African Childhoods

Education, Development, Peacebuilding, and the Youngest Continent

M. Ensor

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781137024695
• eBook ISBN: 9781137024701
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

With 70 per cent of its people under the age of 30, Africa is the world's youngest continent. African youngsters have been largely characterized as either vulnerable victims of the frequent humanitarian crises that plague their homelands, or as violent militarized youth and 'troubled' gang members. Young people's contributions to processes of educational provision, peace building and participatory human development in Africa are often ignored. While acknowledging the profound challenges associated with growing up in an environment of uncertainty and deprivation, African Childhoods sheds light on African children's often constructive engagement with a variety of societal conditions, adverse or otherwise, and their ability to positively influence their own lives and those of others.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: African Childhoods: Education, Development, Peacebuilding, and the Youngest Continent
• Part I The Political Economy of Child Survival in Africa: Agency, Labor, and Subsistence
• Part II The Social Context of African Children: Kinship, Hardship, and Community
• Part III The Human Capital of African Children: Youth Voices and Schooling in the Youngest Continent
• Part IV African Children as Political Actors: Child-Inclusive Views on Peacebuilding and Social Change
• Conclusions: The Next Generation of African Children
• About the Contributors
• Index