This paper tries to show that the experience of children and their points of view are paramount when one wants to understand the various social phenomena that concern them. According to the perspective of the Sociology of Childhood, children's experience is analyzed in the framework of the social structures and the particular contexts in which it takes place. Using different examples from the field of the education of children, the author argues that it is not sufficient to examine the educational practices of adults; it is equally important to examine the children's perspective. In other words, we should take into consideration what the children do with what is done to them. Two studies are presented to support this approach: the first one concerns the experience children have of their education in their family and school; the second one concerns a particular objective of modern education, namely the development of children's autonomy. In both studies, the experience of children is analyzed in terms of their representations, emotions and actions, with due consideration to their social and cultural characteristics.
Sociology of childhood; Education; Parents; Autonomy; Perspectives
