Abstract
In Danish kindergartens and schools children are increasingly assessed and evaluated. Not only academic skills are scrutinized but also the children's personalities and behaviour. This is allegedly done for their own good - to protect the children from unbeneficial development or lack of development. However, such assessment practices can be viewed as ideological operations that guard society against unwanted aspects of human life, and as such they can tell us about the present limits to freedom in our society: What is feared and repressed and what is encouraged and cultivated? Foucauldian and social constructivist theory can help with such analyses, but with inspiration from German critical theory we may also be able comment more normatively on the present for assessing children's personalities and behaviour.
Translated title of the contribution | Child Assessments: The Limits of Acceptable Subjectivity and an experiment with German Critical Theory |
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Original language | Finnish |
Title of host publication | Suojeltu lapsuus? : Raportti Lapsuudentutkimuksen päiviltä 2011 |
Editors | Emma Aalto, Maarit Alasuutari, Tarja Heino, Tuuli Lamponen, Niina Rutanen |
Number of pages | 5 |
Volume | Raportti 51/2011 |
Place of Publication | Helsinki |
Publisher | Tampereen Yliopisto |
Publication date | 2011 |
Pages | 18-22 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-952-245-579-6 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-952-245-580-2 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Event | 4th Finnish Childhood Studies Conference: Protected childhood? - House of Science and Letters, Helsinki, Finland Duration: 6 Jul 2011 → 8 Jul 2011 Conference number: 4 |
Conference
Conference | 4th Finnish Childhood Studies Conference |
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Number | 4 |
Location | House of Science and Letters |
Country/Territory | Finland |
City | Helsinki |
Period | 06/07/2011 → 08/07/2011 |
Keywords
- Childhood
- Testing
- Assessement
- Critical theory