Four decades of Brazilian and international research on street children

A meta-narrative review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31265/jcsw.v16i1.367

Keywords:

street children, street youth, research, Brazil, review

Abstract

The last 40 years has yielded a vast body of literature on street children. In this article, we reflect on the knowledge accumulated by several generations of scholars and across two bodies of research. The article’s aim is twofold: 1) To conduct a meta-narrative review, mapping out the contours of Brazilian and Anglophone literature on street children since the 1980s until today. 2) To bridge these two bodies of literature through reflections on similarities and differences. In so doing, we identify some overall tendencies in which street children have been described, debated, and theorized and bridge the two bodies of literature that often remain separated.

Author Biographies

Marit Ursin

Associate Professor, PhD
Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Norway
E-mail: marit.ursin@ntnu.no

Irene Rizzini

Professor, PhD
Department of Social Work, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
E-mail: irizzini.pucrio.ciespi@gmail.com

References

Abebe, T. (2008). Earning a living on the margins: begging, street work and the socio‐Spatial experiences of children in Addis Ababa. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 90(3), 271-284. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0467.2008.292.x

Alanen, L., et al. (2018). Cross-disciplinary conversation in childhood studies: Views, hopes, experiences, reflections. Childhood, 25(2), 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568218760326

Aptekar, L. (1988a). Street children of Colombia. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 8(3), 225-241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431688083002

Aptekar, L. (1988b). The street children of Colombia: How families define the nature of childhood. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 283-295.

Aptekar, L. (1989). Characteristics of the street children of Colombia. Child Abuse & Neglect, 13(3), 427-437. https://doi.org/10.1016/0145-2134(89)90083-5

Aptekar, L. (1994). Street children in the developing world: A review of their condition. Cross-Cultural Research, 28(3), 195-224. https://doi.org/10.1177/106939719402800301

Arpini, D., Quintana, A. & Gonçalves, C. (2010). Relações familiares e violência em adolescentes em situação de rua. Psicologia Argumento, 28(63), 325-336. https://doi.org/10.7213/rpa.v28i63.20241

Aufseeser, D., Bourdillon, M., Carothers, R. & Lecoufle, O. (2018). Children's work and children's well‐being: Implications for policy. Development Policy Review, 36(2), 241-261. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12215

Bar-On, A. (1997). Criminalising survival: images and reality of street children. Journal of Social Policy, 26(1), 63-78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279496004928

Barros, P. et al. (2009). Era uma casa...!? Discurso, dinâmica familiar e contingências da rua. Psicologia em Estudo, 14(3), 447-453. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-73722009000300005

Beazley, H. (2000). Street boys in Yogyakarta: Social and spatial exclusion in the public spaces of the city. In G. Bridge & S. Watson (Ed.), A Companion to the City (p. 472–488). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470693414.ch40

Beazley, H. (2003a). The construction and protection of individual and collective identities by street children and youth in Indonesia. Children Youth and Environments, 13(1), 105-133.

Beazley, H. (2003b). Voices from the margins: Street children's subcultures in Indonesia. Children's geographies, 1(2), 181-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733280302198

Beazley, H., & Miller, M. (2016). The Art of Not Been Governed: Street Children and Youth in Siem Reap, Cambodia. In K.P. Kallio, S. Mills & T. Skelton (Ed.) Politics, Citizenship and Rights, Geographies of Children and Young People 7. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-57-6_7

Bequele, A., & Boyden, J. (1988). Working children: Current trends and policy responses. International Labour Review, 127(2), 153-172.

Butler, U. (2009). Freedom, Revolt and Citizenship' Three pillars of identity for youngsters living on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Childhood, 16(1), 11-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568208101688

CEAP - Centro de Articulação de Populações Marginalizadas. (1993). As meninas e a rua. CEAP.

Cheniaux S. (1982). Trapaceados e trapaceiros: o menor de rua e o serviço social. Ed Cortez.

Claro, H. et al. (2014). Perfil e padrão de uso de crack de crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua: uma revisão integrativa. SMAD Revista Eletrônica Saúde Mental Álcool e Drogas, 10(1), 35-41. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1806-6976.v10i1p35-41

Cirino, D. & Alberto, M. (2009). Uso de drogas entre trabajadores precoces en la actividad de malabarista. Psicologia em Estudo, 14(3), 547-555. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-73722009000300016

Connolly, M. & Ennew, J. (1996). Introduction: Children out of place. Childhood, 3(2), 131-145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568296003002001

Conticini, A. (2005). Urban livelihoods from children’s perspectives: Protecting and promoting assets on the streets of Dhaka. Environment and Urbanization, 17(2), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/095624780501700206

Conticini, A. (2007). Children on the streets of Dhaka and their coping strategies. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315425290-4

