Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction
The world in which the contemporary child is conceived and raised is one that is increasingly monitored, analysed and manipulated through technological processes. Simultaneously, expectations for the child are changing as new tools and practices for quantifying, managing and predicting achievements...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Sage Publications Ltd.
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73194 |
| _version_ | 1848762949520326656 |
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| author | Willson, Michele |
| author_facet | Willson, Michele |
| author_sort | Willson, Michele |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The world in which the contemporary child is conceived and raised is one that is increasingly monitored, analysed and manipulated through technological processes. Simultaneously, expectations for the child are changing as new tools and practices for quantifying, managing and predicting achievements and future possibilities become available. Algorithms as ways of anticipating, doing or fixing are central to these technological processes. These intersect with and are informed by social, cultural and political discourses that imagine the ‘ideal’ child. Therefore, this article explores the power of algorithms within the everyday of the child. Drawing upon examples of quantification and prediction practices in the commercial and state sectors, the article raises questions about the issues, challenges and politics of these types of algorithmic approaches in raising and imagining the ‘ideal child’. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:55:42Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-73194 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:55:42Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Sage Publications Ltd. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-731942018-12-13T09:35:42Z Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction Willson, Michele The world in which the contemporary child is conceived and raised is one that is increasingly monitored, analysed and manipulated through technological processes. Simultaneously, expectations for the child are changing as new tools and practices for quantifying, managing and predicting achievements and future possibilities become available. Algorithms as ways of anticipating, doing or fixing are central to these technological processes. These intersect with and are informed by social, cultural and political discourses that imagine the ‘ideal’ child. Therefore, this article explores the power of algorithms within the everyday of the child. Drawing upon examples of quantification and prediction practices in the commercial and state sectors, the article raises questions about the issues, challenges and politics of these types of algorithmic approaches in raising and imagining the ‘ideal child’. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73194 10.1177/0163443718798901 Sage Publications Ltd. restricted |
| spellingShingle | Willson, Michele Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| title | Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| title_full | Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| title_fullStr | Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| title_short | Raising the ideal child? Algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| title_sort | raising the ideal child? algorithms, quantification and prediction |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/73194 |