Resources: Review - When policy falls short of rhetoric

The book is organised into four sections, each of which begins with asuperb introduction by editor Harry Hendrick. The first section containshistorical detail and reminds readers that there have been few genuineinnovations in thinking or policy-making about children. Today's concernwith producing workers fit to compete in a global economy, for example,has echoes of the political concerns a century ago to produce men fit torun the British Empire.

The second part deals with the debates around key concepts such as childrights, poverty, positive welfare, children as social capital, andrisk.

How these issues are actually expressed in current policies is thesubject matter of the third section. Several of the chapters herechallenge Government policy and rhetoric. For example, although theyshowed support for children's rights through the ratification of the UNConvention on the Rights of the Child and statements about theimportance of listening to children, the reality of how many policiesare implemented fails to live up to these principles.