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EventsStanding up to Supernanny: parents in the spotlight A discussion presented by the Institute of Ideas in association with ESRC festival of social science at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 2010. 2pm, Sunday 21 March Blue Boar Lecture Theatre, Christ Church, University of Oxford Buy tickets here, or phone Festival Box Office on 0870 343 1001. In the build up to the election, all the mainstream parties are keen to make their policies on the family distinct. However, what they all agree on is that parenthood requires a massive adjustment to our lives, emotions, and relationships, and we have to be taught how to deal with that by experts. But can it really be so difficult that parents need constant counselling, parenting classes and policies backed by swathes of academic research, to rear their own children? Are today’s parents really so hopeless they need supernannies’ assistance to cope? Might the current focus on hapless parents increase their insecurity and diminish parental authority over their own children? Speakers: Jennie Bristow: author, Standing up to Supernanny; editor, Parents With Attitude Dr Val Gillies: Reader, Families & Social Capital Research Group, London South Bank University; author of Marginalised Mothers: Exploring Working Class Experiences of Parenting Christina Hardyment: author, Dream Babies: Babycare Advice from John Locke to Gina Ford Jennifer Howze: Online Lifestyle Editor, The Times; lead blogger, Alpha Mummy (Times Online‘s parenting blog) ————————————————————————————— Parents’ Forum conference, Easter 2010 The programme is below. Saturday 10 April 7pm: Welcome, in the bar area (Beverley) Sunday 11 April: Intimacy, privacy and the family 10 - 11.15am: What’s changed about the family? Jennie (Chair: Jane) Why we need a parents’ liberation movement, by Jennie Bristow. spiked, 27 June 2008 11.15am - 12: The couple relationship and parenting practices Charlotte (Chair: Jane) ‘Reviewing Intimacy’, by Jacqui Gabb. Working Paper for the ‘Researching Families’ project. (2006) [.pdf] 12 - 1.30pm: Lunch 1.30pm - 2.30pm: Young mothers and the expansion of the teenage pregnancy ‘problem’ Jan (Chair: Ellie) Monday 12 April: Education and the crisis of adult authority 9.45am-11am: The crisis of teachers’ authority Toby and Michele (Chair: Claire) Knowledge must come first, then teaching, by Michele Ledda. Daily Telegraph, 19 January 2010 TLRP’s evidence-informed pedagogic principles. Teaching and Learning Research Programme 11am-12: Trust and the parent-teacher relationship Alka (Chair: Sally) Wasted: Why Education Isn’t Educating, by Frank Furedi. Continuum 2009. 12-1.30pm: Lunch 1.30-2.15pm: Social exclusion and play policy Joanna and Jim (Chair: Beverley) The political construction of social inclusion, by Joanna Williams [.doc] 2.15pm - 3pm: Parental authority and discipline Helen (Chair: Beverley) Is it legitimate for society to sanction a particular parenting model? What accounts for the increasing hegemony of the positive parenting model? What assumptions underlie the current social approach to smacking? To what extent are the findings of social science research into the effects of parenting style on child development meaningful? Chapter 8 in Paranoid Parenting: Why Ignoring the Experts May be Best for Your Child, by Frank Furedi. A Cappella Books, 2002 Beyond ‘anti-smacking’, by Phillips and Alderson IJCR 2003 [.pdf] Effects of Authoritative Parental Control on Child Behavior, by Diana Baumrind Child Development 1966 Corporal Punishment, by David Benatar. Originally published in Social Theory & Practice Encouraging better behaviour: A practical guide to positive parenting. [.pdf] NSPCC Tuesday 13 April: Parenting politics and policy 9.45-11am: The Early Years focus Josephine; The development of family policy Ellie (Chair: Alison) Support for All: the Families and Relationships Green Paper. Department for Children, Schools and Families, January 2010 Conservative Party Draft Families Manifesto, January 2010 Ten years of family policy: 1999-2009 [.pdf] By Claire James. Family and Parenting Institute, October 2009 A timeline of events marking parenting policy Family and Parenting Institute 11am-12: The General Election and the Parents’ Forum: future discussions and events Jane (Chair: Sally) 12-12.15pm: CONFERENCE CLOSE Beverley Additional readings: Intimacy, privacy and the family Standing Up To Supernanny, by Jennie Bristow. Imprint Academic 2009 Women in the workforce: Female power. The Economist , 30 December 2009 Reinventing the Family: In Search of Lifestyles, by Elisabeth Beck Gernsheim. Polity Press 2002 Women and the Common Life: Love, Marriage and Feminism, by Christopher Lasch. WW Norton & Co 1998 Dodds, A. (2009). Families “at risk” and the Family Nurse Partnership: the intrusion of risk into social exclusion policy, Journal of Social Policy, 38: 3. Duncan, S. (2007). What’s the problem with teenage parents? And what’s the problem with policy? Critical Social Policy, Vol. 27, No. 3, 307-334. Edwards, R. and Gillies, V (2004). Support in Parenting: Values and consensus concerning who to turn to. Journal of Social Policy, 33:4: 627-647. Arai, L. (2005). Peer and neighbourhood influences on teenage pregnancy and fertility: qualitative findings from research in English communities. Health and Place Vol.13 (1): 87-98. Arai, L (2003a). British policy on teenage pregnancy and childbearing: the limitations of comparisons with other European countries. Critical Social Policy, Vol. 23, No. 1, 89-102 (2003) Bullen E., Kenway J. and Hay V. (2000). New Labour, Social Exclusion and Educational Risk Management: the case of ‘gymslip mums’. British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 26, No.4. Carabine, Jean (2007). New Labour’s teenage pregnancy policy: constituting knowing responsible citizens? Cultural Studies, 21(6), pp. 952–973. Additional readings: Education and the crisis of adult authority Tories promise to make teaching ‘brazenly elitist’. BBC News Online, 18 January 2010 Don’t judge teachers by their degrees. Guardian, 18 January 2010 Professional Trust, by Ian Frowe. British Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 53, no.1, March 2005, pp 34-53 Education: The Engagement and its Frustration in The Voice of Liberal Learning, by Michael Oakeshott. Additional readings: Parenting politics and policy The Character Inquiry. Demos, January 2010 Building Character [.pdf] By Jen Lexmond and Richard Reeves. Demos, November 2009. Breakdown Britain Centre for Social Justice 14 December 2006
Battle of Ideas 2009 The Battle of Ideas 2009 will be a two-day festival of high-level, thought-provoking debate organised by the Institute of Ideas and hosted by the Royal College of Art. See here for information about the event and to buy tickets. Parents With Attitude readers might be particularly interested in the following sessions: Frankenstein’s Daughters: from science fiction to science fact? Whose Right to Choose? Choice, ethics and regulation in 21st-century reproduction Three’s a crowd? The battle over population and reproduction We don’t need no Sex Education Policing the Playground: do anti-bullying campaigns do more harm than good? Standing up to Supernanny: why we need a Parents’ Liberation Movement Sporty kids and pushy parents |
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