Tarihsel Süreç İçerisinde Çocuk ve Çocukluk Kavramları

Abstract

Childhood concept, which isperceived as one of the natural and unchangeable part of life cycle, refers various meanings for different societies, in different phases of the history, and even in different parts of the same society. All definitions and concepts related to the childhas been changed as a result of the developments in science, studies done about human rights, and the emergence of developmental perspective. For years the childhood concept was defined as a biological transitional period in which the child still couldn’t become an adult and decide for himself. Childhood was degraded to a temporary, deficient situation; as a result of this understanding an unqualified system which doesn’t have an independent existence occurred. Although the interest towards child was limited during the middle ages, the emergence of bourgeoisie led to a change in the perception. Additionally, thanks to the developmentsin the scientific field and with the effects of humanistic view, the basics oftoday’s understanding of child and childhood were founded. Although the gainsbrought by developmental perception made very important contributions to child and childhood concept;in today’s society with the progress in the field of science and technology, the childrenareisolated from the society and the concept of childhood is confined to the virtual environments. Understanding the changes of child and childhood concept throughout the historical process will make a great contribution in thedevelopment of a positive perception regarding child and childhood. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze child and childhood concepts in the historical process.