This thematic collection of articles, with case studies and co-authored commentaries, contributed to by leading scholars, advances debates about rural childhood. Based on international research and theoretical innovation, it examines the socio-cultural contexts faced by the young.

1. From difference to dialogue: conceptualizing global perspectives on rural childhood and youth Ruth Panelli, Samantha Punch and Elsbeth Robson Part 1: Contexts and Identities 2. Doing and belonging: toward a more-than-representational account of young migrant identities in Lesotho and Malawi Nicola Ansell and Lorraine van Blerk 3. Exploring masculinity, technology and identity in rural Norway Anne Sofie Laegran 4. 'Our lives are like a sock inside-out': children's work and youth identity in neoliberal rural Mexico Fina Carpena-Méndez 5. Rural daughters in Australia, New Zealand and the United States: an historical perspective Kathryn Hunter and Pamela Riney-Kehrberg 6. Reflecting on contexts and identities for young rural lives Naomi Bushin, Nicola Ansell, Hanne Adriansen, Jaana Lähteenmaa and Ruth Panelli Part 2: Agency and Everyday Action 7. An example of 'thin' agency: child domestic workers in Tanzania Natascha Klocker 8. On both sides of the tracks: British rural teenagers' views on their ruralities Hugh Matthews and Faith Tucker 9. The 'Malaysian orphans' of Lombok: children and young people's livelihood responses to out-migration in eastern Indonesia Harriot Beazley 10. 'I mean, it depends on me in the end, doesn't it?' Young people's perspectives on their daily lives and future prospects in rural east Germany Nadine Schäfer 11. Conceptualizing agency in the lives and actions of rural young people Elsbeth Robson, Stephen Bell and Natascha Klocker Part 3: Power Relations and Processes 12. Generational power relations in rural Boliva Samantha Punch 13. 'Preppy-jocks', 'rednecks', 'stoners' and 'scum': power and youth social groups in rural Vermont Cheryl Morse Dunkley and Ruth Panelli 14. 'The child drums and the elder dances'? Girlfriends and boyfriends negotiating power relations in rural Uganda Stephen Bell 15. Rurality, power and the otherness of childhood in British contexts Owain Jones 16. Power and place for rural young people Samantha Punch, Stephen Bell, Lauren Costello and Ruth Panelli 17. Conclusions and future directions for studying young rural lives Elsbeth Robson, Ruth Panelli and Samantha Punch