معنا و ساخت دوران کودکی در عصر جهانی شدن: چالش های مددکاری اجتماعی

Little attention has been paid in social work literature to the ways in which forces of globalization are shaping understandings of childhood, policies affecting children and youth, and the everyday lives of young people. The authors argue that this lack of attention is problematic given the growing evidence of the effects of globalization on the experiences of children and youth and the implications for social work practice with young people in the U.S. The authors explore the relationship between childhood and globalization, paying particular attention to the social construction of childhood and the logic and practices of neoliberalism. Five distinct yet interrelated processes through which globalizing forces affect children's lives are put forth and addressed: marketization, marginalization, medicalization, militarization, and mobilization. The authors argue that these processes shape not only the experiences of children and youth but also social work policies and practices. They offer diverse examples of ways in which these forces play out and consider the implications for contemporary social work practice.

Confronted with the urgency of 21st century political and economic crises regarding issues from health care and welfare, to employment, immigration, and social security, social workers in the U.S. are starting to turn their attention to questions of globalization and the implications for social work practice (Kilty and Segal, 2006 and Polack, 2004). Some have addressed ways in which forces of globalization are connected to changes and challenges in domestic social policies and practices (Dominelli, 1999, Ife, 2000, Reisch, 1998 and Reisch, 2006). Others have engaged in debates over the risks and benefits of globalization and considered the relevance for social justice and human rights (Polack, 2004, Ferguson et al., 2005, Midgley, 2004 and Van Wormer, 2005). However, there has been little discussion within the profession of the ways in which forces of political and economic globalization shape our understandings of childhood, the policies affecting children and youth, or the everyday lives of young people. When attention is paid to children in the era of globalization, the focus is generally on children facing the ravages of war, famine, disease, and displacement outside U.S. borders. Social workers in the U.S. tend to see these concerns as distinct and separable from the everyday domestic struggles of the child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and mental health systems. This lack of attention is problematic because there is growing evidence that forms and processes of globalization are insinuating themselves into the lives of children, transforming the experiences of children and youth, and reconfiguring the very meaning of childhood and nature of child-serving institutions in the process (Chin, 2003, Fass, 2007 and Stephens, 1995). The effects of globalization on children can be felt both directly, through policies that have reduced the social safety net or excluded certain young people from institutions of childhood, and indirectly, through changing ideas about the dangers and dangerousness of youth. In this article we make connections between childhood and globalization and provoke discussion about the everyday effects of globalization in children's lives. We challenge social workers in the U.S. to ask questions about the processes and consequences of globalization in relationship to their practice with children and youth and to consider why a critical literacy regarding globalization and neoliberalism might be relevant to practice. We draw on a burgeoning interdisciplinary social science literature that addresses conceptions of childhood, children's experiences, and intergenerational relationships in the context of globalization to explore several questions (Cole and Durham, 2007, Cole and Durham, 2008, de Block and Buckingham, 2007, Fass, 2007 and Stephens, 1995). What is the relationship between globalization and childhood? How are processes of globalization shaping not only the lives of children but also the very meanings of childhood? What do social workers in the U.S. need to understand about processes of globalization, the social construction of childhood, and the relationship between the two in order to have a context for assessing and addressing the implications for social work policy and practice with children in a global era? We begin by presenting our understanding of globalization and, in particular, we address how economic globalization has been shaped by the logic and practices of neoliberalism. We draw from contemporary social work scholarship on the ideology and policies of neoliberalism and the consequences in the lives of marginalized groups to make the case for why these issues matter for practice with children and youth (George, 2006, Ife, 2000, Karger, 2005, Kilty, 2006, Kingfisher, 2002, Reese, 2007 and Reisch, 2006).We contend that a critical grasp of economic globalization and neoliberalism is key to understanding not only the contemporary context of practice with children and youth, but also the very ways in which childhood and youth are being constructed at this moment of deep economic uncertainty. Second, we address childhood as a social construction, considering the dynamic nature of the meaning of childhood and experiences of children across space and time. This paradigm of childhood challenges the dominant view within social work of childhood as a universal experience marked by predictable stages of bio-psycho-social development. It informs thinking about the ways in which ideas about children and childhood as well as the realities of children's lives are configured within particular political, economic, cultural, and historical contexts and encourages research on the links between a changing global order and the lives of children and youth. Finally, we put forth five distinct yet interrelated processes through which globalizing forces affect the everyday lives of children: 1) marketization, 2) marginalization, 3) medicalization, 4) militarization, and 5) mobilization. We contend that these processes not only shape the experiences of children, but also shape the ways in which we construct both our understandings of childhood and the institutions, policies, and practices directed at children and youth. We suggest that these processes and their consequences matter to social workers concerned with the most intimate aspects of children's lives and well-being – in their families, schools, neighborhoods, and playgrounds – as well as in systems and institutions of child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and mental health. We conclude with consideration of the implications of these processes for social work practice with children and youth in the U.S.