Connect and Check
Core concept Childhoods are socially constructed, but they are not constructed equally for everyone.
- Resources, housing, schools, digital access, safety and family time can create unequal childhood experiences.
- Intersectionality helps learners avoid simple group generalisations.
Study builder
Brannen
Children’s experiences of family life are shaped by social context and resources.
Vincent and Ball
Middle-class families can use cultural and economic resources to shape children’s opportunities.
Intersectional approaches
Class, gender, ethnicity, disability and migration status combine rather than operate separately.
Choose your route
Access
Access: connect resources to childhood outcomes.
Check: have you used one key concept accurately?
Core
Core: explain two unequal pathways using evidence.
Check: have you explained the mechanism rather than just naming it?
Stretch
Stretch: apply intersectionality to a fictional case and qualify the judgement.
Check: have you qualified your judgement by evidence or social group?
Exam practice
Outline and explain two ways inequality may shape childhood experiences. [10 marks]