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ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2020-2021)

BES-121: CHILDHOOD AND GROWING UP
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given in the Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private
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these Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular
Answer and for up-to-date and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer

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the official study material provided by the university.

Q1. ‘Universal definition of childhood is not possible’. Justify the statement.

Ans. Concept of Childhood: Children and childhood are familiar terms to us. We all have been

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through the age when we were called ‘children’ and have experienced the phase called ‘childhood’.
Not only childhood but also we have passed through the stages of adolescence with varied
experiences. The word childhood means the state of being a child. Till the end of the twentieth
century the idea of childhood as a separate social category had been paid very little attention.
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According to cultural norms and expectations, the definition of childhood also varies.
As adults, we see children in the same manner and not as unique individuals who have varied
experiences, interests, styles of learning, and knowledge. We often force them to be the way we want
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them to be, which deeply influences children’s development. As teachers or prospective teachers, we
need to develop a familiarity with experiences of children, so that we can question our own
perceptions about ‘the children we teach’. In this Unit, an attempt has been made to become aware of
limitations of our own understandings about children. In order to understand the different
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experiences, it is fair to consider the variety of perspectives of childhood. Let us first examine the
anthropological perspective of childhood.
Anthropological Perspective of Childhood: While examining the anthropological viewpoint, you
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could see that there are no chronological limits of childhood or biological boundaries. From
anthropological viewpoint, childhood can be perceived from five angles. Firstly, children are
socialized to learn and perpetuate a set of norms and customs. According to this view, we may treat
children as small adults in the making, moulded by parents and adults in a community to sustain the
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culture of a society. Secondly, children’s personalities are understood as natural reactions of the
anxieties and cultural aspects in which they grow up with. The emphasis is on how the cultural
patterns are internalized and in turn are reproduced in society. Thirdly, childhood socialization is a
process by which norms, attitudes, ways of thinking and values of society are acquired by children to
enter the next stage of development. This view suggests that child rearing practices are influenced by
the geography, history and ecology of a community, which, in turn, shape the personality of a child.
Fourthly, childhood is viewed in terms of ‘developmental niche’. The ‘developmental niche’ stands
for the framework for examining the cultural structuring of the micro-environment of the child. It also
tries to explain the environment in terms of child’s viewpoint and to understand the process of
development and acquisition of culture. The child is seen as bringing its own temperament, as well as

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species-specific potentials, to the developmental niche provided by its culture. The developmental
niche is divided into three components as given below:
● the physical and social settings in which the child lives (for example, type of house or living
space the child has)
● the customs of child care and child rearing (for example, scheduling of activities such as
sending children to play schools or showing them TV programmes)
● the psychology of the caretakers (for example, do the care takers believe that a regular sleep
schedule is necessary for healthy development).
These three components function together in shaping the developmental experience of a child within
the larger culture. Finally, some anthropologists view childhood itself as a cultural construction
shaped by forces within as well as outside a single cultural community. Children experience culture

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within a family through their daily routine of life. Here daily routine consists of going to school,
religious practices, play, mealtimes and family visits. Generally, culture enters into the mind of a

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child through various growing up experiences. The experiences children had in childhood might have
impacted their adult life. Here we have to remember that child rearing practices vary from culture to
culture and represent an adaptation to different environments. The ways in which children assign

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meaning to their everyday environments, be they city, rural, suburban or discomfort zones and how
they involve in these environments play a major part in shaping children’s lives. In the subsequent
paragraphs, we will be referring to the sociological perspective of childhood.
Sociological Perspective of Childhood: We understood that there exist variety and diversity in
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experiences of children across times and societies. Further, there are different conceptions about child
and childhood across time, societies and contexts. These are so different that it is difficult to have one
idea for child or childhood. Yet, in general as adults, we envision childhood as one category. Such a
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vision is more of a creation or construction, which is not based on an empathetic understanding of

