Schooling the Child: The Making of Students in Classrooms.

SCHOOLING THE CHILD: The Making of Students in Classrooms. Helena Austin, Bronwyn Dwyer, and Peter Freebody. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003. 209 pp. Paperback, $44.95. This informative, well-structured text documents and critiques contemporary theorizations of childhood. The specific categorization of childhood has extensive implications for the ways in which young "human beings" are treated and for the nature of their participation in social life and, most specifically, in the cultural experience. The book shows how the child has been "de-naturalized," seen as incompetent, at best, and therefore in need of being guided toward becoming the "ideal" person--in this case, the adult. The authors critique the prevalence and popularity of incompetence and pre-competence theorizations of childhood. The authors believe that too many researchers focus on the child in a limited way--that is, only in relation to a conception of the adult.

This book explores the significance of schooling in the formation of childhood. The authors draw upon theoretical perspectives and empirical research from history, psychology, and sociology, reconsidering the relationship between social culture and everyday social practice. In revealing fashion, Schooling the Child demonstrates that the concept of the child, like all categories of people, is locally driven--thus becoming whatever the societal institution enacts it to be. The book is enhanced by its final reflection on how the authors have contributed to answering their initial questions: "what/when/how is a child?" Reviewed by William Guedes Cortezia, Miami Teaching Fellow, Miami, FL, and Doctoral Student and Lecturer at Barry University, Miami Shores, FL