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Introduction to Part III
No full textThe Introduction to Part III presents the last four main chapters of the book, which thoroughly investigate how migration and the recent ‘refugee crisis’ affected children’s well-being and status in the Southern European countries of Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy, and also how the governments and policy makers responded to these critical conditions. The Introduction emphasizes the sociological angle of all these case studies, which focuses upon (1) the effects of contemporary power relations on children’s subjectivity, and the political management of refugee and migrant families and children’s well-being and prosperity, social integration and education; and (2) the experiences of the refugee and immigrant children themselves. © Lourdes Gaitán, Yannis Pechtelidis, Catarina Tomás and Natália Fernandes 2020. All rights reserved
Institutionalization and familization of childhood through leisuresport activities in Italy
No full textSports are an essential part of the lives of millions of European citizens. In Italy, organized or informal sports activities are currently practiced by most children and young people, not only for purely physical reasons, but also for their socio-educational values and health benefits. In addition to this, children’s sports have recently faced an unexpected transformation, becoming a ‘family leisure activity’, given the amount of time that parents spend following and supporting their sons and daughters. Today’s parents are responding to new expectations about parenting: they are expected to be ‘involved’ parents who actively engage with their children but are also deemed responsible for ensuring children have a good childhood. Given the central role that sports play in meeting this challenge, children’s involvement in sport is a key site for observing the construction of modern childhood and the new patterns of parent/child relations in Italy
On the book: Yannis Pechtelidis / Yvon Kosma, Wild/Holy Children: demarcations of "childhood" in discourse
No full textΤο βιβλίο των Υβόν Κοσμά και Γιάννη Πεχτελίδη πραγματεύεται τα όρια της παιδικής ηλικίας στους μυθοπλαστικούς λόγους τριών δημοφιλών αφηγημάτων με ήρωες παιδιά: Ο άρχοντας των μυγών του Γ. Γκόλντινγκ (1954), Η νύχτα που βασίλεψαν τα παιδιά του Μ. Λεντερίκ (1981), και Πάντυ Κλάρκ, Χα Χα Χα του Ρ. Ντόυλ (1993). Tα βιβλία εκδόθηκαν σε διαφορετικές χρονικές περιόδους γνωρίζοντας παγκόσμια επιτυχία, ενώ μεταφράστηκαν και στα ελληνικά. Στόχος των συγγραφέων είναι να μελετήσουν κριτικά τις κυρίαρχες αναπαραστάσεις της παιδικής ηλικίας χρησιμοποιώντας τα εννοιολογικά εργαλεία της κοινωνιολογίας της παιδικής ηλικίας και της ανάλυσης λόγου.
Τα τρία αφηγήματα επεξεργάζονται υπαρξιακές αγωνίες και φόβους που είναι πιθανό να έχουν νιώσει τόσο οι συγγραφείς όσο και το αναγνωστικό τους κοινό. Παρά τον μυθοπλαστικό τους χαρακτήρα, τα αφηγήματα εν μέρει αντλούν το υλικό τους από την καθημερινότητα, από πρόσωπα και καταστάσεις που θα μπορούσαν να είναι υπαρκτά. Κατά τους Κοσμά και Πεχτελίδη, ο «καθημερινός» χαρακτήρας των αφηγημάτων επιτρέπει στους αναγνώστες να αναγνωρίσουν στοιχεία της ταυτότητάς τους και να ταυτιστούν συναισθηματικά με τους μυθιστορηματικούς χαρακτήρες. Οι δύο αυτές διαδικασίες της αναγνώρισης και της ταύτισης συνδέονται ενδεχομένως με τη διαμόρφωση ενήλικων στάσεων και εμπειριών. Αξιωματική θέση των συγγραφέων είναι ότι τα λογοτεχνικά κείμενα δεν μπορούν να ερμηνευτούν ανεξάρτητα από τα κοινωνικά συμφραζόμενα στα οποία παρήχθησαν. Η ανάλυση των κειμένων που επιχειρούν αναδεικνύει στοιχεία πολιτικής διαμάχης γύρω από τον ορισμό της παιδικής ηλικίας.The book by Yvon Kosma and Yannis Pechtelidis examines the boundaries of childhood in the fictional discourses of three popular narratives featuring children as protagonists: 'Lord of the Flies' by W. Golding (1954), 'The Night the Children Took Over' by M. Lederik (1981), and 'Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha' by R. Doyle (1993). These books were published in different time periods and achieved worldwide success, while also being translated into Greek. The authors' aim is to critically study the dominant representations of childhood using the conceptual tools of childhood sociology and discourse analysis.