experiences of children. It is shaped by a uniform and narrow vision of society, which may have a
deep implication on lives of children. This way of looking at children seems to be adults’ construction
of childhood. We may agree with Mayall’s (1991) argument that ‘children’s lives are lived through
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childhoods constructed for them by adults’ understanding of childhood and what children are and
should be’.
Childhood as a Social Construction: A social construction can be defined as ‘a theoretical perspective
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that explores the ways in which “reality” is negotiated in everyday life through people’s interactions
and through sets of discourses’ (James & James, 2008, p.122). It focuses on culture and context in
understanding what happens in society and in constructing knowledge based on those
understandings. When we examine the idea of social construction, we have to highlight the following
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points:
● All ways of understanding are culturally and historically relative;
● Our knowledge about the world is constructed through our daily interactions; and
● There are many possible constructions of the world.
You may notice that when developmental psychologists differentiate children from adults on the
basis of ability in a range of domains, social constructionists argue that childhood has more to do with
how people define it; thus making childhood a social construction. Our attitude towards childhood is
influenced by the dominant belief systems of the society in which we live, and so it may vary across
time and culture. We can only begin to understand our views of childhood if we take account of our
own position in a particular social, political and cultural context. The constructed nature of childhood

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becomes more apparent when we contrast the concepts of childhood that prevailed at different
historical periods or in different cultures. Let us discuss the historical perspective of childhood.
Historical Perspective of Childhood: When we try to know the meaning of child in different
societies, it is better to overview the history of the idea of childhood. If one analyses history, one will
realize that meaning and description of children varies across time periods in history. A French
historian named Philippe Aries, analyzed how children were depicted in history. Using works of art,
letters, and many other sources he explored how the meaning of childhood evolved from medieval
times onwards to the present.
Now you know that there have been different ways in which childhood has been perceived in
different times in the history of civilization. For example, children in non-industrial society are treated
differently from children in industrial societies. Therefore, childhood is not a given concept; it is a

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concept which develops through adults’ lenses, and their ways of perceiving children in the society.
Cultural Perspective of Childhood: Variations in our images of childhood can be found not only by

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going back over time but also by travelling through the different cultures in the world. In different
cultures there is a variation in children’s social position and roles. These variations are seen between
rural and urban areas, among different communities, and among different countries.

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You might have inferred that child rearing practices are important in shaping the personality of
children. Even today there are variations in our images of childhood when we compare different
parts of the world with different cultural traditions. What is normal in one society may not be
acceptable in another. These differences are due to the rearing practices as how children are talked to,
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held or played with. Thus we may say that each society sets out to produce children with personality
characteristics that fit in with its own values. The social and cultural contexts in which children grow
up exert influences in making sense of the social world of the child. Thus, you may say that there is
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no single universal definition of childhood. Childhood differs across time, place and culture.
Q2. Describe the life-span perspective of child development.
Ans. The perspectives of child development discussed so far have paid little attention to the adult
years of the life–span. While examining the modern perspectives, we could realize that they
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emphasize the importance of viewing human development as a lifelong process. If development

continues from conception to death, the science of development consists of the study of those changes
and continuities which the life - span perspective takes into consideration. It is not related to a specific
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area of development (for example, psycho-social) or age period (adolescence) rather, it attempts to
understand the development of an individual throughout the life within a changing socio-cultural
context. Think of yourself as an infant, as a child, as an adolescent and an adult and imagine how
those years influenced the kind of individual you are today. Let us now explore the concept of life-
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span development and its importance in understanding development of an individual, and also
discuss various sources of contextual influences.
According to the life-span perspective, human development is multiply determined and cannot be
understood within the scope of a single framework. It is a field of study that examines patterns of
growth, change and stability in behaviour that occur the entire life-span. We all know that no single
stage of a person’s life (such as infancy, early childhood, later childhood, adolescence, adulthood and
old age) can be understood apart from its origins and its consequences. To understand a specific
stage, the interplay of social, environmental and historical changes must also be considered.
Selective Optimization with Compensation Model (SOC): Paul Baltes and his colleagues developed
a model named Selective Optimization with Compensation Model (SOC) wherein an interaction
between three processes, i.e., selection, compensation and optimization are depicted. Selection

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processes serve to choose goals, and life tasks, whereas optimization and compensation lead to
enhancing chosen goals. For example, older musicians may reduce the number of pieces they play
(selection), rehearse them more often (optimization), and sing them in a lower key
(compensation).This way they continue their music concerts. Take another example, suppose a child’s
ambition is to become a doctor, among the various careers s/he has opted for the profession of a
doctor (selection) based on her/his interests and aptitude. S/he has to work hard to score good marks
in science subjects (optimization). If s/he lacks current scientific knowledge will do additional
readings to increase the knowledge in new scientific areas (compensation).Here you can see that for
achieving desired ambition, the child acquired and applied goal relevant means and practise goal-
relevant skills.. The basic assumption of the selective optimization with compensation (SOC) model is
that the three processes form a system of behavioural action that generates and regulates

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development and aging.
By becoming older, individuals select from a range of possibilities due to two reasons) i) Elective

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selection and ii) Loss based selection. Elective selection occurs when one chooses to reduce one’s
involvement to fewer domains as a result of new tasks. For example, during 10th class, students drop
out of some social organizations because of more time required for her/his studies. Loss based

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selection occurs when one reduced involvement in some other activities as a result of expected losses
in personal or environmental resources. Or it refers to restructuring of one’s goal hierarchy by
emphasizing on the most important goal. Compensation means the use of alternative methods when
the earlier preferred methods lost its effectiveness. It is different from selection in the sense that
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selection refers to choice of goals whereas compensation refers to choice of methods. For example, a
visually impaired student who loses her/ his ability in reading may compensate in reading by using
Braille system.
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The last process is optimization which refers to the application of methods adopted to achieve
selected goals. Optimization involves minimizing losses and maximizing gains. The focus of
optimization is on the best match possible between one’s resources (biological, psychological, and
socio-cultural) and one’s desired goals. As individuals cannot achieve optimal outcomes in
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everything, development becomes an active process of selecting the right goals and sometimes
compensating to achieve the desired goal.
Characteristics of Life-Span Perspective: Life-span development expert, Paul Bates and his
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colleagues provide many of the main approaches to human development based on this perspective.
They highlighted the following features of life-span perspective as follows:
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Educational Implication of Life-Span Perspective:

The major contribution of life-span perspective in the field of education reflects in the concept and
goals of education. Traditionally, you may define the goal of education in terms of either normative
or differential views of individual development. You may know that a normative pattern of
development has led to the focus on developmental tasks. On the contrary, the focus on individual
differences emphasizes on differentiation and individualization of educational objectives. But in life-
span perspective, both normative and differential developmental patterns that take place in various
sociocultural contexts are taken into consideration. Moreover, educational goals must be responsive
to social change and education can also direct the nature of such change. Through this perspective,
the role of education that helps individuals to acquire the generic skills for adapting and optimizing
their development in relation to social change and future change is possible.

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Another area where this perspective has contributed is in instructional methodology. Individual
differences in almost every type of intellectual capacity increases throughout one’s life-span. Here lies

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the importance for individualized instruction in education. Open and distance learning which caters
most to the needs of adult learners has taken into account the aspect of individual differences and the
instructional methodology to be used. Based on the life-span perspective, your role as a teacher is to

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be a facilitator instead of director of learning. When society and teacher determine education of
children, it is children’s freedom to decide the method of learning. You may feel that how
developmental changes in the children across the life-span focus the need for developmentally
appropriate classroom. It is a classroom where children can initiate their own learning and meets the
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needs of each child by providing materials that are age appropriate, individually appropriate, and
culturally appropriate. This perspective also underlines the need for qualitatively different types of
training for teacher trainees working with different age groups. In order to facilitate and optimize the
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development of learners, it is necessary to provide varying educational opportunities. In short,

