Summary
Contents
This book has already proved itself as a course adoption leader in Childhood Studies. All of the strengths of the First Edition have been retained. The book is comprehensive and judged with the needs of students in mind. It is a model of clarity and precision and has been acknowledged as such in reviews and course feedback. The new edition thoroughly revises old entries and adds new ones. The book is the most accessible, relevant student introduction to this expanding, interdisciplinary field. It is an indispensable teaching text and an ideal prompt for researchers.
Peer Group
Peer Group
A group of equals, defined in terms of either social status or age.
Used in its literal sense, the concept of an individual having or belonging to a peer group can be applied at any point in the life-course since, sociologically speaking, each and every one of us can be defined or our social status located in terms of certain criteria (educational background, income, occupational status or other indicators of social status) that we share with others and which therefore make them our peers. In this sense the peer group, as a group of people with certain shared characteristics (a secondary group), need not be and may never become a face-to-face group (also referred to as primary groups), although many primary groups in ...
