qvortrup, Bardy, Sgritta, & Wintersberger, 1994). Young people are recognized as complex human beings, social agents, and key contributors to society, but their lives are also understood to be structured and lived out within the context of largely adult-created and administered institutional frameworks. Furthermore, this paper is broadly informed by the normative framework outlined by the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child which specifies young people’s internationally-recognized right to be involved in decisions that affect their lives. As such, institutional decision-makers, including educators and other school officials, have a responsibility to meaningfully engage with the perspectives and experiences of children and youth (Bhabha, 2014). Scholars present diverse views on the function of schools in democratic and capitalist societies. Functionalist approaches assert that public education is an essential mechanism for the production of consensus and stability in society. By socializing the next generation, schools pass on to ‘future citizens’ common worldviews and normative orientations that contribute to the maintenance and continuation of social order (Ghosh & Abdi, 2004, p. 15-16). Other scholars have long been interested in examining the central role schools play in the reproduction of social inequalities (Bourdieu & Passer... ... middle of paper ... ...ople (our social location) that, therefore, involves complex processes of subject formation (Devine, 2011, p. 133; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Willis, 1977). As Devine (2011, p. 133-134) reminds us, immigrant and refugee children have to go to school. Through schools these children and youth are exposed to various messages that shape them according to the various norms of what it means to be a Canadian and who has the right to belong and participate in society. Increasingly, immigrant and refugee youth are also offered supports to help with their social inclusion into Canadian society (LaVasseur, 2008). The process of attending to the perspectives and experiences of young people opens our eyes to the complexity of how schools shape the social inclusion of immigrant and refugee youth, as well as how these young people make sense of the complex array of messages they receive.

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