Module: Philosophy: Perspectives on Childhood

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Philosophy: Perspectives on Childhood
Module Code	HDE1007 (ITS: HD114)
Faculty	Human Development	School	DCU Institute of Education
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

The purpose of this module is to – introduce students to both the discipline of philosophy and a philosophical approach to studying childhood as it emerges over a temporal historical timeline. It discusses and evaluates key philosophical perspectives that offer different accounts of childhood through the ages. It examines how childhood has emerged in the West as a socio-historical construct. It explores some of the contemporary debates about childhood in the context of nature and culture. Central among these is the debate between ‘Liberation vs Caretaking’. Students are expected to attend lectures, contribute to seminars and to engage in online resources on a regular basis

Learning Outcomes

1. Understanding of significant factors that have effected change in western ways of understanding and treating children
2. Develop a critical outlook on ‘childhood', with particular reference to how various constructions of childhood express different philosophies of the human person
3. Identify, differentiate, Examine, Compare and Explain Four Perspectives on Childhood
4. Give examples of Arguments Used For and Against Children’s Rights
5. Demonstrate Awareness of Interdisciplinary Tensions with Respect to Childhood Studies

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	20	No Description
Tutorial	4	No Description
Independent Study	101	No Description
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	20321	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Andrew O'Shea	Module Teacher	David Gibson

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Assignment	n/a	30%	Week 1
Formal Examination	End-of-Semester Final Examination	70%	End-of-Semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

The idea of a ‘perspective'
The idea of a ‘perspective'. The point of historical study with regard to expanding our understanding of human possibilities and appreciating the ‘parochialism of the present'

Four differing perspectives on childhood
Four differing perspectives on childhood: the ‘privative’, the ‘therapeutic’, the ‘privileged’, and the ‘emancipatory’

Clarification of concepts and justification of opinions and beliefs. The importance of dialogue.

Philosophy and Perspective
Philosophy as a form of reflection, with sources in childhood wonder and in early Greek thought. Socrates as exemplary figure of philosopher and teacher

Greek Childhood
Greek childhood especially in the classical period; Plato and Aristotle as defenders of a privative view of childhood

The influence of early Christianity
The sayings of Jesus especially in Matthew's gospel; ideas of childhood as shaped by the debate on infant baptism in the fifth century between Pelagius and Augustine

Child abuse in the ancient world
Conflicting views on prevalence of infanticide, exposure (abandonment), swaddling, wet-nursing and various kinds of mistreatment of children. ‘Psychohistory' and the work of Lloyd de Mause

The Renaissance and its impact on childhood
The printing press and the growth of social literacy; newly invented privacy and interiority; childhood and the ‘civilizing process' (Norbert Elias); New emphasis on family life, importance of ‘indoctrinating' children in religious teachings; the affirmation of ordinary life

The impact of the Reformation
Attitudes to nature in the 18th century; a growth model of development; society as corrupt

Rousseau’s Influence

Modernity and Childhood
The Rise and Fall of Childhood; Aries’ thesis, Postman and the impact of new technologies; schooling and the nation state

Liberation and Caretaking
Children as agents: autonomy, self-determination; Paternalism and Authority

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Sommerville, John: 1990, The Rise and Fall of Childhood, Sage, London,
Plato: 0, The Apology,
de Mause, Lloyd: 1974, The History of Childhood, Souvenir Press, London,
Hope Mason, John: 1979, Hope Mason, John. (1979) (ed.) The Indispensable Rousseau, Quartet Books, New York,
Matthews, Gareth: 1994, ‘Children's Rights', in Matthews, The Philosophy of Childhood, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA,
Rousseau, J.J.: 1979, Émile: or on Education, Basic Books, New York,
Ariès, Philippe: 1967, Centuries of Childhood, Penguin, Harmondsworth,
Cunningham, Hugh: 1995, Children and Childhood in Western Society since 1500, Longman, London and New York,
Shahar, S: 1990, Children in the Middle Ages, Routhledge, London,
Elias, Norbert: 1978, The History of Manners, vol. 1. The Civilising Process., Blackwell, Oxford,
Postman, N: 1994, The Disappearance of Childhood, Vintage, New York,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None