Policy Utopias, Sci-Fi Dystopias, and Contemporary Contests Over Childhood in Education Reform in the UK

Abstract

Educational policy and children's science fiction literature provide two distinct visions of the future for children and corresponding representations of the future of childhood. By refracting the literary and the political through a sociological critique, this article scrutinizes how such texts construct ideas about childhood and thus motivate an impetus for social and economic change, especially in the context of children's digital media use and the reform of children's services. In particular, I focus on the way literary studies scholars represent childhood in their readings of science fiction texts, and on the political construction of childhood in policy texts such as reports to the public and in high-profile media campaigns including teacher recruitment advertisements displayed in the UK between 2006 and 2008. The analysis suggests there are intertextual associations as well as disassociations in the discourses of childhood found in sci-fi and educational policy.

Keywords:

• childhood
• children's literature
• consumerism
• education policy
• personalization
• science fiction

Notes

^1. At the time of writing, the most recent series of adverts, “Turn your talent to teaching,” was available to view on the website http://www.tdanewadvertising.com/talenttoteaching.htm (April 2, 2008). I sent a query to the TDA press office via the website to ask if previous campaigns were archived and publicly available but received no response. References to previous advertisements are to files I retrieved from the website in January 2007.