Educational transformation of communities is often focused on school-based initiatives, but parenting offers forth a powerful site for antiracist change. This self-study details how I, a White parent and antiracist teacher educator, both challenged "and" perpetuated whiteness while facilitating antiracist parenting sessions for White…

The basic assumption underlying this article is that the really significant changes in human history are those that occur, not in the mechanical gadgets which men use nor in the institutionalized arrangements by which they live, but in their attitudes and in the values which they accept. The revolutions of the past that have had the greatest…

This paper offers critical reflections on parenting education in its social context. The paper is informed by a feminist perspective, and by a structural approach to practice that emphasizes the importance of changing social structures. An introductory section explores the impact of the ideologies of the traditional family, and of motherhood and…

Arguing that the contemporary cultural model of socially appropriate mothering takes the form of an ideology of "intensive mothering," this book explores the contradictions manifested by pressures on mothers to expend time, energy, and resources on raising children when so many women are in the workplace, and by the unselfish nurturing…

This study investigated Koreans' understanding of and agreement with Korean proverbs concerning the parent-child relationship. Ninety-five proverbs were selected from literature and categorized into nine areas: value of a child, affection toward a child, boy-preference, positive or negative affection toward a daughter, importance of a child's…

Describes an empirical association between the ethnic homogeneity or heterogeneity of an individual's network of primary relations and his or her attitudes toward free speech and child rearing. (RL)

Investigated as a function of adults' birth cohort--a group of adults born during a specific time period--were beliefs influencing current attitudes toward parenting that prevail in England and the United States. Particular attention was given to the value attached to parental role in relation to the specific roles of spouse and worker. The total…

Seven focus groups were held in an Appalachian county in western North Carolina to examine residents' socially constructed identity as "mountain people." The groups were asked seven general discussion questions about social change, quality of life, and the terms "mountain people" and "Southerners." In striking…

Uses the 1988 film "A World Apart" as a focus for commentary on the controversial topic of involving children in political activism. Analyzes Hannah Arendt's writings for opinions on childhood activism, contrasting Arendt's views with those of Robert Coles. Gives examples from the desegregation crisis in the United States, China's Maoist…

Describes changes in the family and society between the modern (first half of the century) and the postmodern period (second half). Presents sentiments, values, and perceptions of the modern nuclear family and the postmodern permeable family, and how early childhood education has been defined by each. Discusses current disputes over what form of…

The major theme of American childhood in the 20th century has been the rise and then the beginning decline of modern childhood. The term "modern childhood" refers to a particular constellation of adult attitudes and institutional arrangements, the heart of which is the belief that children should occupy a world of their own, separate from the…

Three factors central to the development of modern attitudes toward childhood are awareness that children and adults differ, the definition of women's primary role as maternal, and the increasingly complex demands made on adults. The combined pressures of feminism and the accessibility of broadcast media are changing these factors significantly.…

This paper comments on and suggests alternatives to assumptions concerning child-rearing currently held by many Australians. That family-child relationships change as societies and economies change is a fact not commonly taken for granted, but is a conclusion reached by scholars examining the history of childhood. Recently in Australia, as…

Although most nineteenth-century American parents relied staunchly on common sense in raising their children, by the 1920s numerous parent education programs had been established to urge a scientific approach to child rearing. Today, American parents are besieged with medical and psychological advice about bringing up "normal" children.…

Over the last generation, parents have felt more and more intimidated by child care "experts" and have increasingly surrendered their role as the primary educators of their children. On the premise that theories of development, often colored by ideological positions on the family and its function in society, should take a back seat to…