The topics in this module cover issues regarding the diversity of children’s lives globally in a range of settings including family peer group, school and community. The conceptual focus is the inter-relationship between global and local representations and practices as it affects children and those around them. Various markers of difference and diversity, such as race, ethnicity, culture, gender, are examined in terms of their implications for children’s schooling and wellbeing as well as the diversity in family structures and the shifting notion of nuclear family globally. Finally, notions of child protection are discussed and problematised, especially drawing on international attempts to safeguard children.

The aims of this module are to:

• Examine the complex relationship between children’s lives, conceptions of childhood and global pressures and influences;
• Explore the impact of migration on children and its implications for schooling;
• Interrogate inter-generational and inter-cultural relations in families;
• Explore a number of themes relating to race ethnicity and schooling; and
• Analyse the nature of child protection at global and national levels