This article examines how, in the decade following India's independence, the psychology of childhood became a locus of experimentation, and an avenue through which approaches to postcolonial development were expressed. Tracing the ideas of educational reformers, psychological researchers and child welfare advocates, we show how a ‘science of childhood’ in this period emphasised both the inherent potential and the emotional complexity of India's young citizens. However, while identifying this potential, these actors at times circumscribed it by deploying culturalist assumptions about Indian childhood that were linked to a teleology of the new nation state. These were ideas that shaped a ‘pedagogic’ approach to postcolonial modernisation. Nation‐building was not just a technocratic undertaking, but an educative project that was scientific, spiritual, and therapeutic in orientation. The article argues for greater attention to the pedagogy of the state in analyses of past and present state‐citizen relations.

中文翻译：

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童年的科学和国家的教育学：1950年代印度的后殖民发展。

本文探讨了印度独立后的十年间，儿童时代的心理如何成为实验的场所，以及表达后殖民发展途径的途径。追溯教育改革者，心理研究人员和儿童福利倡导者的想法，我们展示了这一时期的“童年科学”如何强调印度年轻公民的内在潜力和情感复杂性。但是，在确定这种潜力的同时，这些演员有时通过运用与新民族国家的目的论相关的关于印度童年的文化主义假设来限制这一潜力。这些想法塑造了后殖民现代化的“教学法”方法。国家建设不仅是技术官僚主义的事业，而且是一项科学的教育项目，精神上和治疗上的方向。本文认为，在分析过去和现在的国家与公民之间的关系时，应更加注意国家的教学法。