Consideration of how the law deals with various issues of childhood will be the topic of a public talk taking place tomorrow evening (Wednesday January 29, 5.30pm) at the University of Aberdeen Regent Lecture Theatre.
Tomorrow's talk, Childhood in Law: A matter of presumption, will be given by Margaret Ross, Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen School of Law and will focus on presumptions and assumptions about childhood in law. Ms Ross will consider how law has relied on a number of presumptions operating in the distinct contexts of family, crime and court proceedings. Analysis will be given from a historical perspective through to the present day, including discussion of the international expectations as to how law views childhood.
Ms Ross said: "Discussion now of how law views childhood is particularly timely in the context of the Scottish Parliament's consideration of a Bill for a Commissioner for Children and Young Persons. I am delighted to be giving this talk and will aim to question whether the law can ever really 'know' children, other than by presumption."
Ms Ross' talk is the fourth in an innovative series of six public talks set up by the University of Aberdeen Faculty of Education to raise awareness amongst all those involved in educating young people that various images of childhood exist. Lecture Series organiser, Dr Iain Davidson of the Faculty of Education said: "We are presenting a very wide range and diversity of topics and speakers, the latter looking at images of childhood from a variety of perspectives. Tomorrow's talk brings out some of the legal presumptions that shape childhood and children; getting at assumptions in this way again highlights the need for clear, hard thinking as the basis for educational research, practice and legislation."
The Images of Childhood lecture series has been organised by the University of Aberdeen Faculty of Education in memory of John Darling, a distinguished educational philosopher who was on the staff of the University until he died of cancer in 2002, just after the establishment of the new Faculty of Education. More information is available at website: www.abdn.ac.uk/johndarling.