Editor’s Introduction

10.5949/liverpool/9780853236344.003.0001 ◽

1999 ◽

pp. 11-14

Keyword(s):

In this introduction to Part 1: The Theoretical Context of Child Labour Research, Michael Lavalette addresses the main trends in existing literature on child labour and the unanswered questions that surround it. He foregrounds the discussion carried out in the following first two chapters, written by himself, and puts forward the aims and intentions of his argument regarding the recent sociological discussion of childhood and child exploitation.

Download Full-text

Introduction: From Child Labour to Child Exploitation

Child Exploitation in the Global South ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-91177-9_1 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Jérôme Ballet ◽

Augendra Bhukuth

Keyword(s):

Child Labour ◽

Child Exploitation

Download Full-text

The ‘New Sociology of Childhood’ and Child Labour

A Thing of the Past? ◽

10.5949/liverpool/9780853236344.003.0002 ◽

1999 ◽

pp. 15-43

Author(s):

Michael Lavalette

Keyword(s):

Social Construction ◽

Child Labour ◽

Right To Work ◽

The Social ◽

Child Exploitation ◽

Sociology Of Childhood ◽

The Difference ◽

The Right

Chapter one, written by Michael Lavalette, engages with many of the themes of the so-called ‘new sociology of childhood’ and looks at the recent sociological discussion of the ‘social construction’ of childhood. The chapter addresses the ways in which the concept of childhood has changed throughout history and relates these changes to other developments in society. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the consequences for children once they have been ‘liberated’ from their childhood, and attempts to distinguish the difference between child employment and child exploitation, asking if the discussion surrounding child labour should really be a discussion of whether a child has the right to work.

Download Full-text

"“The climbing boys” and the English society in the Industrial age: public pressure and legislative changes"

Lyuboslovie ◽

10.46687/teuz8225 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

pp. 56-73

Author(s):

Tatyana Lefterova-Stoycheva ◽

Keyword(s):

Child Labour ◽

Main Topic ◽

The Poor ◽

Industrial Age ◽

Poor Families ◽

Public Pressure ◽

Child Exploitation ◽

English Society ◽

The Rich ◽

Legislative Changes

The practice of the climbing boys in the business of sweeping chimneys was spread in England during the Industrial Age (18th - 19th c.). The question of boys’ exploitation is part of the problem of child labour, but it precedes and outlives the overall child exploitation in the factories and mines. This is a sphere where the English society demonstrates conservatism and reluctance to change the attitude to the children of the poor families. The needed legislation was postponed and cost several generations of miserable and deprived boys, losing their health, and often their lives in the chimneys of the rich owners of buildings and mansions. The compassion of some citizens was not enough to convince the lawmakers that the life of children was more valuable than their houses. This was the main topic of the discussions between the lords and the reformers in the Parliament. The struggle for the protection of the climbing boys started in the late 18th c. and is considered successfully finished with the Act of 1875.

Download Full-text