Bourdieu without childhood: Methods and theoretical postulates of a study on French working-class children

Abstract

This article is a reassessment of a former study on French working-class children. The methods, based on interviews, and the theoretical postulates, where children were seen as informants on the social world, are submitted to a close examination in relation to the research context. Through this reflexive work, different narratives emerge associated with different scientific circles: French-written Bourdieusian sociology and English-written Childhood studies. It aims at provoking reflections on the differences of the two traditions in approaching children and childhood.