This paper looks at changes in the conceptions of childhood in recent decades, and their contribution to the understanding of the sociabilities and subjectivities that are moulded in school, and how these relate to teachers' initial training. An overview of social changes in late modernity is given, and their impact on teacher professionality and the conception of childhood considered. The results are given of a study on conceptions of childhood, expressed in or related to the initial training of teachers in the 1st Basic Education Cycle (CEB), in Portugal since April 1974. (Contains 2 figures.)