TY - BOOK
T1 - Wasted childhood? Social representations and identity of the children living on the streets of Nairobi
AU - Meda, Stefania Giada
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Kenyan society has developed a multiplicity of social representations of child streetism: the way they interrelate contributes to shaping this specific social phenomenon, direct actions, and envisage possible social change.
The cultural dimension is poorly taken into account but it is still addressable in terms of actions by both the scientific community and the practitioners in order to change society’s perception of street children.
The present study thus focuses on the phenomenon of Kenyan street children in terms of relationships and culture, by exploring, through a qualitative research, whether the identity of the street child can be understood by referring to the subject as the product of social and cultural conditioning or as an entity potentially capable to develop its reflexive experience and actively produce new meanings and social forms.
On the whole, this study has highlighted identity as a crucial issue in dealing with street children. It demands consideration not just as a sociological exercise but also in order to direct projects aimed at the prevention of streetism and the rehabilitation and reintegration of street children, so that they could finally be regarded and treated just as children.
AB - Kenyan society has developed a multiplicity of social representations of child streetism: the way they interrelate contributes to shaping this specific social phenomenon, direct actions, and envisage possible social change.
The cultural dimension is poorly taken into account but it is still addressable in terms of actions by both the scientific community and the practitioners in order to change society’s perception of street children.
The present study thus focuses on the phenomenon of Kenyan street children in terms of relationships and culture, by exploring, through a qualitative research, whether the identity of the street child can be understood by referring to the subject as the product of social and cultural conditioning or as an entity potentially capable to develop its reflexive experience and actively produce new meanings and social forms.
On the whole, this study has highlighted identity as a crucial issue in dealing with street children. It demands consideration not just as a sociological exercise but also in order to direct projects aimed at the prevention of streetism and the rehabilitation and reintegration of street children, so that they could finally be regarded and treated just as children.
KW - Africa
KW - identity
KW - social representations
KW - street children
KW - Africa
KW - identity
KW - social representations
KW - street children
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/5953
UR - https://www.lap-publishing.com/catalog/details/store/gb/book/978-3-8473-1048-8/wasted-childhood
M3 - Book
SN - 978-3-8473-1048-8
BT - Wasted childhood? Social representations and identity of the children living on the streets of Nairobi
PB - LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG
ER -