ABSTRACT
The study of childhood is transacted within various disciplines, and research in the social sciences has contributed greatly to our knowledge about children and its application. In this chapter, I argue that while we have gained a great deal from research on children and their development, we may be at risk of losing some on account of the way in which the study of human behaviour in general and childhood studies in particular is being practised. In order to demonstrate the gains and possible losses, I will alternately straddle positions of universal understanding and cultural processes in order to resolve the tension between global and local interpretations of childhood. Social interventions can result in unanticipated changes on the ground, and we need to ensure that culturally relevant issues of children are in focus. This is not an argument against the enterprise of development projects; it is a cautionary note. Perhaps it is important, periodically, to step outside the confines of our learning to audit where we have arrived as a science and where we are headed in our planning for children.
