Argues that government structures are not effective for children. Suggests that a Minister and Children's Unit be responsible for four tasks, including developing government strategy for children, presenting research on children to provide a full view of the child's situation to government, coordinating government departments, and consulting…

Explored children's perceptions of the guardian ad litem service in Great Britain and their experiences of public law proceedings. Found that children felt listened to and supported by their guardians. Children expressed concerns related to their court attendance, accessibility of information they gave guardians, expert witness arrangements, and…

This book explores the concept of advocacy in British society with regard to children and young people, examining advocacy from a number of different perspectives, and taking into account the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and legislation that affects children and young people. The three parts of the book examine why young people need an…

Reviews 17 publications covering a variety of topics including abused disabled children; child placement; helping attachment disordered children; open adoption; family empowerment; teenage fostering; the Children Act of 1989 (Great Britain); family law; social services and child care law; and challenging racism in the early years. (TJQ)

Discusses the questions of who should make the decisions as to whether children born with severe disabilities should live or die and what criteria should be used to make such decisions. Describes the ethical positions of various medical and advocate groups in the U.S. and Great Britain and the factors to be considered in making these decisions.…

Discusses areas of revision on the 1996 British Government's Draft Adoption Bill: aspects of the welfare principles; criteria for dispensing with parental consent; orders for stepparents; and the use of residence orders as an alternative to adoption. Concludes that resolving those issues would be an important step toward meeting the diverse needs…

Compares responses to the issue of children caring for ill or disabled family members in the 1990s to resistance encountered in the implementation of child labor and education reforms toward the end of the nineteenth century. Discusses parallel ways in which the quality of childhood became problematized without sufficient recognition of the…

Examines arguments for and against compulsory education in Great Britain. Arguments for include education for individual growth, government-sponsored child protection, the promotion of national socioeconomic growth, and ideological conformity. Arguments against are the inhibition of individual growth and the infringement of parents' and children's…

This paper discusses the life and works of Margaret McMillan and Maria Montessori, two advocates for the poor who played a significant role in social and educational reform in Britain and Italy, respectively, in the late 19th- and early 20th century. The upbringing, education, and social milieu of the two women are compared, as well as their…

Child care and early education have been acclaimed by advocates in Great Britain and the United States as the key to economic and academic success, the basis for social justice and equality, a business opportunity, and the remedy for poverty, welfare dependency, crime, and educational failure. This book examines the research basis for these…