Conticini, A. & Hulme, D. (2007). Escaping Violence, Seeking Freedom: Why children in Bangladesh migrate to the street. Development and change, 38(2), 201-227. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2007.00409.x

Cosgrove, J. G. (1990). Towards a working definition of street children. International Social Work, 33(2), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/002087289003300209

Cruz, M. & Assunção, A. (2008). Estrutura e organização do trabalho infantil em situação de rua em Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. Saúde e Sociedade, 17(1), 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-12902008000100012

Cruz-Neto, O. & Minayo, M. (1994). Extermínio: violentação e banalização da vida. Cadernos de saùde publica, 10(1), 199-212. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X1994000500015

da Silva, S. (2005). A escola e a rua: interação possível? Revista de Ciências Humanas, 37, 67-87.

Davies, M. (2008). A childish culture? Shared understandings, agency and intervention: An anthropological study of street children in northwest Kenya. Childhood, 15(3), 309-330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568208091666

de Benítez, S.T. (2011). State of the world’s street children: Research. Consortium for Street Children.

Dimenstein, G. (1995). A guerra dos meninos: assassinatos de menores no Brasil. Editora Brasiliense.

Ennew, J. (1994). Street and working children: A guide to planning. Save the Children.

Ennew, J. (2002). Outside childhood: Street children’s rights. In B. Franklin (Ed.), The new handbook of children’s right: Comparative policy and practice (p. 388–403). Routledge.

Ennew, J. (2003) Difficult Circumstances: Some Reflections on ‘Street Children’ in Africa. Children, Youth and Environments, 13(1), 128-146.

Ennew, J. & Boyden, J. (1997). Children in Focus: A Manual for Participatory Research with Children. Rädda Barnen.

Ennew, J. & Swart-Kruger, J. (2003). Introduction: Homes, places and spaces in the construction of street children and street youth. Children Youth and Environments, 13(1), 81-104.

Evans, R. (2005). Social Networks, Migration, and Care in Tanzania. Journal of Children and Poverty 11(2), 111-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/10796120500195527

Fausto, A. & Cervini, R. (Eds.). (1991). O trabalho e a rua: crianças e adolescentes no Brasil urbano dos anos 80. Cortez.

Ferrari, R. (2015). Writing narrative style literature reviews. Medical Writing, 24(4), 230-235. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047480615Z.000000000329

Ferreira, R. M. (1979). Meninos da rua: valores e expectativas de menores marginalizados em São Paulo. Ibrex.

Ferreira, F., Nogueira Jr., R. & Costa, B. (2010). Determinantes da escolarização de crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua no estado de Minas Gerais. Pol. Públ. Educ., 18(68), 465-488. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-40362010000300004

Ferreira, V., Littig, G & Vescovi, G. L. (2014). Crianças e adolescentes abrigados: perspectiva de 33 futuro após situação de rua. Psicologia & Sociedade, 26, 165-174. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-71822014000100018

Gigengack, R. (2008) Critical Omissions. How the Street Children Studies Could Address Self-Destructive Agency. In P. Christensen & A. James (Ed.), Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices (p. 205-219). Falmer Press.

Green, B. N., Johnson, C. D, & Adams, A. (2006). Writing narrative literature reviews for peer-reviewed journals: secrets of the trade. Journal of chiropractic medicine, 5(3), 101-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0899-3467(07)60142-6

Greenhalgh, T., Thorne, S. & Malterud, K. (2018). Time to challenge the spurious hierarchy of systematic over narrative reviews? European journal of clinical investigation, 48(6), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.12931

Gomes da Costa, A. (1991). Por uma pedagogia da presença. Ministério da Ação Social.

Gonçalves, Z. A. (1979). Meninos de rua e a marginalidade urbana em Belém. Salezianos do Pará.

Gontijo, D. & Medeiros, M. (2009). Adolescência, gênero e processo de vulnerabilidade/ desfiliação social. Revista Baiana de Saúde Pública, 33(4), 605-617. https://doi.org/10.22278/2318-2660.2009.v33.n4.a292

Hammersley, M. (2017). Childhood Studies: A sustainable paradigm? Childhood, 24(1), 113-127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568216631399

Hanson, K., Abebe, T., Aitken, S., Balagopalan, S. & Punch, S. (2018). Global/local research on children and childhood in a global society. Childhood, 25(3), 272-296. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568218779480

Hickson, J. & Gaydon, V. (1989). "Twilight Children": The Street Children of Johannesburg. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 17(2), 85-94. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1912.1989.tb00419.x

Hollnsteiner, M. & Tacon, P. (1983). Urban migration in developing countries: Consequences for families and their children. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 20, 5-26. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.23219832003

Huggins, M. K. & Rodrigues, S. (2004). Kids working on paulista avenue. Childhood, 11(4), 495-514. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568204047108

James, A., Jenks, C. & Prout, A. (1998). Theorizing childhood. Polity Press.

