For a long time, scientific knowledge on children and childhood was almost exclusively produced by educationalists and developmental psychologists. In recent years, however, a new approach originating in Europe was added: childhood sociology. This book introduces this approach by presenting a collection of essays from various European countries: France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. The articles cover a wide range of methodologies as well as subject areas in the field of childhood sociology, giving a picture of the life situation of contemporary children in Europe and arguing how childhood researchers can come to terms with new trends and facts of (post-)modern childhood.
