Exploring the concept of belonging for children

Dr. Sally McNamee, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Programs, Childhood and Social Institutions (CSI) Program, and Dr. Sam Frankel, Assistant Professor, also of CSI, presented at the European Sociology Association’s 2019 (ESA 2019) Conference. The conference took place August 20-23, 2019 at the University of Manchester and at the Manchester Metropolitan University in England.

Dr. McNamee and Dr. Frankel presented two papers: “Children, family, agency and display” and “Building belonging: the power of an opportunity,” written specifically for the conference’s theme: “Boundaries, Barriers and Belonging.”

The research was funded by a King’s research grant. It explored children’s understanding of the concept of belonging. The themes explored were also examined in their recently edited book Contextualising childhoods: growing up in Europe and North America (Palgrave Macmillan 2019).

“We felt the conference was a good venue for communicating our ideas. The conference theme 'Boundaries, Barriers and Belonging' was so similar to our most recent research project that we felt it was worth putting in the two papers,” says Dr. McNamee.

Both papers were well-received and Dr. McNamee and Dr. Frankel were appreciative of the feedback from those in attendance. The conference was attended by 3,000 people.

McNamee and Frankel are currently preparing two edited volumes for the journal Sociological Studies of Childhood and Youth. The journal, expected to be published within the next three months, will contain articles from contributors around the world who are engaged in researching childhood and family.

Dr. McNamee is teaching Childhood and Social Institutions; Geographies of Childhood and Researching Childhood. Dr. Frankel will be teaching Childhood and Social Institutions; Introduction to Advocacy; Facilitating Child Advocacy, Advocacy with Children Internationally; Childhood, Play and Peer Relations; Emerging Topics in Childhood I and Emerging Topics in Childhood Topics II.

For more information on ESA 2019, please visit https://www.europeansociology.org/conferences/esa-conference-2019-manchester-uk

For more information on King’s Childhood and Social Institutions program, please visit https://www.kings.uwo.ca/academics/childhood-and-youth-studies/