Priscilla Alderson – författare

One mother described part of the complications of consenting to her one-week-old child’s high-risk heart surgery.

‘I can’t imagine her being any more precious to me than she is now. I can hardly bear feeling so close to her as it is…I can’t wait until I see her again. It’s worse than being in love.’

Can emotional parents be rational enough to give informed proxy consent? Research observations and interviews with many parents and practitioners in the wards, clinics and medical meetings in two London hospitals show how parents’ moral emotions of fear and hope are central to their informed decision-making and voluntary consent.

This record from the 1980s offers useful historical comparisons with today’s paediatric cardiac services in both the remarkable progress over nearly 40 years and the continuing concerns.

One mother described part of the complications of consenting to her one-week-old child’s high-risk heart surgery.

‘I can’t imagine her being any more precious to me than she is now. I can hardly bear feeling so close to her as it is…I can’t wait until I see her again. It’s worse than being in love.’

Can emotional parents be rational enough to give informed proxy consent? Research observations and interviews with many parents and practitioners in the wards, clinics and medical meetings in two London hospitals show how parents’ moral emotions of fear and hope are central to their informed decision-making and voluntary consent.

This record from the 1980s offers useful historical comparisons with today’s paediatric cardiac services in both the remarkable progress over nearly 40 years and the continuing concerns.

"This book is unusually rewarding in that its author has pulled off the rare trick of providing deep philosophical and theoretical underpinnings to a comprehensive reconsideration of childhood. Priscilla Alderson deploys Bhaskar''s ''dialectical critical realism'' to excellent effect, illuminating not only our understanding of the presence, and absence, of children in our lives and discourses, but also the field of childhood studies. It is rare that such an integrated text is accomplished and I look forward to the planned second volume. This is a work that should facilitate a rethinking of childhood for the new century." Graham Scrambler, Professor of Medical Sociology at University College London.

Childhoods Real and Imagined explores and charts the relation of dialectical critical realist concepts to many aspects of childhood. By demonstrating their relevance and value to each other, Alderson presents an introductory guide to applied critical realism for researchers, lecturers and students.

Each chapter summarises key themes from several academic disciplines and policy areas, combining adults’ and children’s reported views and experiences and filtering these through a critical realist analysis. The four main chapters deal with the more personal aspects of childhood in relation to the body, interpersonal relations, social structures, and the person, soul or self. The second volume will widen the scope to include the impact on children and young people of present policies relating to ecology, economics, ideas of social evolution or progress, and ethics. Each chapter demonstrates how children are an integral part of the whole of society and are often especially affected by policies and events.

Through developing the dialectical critical realist analysis of childhood and youth Childhoods Real and Imagined will be of great interest to critical realists and childhood researchers and policy advisers.

"This book is unusually rewarding in that its author has pulled off the rare trick of providing deep philosophical and theoretical underpinnings to a comprehensive reconsideration of childhood. Priscilla Alderson deploys Bhaskar''s ''dialectical critical realism'' to excellent effect, illuminating not only our understanding of the presence, and absence, of children in our lives and discourses, but also the field of childhood studies. It is rare that such an integrated text is accomplished and I look forward to the planned second volume. This is a work that should facilitate a rethinking of childhood for the new century." Graham Scrambler, Professor of Medical Sociology at University College London.

Childhoods Real and Imagined explores and charts the relation of dialectical critical realist concepts to many aspects of childhood. By demonstrating their relevance and value to each other, Alderson presents an introductory guide to applied critical realism for researchers, lecturers and students.

Each chapter summarises key themes from several academic disciplines and policy areas, combining adults’ and children’s reported views and experiences and filtering these through a critical realist analysis. The four main chapters deal with the more personal aspects of childhood in relation to the body, interpersonal relations, social structures, and the person, soul or self. The second volume will widen the scope to include the impact on children and young people of present policies relating to ecology, economics, ideas of social evolution or progress, and ethics. Each chapter demonstrates how children are an integral part of the whole of society and are often especially affected by policies and events.

Through developing the dialectical critical realist analysis of childhood and youth Childhoods Real and Imagined will be of great interest to critical realists and childhood researchers and policy advisers.

The second volume of Priscilla Alderson’s popular and renowned book Childhoods Real and Imagined relates dialectical critical realism to childhood. By demonstrating their relevance and value to each other, Alderson presents a practical introductory guide for applying critical realism to research about children and young people.

Each chapter summarises key themes from several academic disciplines and policy areas, ranging from climate change and social justice between generations, to neoliberalism, social reform and imagining utopias. Children’s and adults’ views and experiences are reviewed, and whereas the first volume deals with more personal and local aspects of childhood, this volume widens the scope into debates about global politics, which so seldom mention children. Each chapter demonstrates how children and young people are an integral part of the whole of society and are often especially affected by policies and events.

This book is written for everyone who is researching, studying or teaching about childhood, or who cares for and works with children and young people, as well as those interested in critical realist approaches.

The second volume of Priscilla Alderson’s popular and renowned book Childhoods Real and Imagined relates dialectical critical realism to childhood. By demonstrating their relevance and value to each other, Alderson presents a practical introductory guide for applying critical realism to research about children and young people.

Each chapter summarises key themes from several academic disciplines and policy areas, ranging from climate change and social justice between generations, to neoliberalism, social reform and imagining utopias. Children’s and adults’ views and experiences are reviewed, and whereas the first volume deals with more personal and local aspects of childhood, this volume widens the scope into debates about global politics, which so seldom mention children. Each chapter demonstrates how children and young people are an integral part of the whole of society and are often especially affected by policies and events.

This book is written for everyone who is researching, studying or teaching about childhood, or who cares for and works with children and young people, as well as those interested in critical realist approaches.

Mainstream schools are consistently faced with numerous and often contradictory requirements, both to achieve high results and to be inclusive and incorporate children of every ability. This title, first published in 1999, describes how one renowned inclusive community school, Cleves School, responds to the challenges faced by themselves and other schools. Specifically, Priscilla Alderson shows how methods of inclusive learning can be incorporated with those designed to improve standards of achievement for every child. Practical and comprehensive, this title remains applicable to the challenges currently faced within the British education system.

Mainstream schools are consistently faced with numerous and often contradictory requirements, both to achieve high results and to be inclusive and incorporate children of every ability. This title, first published in 1999, describes how one renowned inclusive community school, Cleves School, responds to the challenges faced by themselves and other schools. Specifically, Priscilla Alderson shows how methods of inclusive learning can be incorporated with those designed to improve standards of achievement for every child. Practical and comprehensive, this title remains applicable to the challenges currently faced within the British education system.

Winner of the 2022 Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize.

Critical realism, as a toolkit of practical ideas, helps researchers to extend and clarify their analyses. It resolves problems arising from splits between different research approaches, builds on the strengths of different methods and overcomes their individual limitations.

This original text draws on international examples of health and illness research across the life course, from small studies to large trials, to show how versatile critical realism can be in validating research and connecting it to policy and practice.

To meet growing demand from students and researchers, this book is based on the course at UCL, first taught by Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism.

Winner of the 2022 Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize.

Critical realism, as a toolkit of practical ideas, helps researchers to extend and clarify their analyses. It resolves problems arising from splits between different research approaches, builds on the strengths of different methods and overcomes their individual limitations.

This original text draws on international examples of health and illness research across the life course, from small studies to large trials, to show how versatile critical realism can be in validating research and connecting it to policy and practice.

To meet growing demand from students and researchers, this book is based on the course at UCL, first taught by Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism.