Adultism: A Critical Introduction to Discrimination Against Children - Hardcover

Liebel, Manfred; Meade, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1447378121 ISBN 13: 9781447378129

Publisher: Policy Press, 2026

Synopsis

Despite global advances in children’s rights, young people are routinely disregarded, overpowered and excluded. This persistent discrimination – known as adultism – permeates family life, education, urban design, legal systems and political discourse.

In this groundbreaking book, the authors provide a comprehensive introduction to adultism from an academic perspective while also emphasising its practical implications. Drawing on rich, real-world examples and research, they analyse it as a systemic form of discrimination, exploring how it evolved and is reproduced through language, institutions and everyday practices.

Timely, accessible and urgent, this book offers a vision for resistance and transformation, outlining how adultism can be challenged – by both adults and young people – to co-create a more equitable future.

About this title

About the Author

Manfred Liebel is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Technical University Berlin and Lecturer on Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.

Edition details

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1447378121
• ISBN 13: 9781447378129
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 332