James, A. & Prout, A. (1990). Constructing and reconstructing childhood. Falmer.

Lalor, K. (1999). Street children: a comparative perspective. Child abuse & neglect, 23(8), 759-770. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00047-2

Landers, C. (1988). A cry for help: UNICEF response to street children in the third world. Children’s Environments Quarterly, 5(1), 37–42.

Larivière, V. & Gingras, Y. (2010). The impact factor's Matthew Effect: A natural experiment in bibliometrics. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(2), 424-427.

Lucchini, R. (1996). Theory, method and triangulation in the study of street children. Childhood, 3(2), 167-170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568296003002004

Lusk, M. (1989). Street children programs in Latin America. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 16(1), 55-77.

Lusk, M., Peralta, F. & Vest, G. W. (1989). Street children of Juarez: A field study. International Social Work, 32(4), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/002087288903200406

Lusk, M. & Mason, D. T. (1993). Meninos e meninas "de rua" no Rio de Janeiro: um estudo sobre sua tipologia. In Rizzini, I. (org)., A criança no Brasil hoje. Desafio para o terceiro milênio. EDUSU.

Medeiros, M., et al. (2001). A sexualidade para o adolescente em situação de rua em Goiânia. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 9(2), 35-41. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692001000200005

Medeiros et al. (2002). O significado de casa e rua para meninos com experiência de vida nas ruas: em busca de uma compreensão sobre as implicações para a saúde. Journal of human growth and development, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.39690

Meintjes, H., & Giese, S. (2006). Spinning the epidemic: The making of mythologies of orphanhood in the context of AIDS. Childhood, 13(3), 407-430. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568206066359

MNMMR; IBASE; NEV-USP. (1991). Vidas em risco: assassinato de crianças e adolescentes no Brasil. MNMMR/IBASE/NEV-USP.

Moura, S. (2002). The social construction of street children: Configuration and implications. British journal of social work, 32(3), 353-367. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/32.3.353

Moura, Y., Silva, E. & Noto, A. (2009). Redes sociais no contexto de uso de drogas entre crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua. Revista Psicologia em Pesquisa, 3(1), 31-46.

Nogueira, L. & Bellini, L. (2006). Sexualidade e violência, o que é isso para jovens que vivem na rua? Texto Contexto Enfermeira, 15(4), 610-616. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-07072006000400009

Paludo, S. & Koller, S. (2005). Quem são as crianças que estão nas ruas: vítimas ou vitimizadoras? Interação em Psicologia, 9(1), 65-76. https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v9i1.3287

Paludo, S. & Koller, S. (2008). Toda criança tem família: criança em situação de rua também. Psicologia & Sociedade, 20(1), 42-52. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-71822008000100005

Panter-Brick, C. (2002). Street children, human rights, and public health: A critique and future directions. Annual Review Anthropology, 31, 147-171. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.31.040402.085359

Patel, S. (1990). Street children, hotel boys and children of pavement dwellers and construction workers in Bombay: How they meet their daily needs. Environment and Urbanization, 2(2), 9-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/095624789000200203

Ribeiro, M., et al. (2003). O papel das drogas na vida da criança em situação de rua. Revista de Terapia Ocupacional da Universidade de São Paulo, 14(2), 79-84. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2238-6149.v14i2p79-84

Rizzini, I. (1986). Geração da rua. Um estudo sobre as crianças marginalizadas no Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: Universidade Santa Úrsula: Vice-Reitoria Comunitária - CESME, Série: Estudos e Pesquisas nº 1.

Rizzini, I. (1996). Street children: An excluded generation in Latin America. Childhood, 3(2), 215-233. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568296003002008

Rizzini, I. (2011). The promise of citizenship for Brazilian children. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 633(1), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716210383950

Rizzini, I. (2019). Crianças e adolescentes em conexão com a rua: pesquisas e políticas públicas. Ed. PUC-Rio.

Rizzini, I. et al. (2003) Vida nas ruas - Crianças e adolescentes nas ruas: trajetórias inevitáveis? Editora PUC-Rio.

Rizzini, I. & Couto, R. (2018). População infantil e adolescente em situação de rua no Brasil: análises recentes. CIESPI/PUC-Rio/FAPERJ.

Rizzini, I., Couto, R. & Vale, J. (2018). Os desafios da implementação de políticas públicas para crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua. Um guia comentado. CIESPI/PUC-Rio/FAPERJ.

