Social and psychological exclusion

Abstract

The New Deal for Lone Parents is one policy in the UK which aims to reduce benefit dependency and enable lone parents to opt into a scheme which offers help and advice on jobs, benefits, training and childcare with the hope of improving job readiness. In tandem with this scheme there exists a myriad of community intervention initiatives whose aim may not be as explicit, but whose value can be equally empowering in raising self-awareness and self-esteem. This study examines the experiences of lone parents who participate in such schemes and contrasts this with the experiences of those who do not. The study shows that community-based schemes may not offer the best option for all lone mothers, but can provide an effective staging post for some towards a position of job readiness.

Poverty and social exclusion affect many different aspects of people's lives. They exist when people are denied opportunities to work, to learn, to live healthy, active and fulfilling lives …

Department of Social Security, September 1999, p. 3

El nuevo convenio para los padres solteros en el Reino Unido se basa en una política cuyos objetivos están enfocados a reducir la dependencia en los beneficios del Estado y a facilitar a las madres solteras a optar por un proyecto que ofrece ayuda y consejos en relacion con al trabajo, las subvenciones, los cursos gratuitos y el cuidado de los hijos con la esperanza de mejorar la disponibilidad laboral. En relación con este proyecto existen innumerables iniciativas comunitarias cuyos objetivos no estan totalmente explicitos, pero potenciarían la autoestima y la autoconciencia de dichas madres. Esta investigación analiza las experiencias de aquellos padres solteros que participan en tal proyecto y la contrasta con la experiencia de los que no. Tambien la investigación muestra que los proyectos no estan siempre la mejor opción para todas las madres solteras pero pueden ayudarlas hacia la entrada en el mundo laboral.

Keywords:

• lone parents
• community schemes
• self-esteem
• empowerment
• los padres solteros
• las iniciativas comunitarias
• el auto estima
• el empowerment

Notes

Mark Meadows is a lecturer/researcher in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University. His particular area of interest is the manner in which self-efficacy has affect upon the lived experiences individuals may have and how this may influence relationships within the wider community. Address: Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University, I. M. Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK.

Diane Grant is a senior lecturer/researcher in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University. Her research interests lie in community issues such as poverty, homelessness and the impact of social policy on disadvantaged groups. She is currently directing research into gender discrimination and ageist perceptions, a project which is part funded through European Social Fund Objective 3. Address: Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University, I. M. Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK.

Average hourly pay for lone mothers was £4.23, with an average of 21.5 hours per week worked (Hales et al., 2000).

This scheme has now closed due to lack of funding.

For the purposes of this paper the terms participant and non-participant will be used in the way they are used within the Benefits Agency reports. That is, participants are those that are involved or attend a community-based scheme and consider themselves to be part of the scheme or initiative. Non-participants are those that either do not attend a scheme or do not consider themselves to be part of one. The rationale for this is that some lone parents were contacted at such schemes who were either attending for the first time or only attended at irregular intervals. Volunteers refer to those from either cohort who were part of the study group.

Wallston, Wallston, Kaplan, & Mardes (1976) describes how internal and external loci of control should be considered independent of each other and that one can be both internal and external simultaneously.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Meadows

Mark Meadows is a lecturer/researcher in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University. His particular area of interest is the manner in which self-efficacy has affect upon the lived experiences individuals may have and how this may influence relationships within the wider community. Address: Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University, I. M. Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK. Diane Grant is a senior lecturer/researcher in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University. Her research interests lie in community issues such as poverty, homelessness and the impact of social policy on disadvantaged groups. She is currently directing research into gender discrimination and ageist perceptions, a project which is part funded through European Social Fund Objective 3. Address: Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University, I. M. Marsh Campus, Barkhill Road, Aigburth, Liverpool L17 6BD, UK.