The three narratives address existential anxieties and fears that both the authors and their readership are likely to have experienced. Despite their fictional nature, these narratives partly draw their material from everyday life, from characters and situations that could be real. According to Kosma and Pechtelidis, the 'everyday' character of these narratives allows readers to recognize elements of their identity and emotionally identify with the fictional characters. These two processes of recognition and identification are potentially connected to the formation of adult attitudes and experiences. The authors' axiomatic position is that literary texts cannot be interpreted independently of the social context in which they were produced. Their analysis of the texts reveals elements of political controversy surrounding the definition of childhood
Heteropolitical Pedagogies: Citizenship and Childhood—Commoning Education in Contemporary Greece
No full textThis chapter explores an alternative option in education, pedagogy and children’s participation in public life and citizenship in contemporary Greece. It describes the everyday life of both a public elementary school and a pedagogical community run by its members. It argues that each is underpinned by the commons heteropolitical ethics and logic, despite their differences. In particular, they share a common resource: education. The chapter critically discusses the contributions of the pedagogical social realities of the study to the empowerment of children’s status, and the embodied subjective features that are crafted within these heteropolitical sites. It is especially focused on the intergenerational construction of citizenship, and the production of a heteropolitical habitus of the commons within these specific pedagogical and educational groups. © 2018, The Author(s)
Children's Lives in Southern Europe: Contemporary Challenges and Risks
No full textThis interdisciplinary book provides a sociological view of the contemporary experiences of children in Southern Europe. Focusing on regions deeply affected by the 2008 economic crisis, it offers a detailed investigation into the impact of economic downturn and austerity on the lives of children. © Lourdes Gaitán, Yannis Pechtelidis, Catarina Tomás and Natália Fernandes 2020. All rights reserved
Poverty, well-being and educational opportunities for children in contemporary Greece: the cases of two after-school programmes
No full textDecember uprising 2008: universality and particularity in young people's discourse
No full textIn this text I explore youth's discourse during the protests and riots that took place in Greece in December 2008. These riots occurred after the assassination of a 15-year-old student by a police officer in the centre of Athens. The uproar caused by the event had a major impact not only everywhere in Greece but also all over the world. Young students played a leading and central role in the protests so that the majority of journalists as well as many politicians and theorists claimed that it was a 'revolution of the youth', the 'democracy of children' and so forth. In this framework, a new discourse cropped up. Young people claimed the democratisation of the state and society; they demanded it happened 'here and now' instead of being a future utopia. Young people engaged dynamically in the conflict, and they did so on their own terms, stemming from their unique social experience as children, as students and as young people. Drawing from discourse theory, sociology of childhood and youth, I intend to examine how their own experience has affected and reconceptualised universals such as 'democracy', 'citizenship', 'youth', 'childhood' and so on
Youth Work in Schools: Pathways to Sustainability, Well-Being and Democratic Communities
No full textThis study investigates the integration of youth work into school environments as a response to contemporary educational challenges. Drawing on the implementation of selected best practices in four European countries—Greece, Finland, Estonia, and Portugal—within the framework of the Youth Work in Schools (YWIS) Erasmus+ project, this research explores the potential of youth work to enhance school communities, promote sustainability, support student well-being, and deepen democratic practices. Employing a mixed-methods approach that combines case studies and survey data from educators and youth workers, the study examines the transformative impact of youth work in promoting inclusive, engaged, and resilient educational settings. Preliminary findings indicate that youth work contributes meaningfully to holistic youth development by creating collaborative school cultures, supporting emotional and social well-being, and encouraging active civic participation. Youth workers’ interventions—ranging from peer mentoring and participatory governance to sustainability initiatives—demonstrated the value of experiential, student-centred learning. However, the sustainable integration of youth work in education requires institutional openness, professional recognition, and systemic support. By analysing the reflections of practitioners across diverse national contexts, this paper offers critical insights for policymakers, educators, and practitioners aiming to bridge the gap between formal and non-formal education. It argues that embedding youth work in schools can serve as a catalyst for educational transformation, cultivating more democratic, sustainable, and supportive learning environments
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