through the life-span perspective the concept of education broadens beyond the traditional concept of
education.
Q3. Analyze the role played by the national organizations in protecting child rights. Discuss the
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areas in which more attention is needed for the implementation of child rights.
Ans. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): The landmark in the history
of child rights is the Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) which was adopted by the UN General
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Assembly in 1989. The convention states that the “children should be fully prepared to live an
individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the
United Nations”.
Signed in 1990, the convention guides all actions which are to be provided for all children without
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parental care. CRC strongly establishes that it is the responsibility of the family to protect and care the
child and the government and other agencies should ensure support to provide healthy child family
relationship.
Now let us familiarize ourselves with some of the articles made by the convention to protect the
rights of children. Article 1 deals with the definition of a child. The Convention defines a ‘child’ as a
person below the age of 18, unless the laws of a particular country set the legal age for adulthood
younger.
Article 2 states that no child should be treated unfairly on any basis, caste, creed, colour, sex, socio-
economic status, language, culture, etc. Article 3 deals with the protection of the best interests of the
child. Article 4 gives responsibility to the Government to take all possible measures to make sure
children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. Article 5 respects the responsibilities, rights

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and duties of parents towards the child. Article 6 states that ‘Children have the right to live.
Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily’.
Article 9 has underlined that children must not be separated from their parents without their will.
Article 11 gives the responsibility to the Governments to take steps to stop children being taken out of
their own country illegally. This article criticizes parental abductions and against the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography. Article 12 deals with respect for the views of the child, 13
and 14 are related to child’s freedom of expression. It recommends child’s right to express her/his
views regarding the decisions taken by the adult that affect them, right to share information in any
way they choose, including by talking, drawing or writing, and their right to think and believe what
they want and to practice their religion.
Article 18 is related to parental responsibilities and duties of the state in helping the parent’s

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assistance. It says ‘Both parents share responsibility for bringing up their children, and should always
consider what is best for each child. Governments must respect the responsibility of parents for

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providing appropriate guidance to their children’. Article 19 (Protection from all forms of violence) is
most important as it suggests that “The children have the right to be protected from being hurt and
mistreated, physically or mentally”. Article 23 (children with disabilities) states that “Children who

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have any kind of disability have the right to special care and support, as well as all the rights in the
Convention, so that they can live full and independent lives”.
Article 24 (Health and health services) and Article 25 (Review of treatment in care) are related with
children’s health and the first one reads thus”Children have the right to good quality health care – the
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best health care possible – safe drinking water, nutritious food, clean and safe environment, and
information to help them stay healthy. Rich countries should help poorer countries achieve this”.
Article 28 and 29 are related with right to education and goals of education. Article 28 says “All
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children have the right to a primary education, which should be free”. Article 29 says, “Children’s
education should develop each child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest”. Article 32
(Child labour) protects child from engaging in harmful and exploitative work. It says “The
government should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their
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education”. Article 33, 34, 35 and 36 are the most important in the present society as these articles
protect children from drug abuse, sexual abuse and abduction and other forms of exploitation.
Article 33 says, “Governments should use all means possible to protect children from the use of
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harmful drugs and from being used in the drug”. Article 34 says, “Governments should protect
children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse” and Article 35 states, “The government
should take all measures possible to make sure that children are not abducted, sold or trafficked”.
Article 37 says that “No one is allowed to punish children in a cruel or harmful way. Children who
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break the law should not be treated cruelly”. Articles 43-54 (implementation measures) suggest how
governments and international organizations like UNICEF ensure that all children are sheltered in
their rights.
It is also worth noticing that Asia has the highest number of orphans due to all causes. Hence, the
governments of the respective Asian countries have to take care of strengthening child welfare
services, programmes to reduce poverty, regulation and monitoring of public care institutions and
enforcement of legislation of law for the protection of children.
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF): United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was formed in 1946 by the United Nations General Assembly
after the World War II. The major purpose of its formation was to help children after World War II in
Europe. In 1953 it became a permanent division of United Nations System.

