DOB DJETETA: PRIRODNA ILI SOCIJALNA KATEGORIJA
CHILD'S AGE: NATURAL OR SOCIAL CATEGORY

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with interpretation of the terms of a child and contemporary childhood by analyzing empirical and theoretical papers of Croatian pedagogues. None of the aforementioned terms is no longer regarded as a firm category which is distinctly marked by age or cultural determinants. According to the latest research, a few years old child is already aware of its emotions, while it has developed atittude and expectations by the time it reaches adolescence. The goal of this article is to analyse whether there is a scientific and professional consensus in Croatia about child's rights in participation. Even though the statistics show thatabout a third of our population consists of children and youth, their opinion is not represented unless it is acompanied by an adult. Following the Convention on the Rights of a Child, that paradigm strives to change by approaching a child in its natural environment and while considering it as an equal in the research. In other words, a child is considered as a partner, not as an object of the research. The article concludes that there are similarities in opinions of Croatian pedagogues about the aforementioned terms, as well as differences. However, all of them advocate a new paradigm of child and childhood in which it would have a more active role in its own development. Considering the aforementioned social determinants, this article suggests a modification of existing educational circumstances based on unilateral relation between a child and an adult is needed, and an adaptation of it to a partnership.

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