Childhood as Socially Constructed Social construction is the way in which something is created through people's individual, social and cultural interpretations, perceptions and actions. Because the definition and status of childhood have not remained the same throughout history and vary from culture to culture, it is not possible for childhood to be biological, therefore it must have been socially constructed for the needs of a particular society in a particular moment. Children's roles have changed dramatically in the UK alone over the last four hundred years. Children of the pre-industrialization era represented an economic resource for the family. It was essential that they help provide for their family by working and earning a wage. As a result of their work they had little or no education, what they knew was taught by their family, they had a very different socialization process than what is familiar in today's society. Children were seen as adults and were actively involved in the adult world, socialized with adults and were not protected from activities that would now be considered inappropriate. There is evidence to suggest that children as young as five were subjected to sexual intercourse. This is no longer socially acceptable and would be seen as a form of abuse. Phillip Aries believes that industrialization was the main factor in the change in the position of children. During the Industrial Revolution, education became easily accessible to the middle class. This extended the period of time before a child had to work, thus extending the period of time before a child became an adult. It was no longer vital for children... half of the paper... it's America because each state has its own rules and guidelines. I have come to the conclusion that the state of childhood is socially constructed due to the huge variations between each country today. There are immense numbers of children still working in less developed countries, whereas in Western culture children attend full-time education until they reach the age of sixteen, where they can make the decision to continue learning. This is because in Western society children are not needed to work, and this is where the difference lies with that of children in places like Africa, this comes back to the meaning of social construction. Over time childhood has adapted to meet the needs of society, which is why four hundred years ago children in England would have worked rather than attended full-time education..