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United Nations General Assembly made it essential for UNICEF to act for the protection of children’s
rights. It assures the special protection of disadvantaged children who are victims of war, natural
catastrophe, poverty, and other extreme violence and exploitation. It also ensures fulfillment of the
basic needs of children and to extend their opportunities to use their skills and protection. UNICEF is
also responsible for children who are living without parental care.
Some of the issues aimed by UNICEF child protection programmes are:
● Child Labour
● Child Trafficking
● Children in Conflicts and Emergencies
● Children and Justice Children without parental care
● Sexual exploitation

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● Violence and Neglect
Thousands of UNICEF people are working in more than 150 countries in the world. UNICEF has been

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trying to help children make the best start in life, to survive and succeed in emergencies and to go to
school. UNICEF works for achieving Millennium Development Goals set by United Nations in 2000.
Some of the important works in the direction are: ‘Young Child Survival and Development

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programme’ of the federation to reduce child mortality and also providing financial and technical
support to national and community based education and intervention programmes on health care
and nutrition. Moreover, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF
supports local programmes to improve access to basic water and sanitation. In order to support
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millennium development goal, UNICEF with the support of the countries undertakes and supports
various programmes to achieve universal primary education and gender equality. Another significant
contribution is in the field of saving children from HIV/AIDS by undertaking programmes to prevent
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mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS and also provide shelter to the orphans. The Federation
also has done notable works in the area of protecting children living in the environment of violence,
exploitation, sexual abuse, etc. Thus through research, advocacy, partnership, etc UNICEF plays a
critical role in saving the life of children.
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World Health Organisation (WHO): Access to health and health services are not only the need of a
human being but these are fundamental rights too. United Nations Convention on the rights of the
child (CRC) is the basic unit for protecting and achieving these rights. It works for the right standard
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of living and well being of children and young people below 18 years all over the world.
CRC is nominated by World Health Organization (WHO) to regulate the health and development of
children and adolescent internationally. Members from WHO and countries undertake studies about
the needs, obligations and rights of children and adolescents. It also looks for how CRC can be
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utilized by WHO in policy making, planning, monitoring and managing programmes which are
arranged for child and adolescent health.
WHO supports and strengthen the activity of a number of countries that work in favour of rights of
children in their country. Child and Adolescent health (CAH) is also a part of WHO.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR): National Commission for Protection
of Child Rights (NCPCR) was formed in March 2007. It comes under the commission for protection of
child rights act, which became an act of parliament in December 2005. The main purpose of the
commission is to make sure that the laws, policies, programmes and administrative strategies
completely agree with the child rights enlisted in the constitution of India.
The commission tries to merge different responses at the state, district and other smaller levels into
National Policies and Programmes. The Commission tries to include each and every child by going

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deeper and deeper into communities and households and collects all the experiences and brings these
into the consideration of higher level authorities.
Thus the commission plays a commendable role in regulating the activities of state, central and local
bodies for the welfare and well-being of their children. The Commission also has a special cell for
solving problems of school children. The cell works against the mental, physical and emotional
harassment of the children. The complaint against any type of abuses will be informed to the
taluk/district legal services by the cell within 48 hours.
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC): National Human Rights Commission of India
established under the protection of Human Rights ordinance is an autonomous public body
constituted on 12 October 1993 for the protection and promotion of human rights. The NHRC was
given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and is the responsible National

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Human Rights Institution for the protection and promotion of human rights. The Act defines the
human right as “rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by

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the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants”.
Main functions of NHRC are:
● Directly or indirectly inquire about the violation of human rights;

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● Interfere in the court proceeding related to human right;
● Study and make rectifications in the living conditions of people those who are admitted or
lodged in jail or some other institutions for the purpose of different forms of protection or
treatment;
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● Review and assess protection of human rights under constitution and for its implementation;
● Conduct research in the field of human rights;
● Give awareness and engage in human rights education, collaborate with various agencies of
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society and other mediation like publication, seminars and media; and
● Support and encourage NGOs and other institute work for human rights.
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