Rizzini, I. & Rizzini, I., (1991). “Menores” institucionalizados e meninos de rua: os grandes temas de pesquisas na década de 80. In A. Fausto & R. Cervini (orgs.). O trabalho e a rua: crianças e adolescentes no Brasil urbano dos anos 80. Ed. Cortez.

Rosemberg, F. & Andrade, L. F. (1999). Ruthless rhetoric: child and youth prostitution in Brazil. Childhood, 6(1), 113-131. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568299006001009

Rother, E.T. (2007). Systematic literature review X narrative review. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem, 20(2), v-vi. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-21002007000200001

Sarmento, M. J (2003). As culturas da infância nas encruzilhadas da 2ª modernidade. In M.J. Sarmento & Cerisara, A. (Ed.), Crianças e miúdos. Perspectivas Socio-Pedagógicas da infância e Educação. Asa.

Scheper-Hughes, N. & Hoffman, D. (1998). Brazilian apartheid: Street kids and the struggle for urban space. In N. Scheper-Hughes & C. Sargent (Ed.), Small wars: The cultural politics of childhood (p. 352-388). University of Berkeley.

Silva, A. R. (1983). Um estudo preliminar sobre o menor carregador em feiras livres. PUC.

Silva, H. & Melito, C. (1995). Vozes do meio-fio. Relume Dumará.

Silva, J. & Avelar, T. (2014). Crianças em situação de rua e suas representações sobre lar e família por meio do desenho. Psicol. Argum., 32(76), 69-77.

Swanson, K. (2007). Revanchist urbanism heads south: the regulation of indigenous beggars and street vendors in Ecuador. Antipode, 39(4), 708-728. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2007.00548.x

Swift, A. (1991). Brazil: The Fight for Childhood in the City. UNICEF.

Tatlow‐Golden, M. & Montgomery, H. (2020). Childhood Studies and child psychology: Disciplines in dialogue? Children & Society (early view). https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12384

Tisdall, E. & Punch, S. (2012). Not so ‘new’?: Looking critically at childhood studies. Children's geographies 10(3), 249-264. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2012.693376

Tfouni, L. & Moraes, J. (2003). A família narrada por crianças e adolescentes de rua: a ficção como suporte do desejo. Psicologia USP, 14(1), 65-84. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65642003000100005

Trussell, R. (1999). The children’s streets: An ethnographic study of street children in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. International Social Work, 42(2), 189-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/002087289904200207

Tyler, F. B., Holliday, M. Y., Tyler, S. L., Echeverry, J. J. & Zea, M. C. (1987). Street children and play. Children's Environments Quarterly, 4(4), 13-17.

UN (2012) Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the protection and promotion of the rights of children working and/or living on the street. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-35_en.pdf

Ursin, M. (2019) Gatebarnet som offer og helt: En kritisk gjennomgang av den metodologiske utviklingen av den tverrfaglige barne- og barndomsforskningen. Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift, 3(12), 13-29. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.2535-2512-2019-01-02

Van Blerk, L. (2005). Negotiating spatial identities: Mobile perspectives on street life in Uganda. Children’s Geographies, 3(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733280500037091

Van Blerk, L. (2012) Berg-en-See street boys: merging street and family relations in Cape Town, South Africa. Children's Geographies, 10(3), 321-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2012.693381

Van Blerk, L. (2013). New street geographies: The impact of urban governance on the mobilities of Cape Town’s street youth. Urban studies, 50(3), 556-573. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098012468895

Vogel, A. & Mello, M. (1991). Da casa à rua: a cidade como fascínio e descaminho. In A. Fausto & R. Cervini (Ed.), O trabalho e a rua: crianças e adolescentes no Brasil urbano dos anos 80. Cortez.

Wallerstein, N. et al. (2017). Shared participatory research principles and methodologies: Perspectives from the USA and Brazil. Societies, 7(2), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc7020006

Woan, J., Lin, J. & Auerswald, C. (2013). The health status of street children and youth in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(3), 314-321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.03.013

Wyness, M. (2012). Children’s participation and intergenerational dialogue: Bringing adults back into the analysis. Childhood, 20(4), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568212459775

Young, L. (2003). The ‘place’ of street children in Kampala, Uganda: marginalisation, resistance, and acceptance in the urban environment. Environment and planning D: Society and space, 21(5), 607-627. https://doi.org/10.1068/d46j

Yunes, M. et al. (2001). Família vivida e pensada na percepção de crianças em situação de rua. Paidéia, 11(20), 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-863X2001000200006

Downloads

Published

2021-10-11

How to Cite

Ursin, M., & Rizzini, I. (2021). Four decades of Brazilian and international research on street children: A meta-narrative review. Journal of Comparative Social Work, 16(1), 7–37. https://doi.org/10.31265/jcsw.v16i1.367

Issue

Section

Articles