The morality of freedom

The home and the school

The purpose of this project was to review existing sources on multi-dimensional disadvantage or severe forms of social exclusion characterised as ‘deep exclusion’; to recommend possibilities for secondary analysis of existing data sets to explore the dynamics of ‘deep exclusion’; to identify any relevant gaps in the knowledge base; and to recommend research strategies for filling such gaps.

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The Multi-dimensional Analysis of Social Exclusion

While the living conditions of children and young people in the European Union have gained increasing recognition across the EU, the well-being of children is not monitored on the European level. Based on a rights-based, multi-dimensional understanding of child well-being we analyse data already available for the EU 25, using series data as well as comparative surveys of children and young people. We compare the performance of EU Member States on eight clusters with 23 domains and 51 indicators and give a picture of children’s overall well-being in the European Union. The clusters are children’s material situation, housing, health, subjective well-being, education, children’s relationships, civic participation and risk and safety.

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An Index of Child Well-being in the European Union

1. Introduction: What Do We Mean by Development? 2. Modernization, Keynesianism and Neoliberalism 3. Structuralism, Neo-Marxism and Socialism 4. Grassroots Development 5. Social and Cultural Dimensions of Development 6. Environment and Development Theory 7. Globalization and Development: Problems and Solutions? 8. Conclusion

Theories and Practices of Development

The challenge of child poverty What do we know about childhood poverty? Children's access to economic and material resources "Fitting in" and "joining in" - social relationships and social integration Family life and self-reflection Experiences and perceptions of school - analysis of BHPS Youth Survey data Childhood poverty and social exclusion - incorporating children's perspectives

Childhood poverty and social exclusion: From a child's perspective

This review of 10 years of qualitative research with disadvantaged children in the UK shows that despite some gaps in the knowledge base, there is now a substantive body of evidence exploring children’s lives and experiences from their own perspectives. The review reveals that poverty penetrates deep into the heart of childhood, permeating every facet of children’s lives from economic and material disadvantage, through the structuring and limiting of social relationships and social participation to the most personal often hidden aspects of disadvantage associated with shame, sadness and the fear of social difference and marginalisation.

The Everyday Costs of Poverty in Childhood: A Review of Qualitative Research Exploring the Lives and Experiences of Low-Income Children in the UK

Lone mothers are a key target group for government policies to increase employment participation rates. Employment sustainability is central to achieving this goal and thus it is important to understand the factors that affect sustainability. When the lone mother starts work, her daily life changes in various ways, and so do the lives of her children, and perhaps also other family members who may become involved in childcare, or in other forms of help. These social relationships – at home, in work, in care settings, at school – may be a key element in employment sustainability, and one that has not yet been systematically explored in research. This article draws on data from an ongoing longitudinal qualitative study of lone mothers and their children, which has been following the families from the point that the mothers left income support and started working for at least 16 hours per week. The analysis starts from the assumption that sustaining work over time is a process that actively involves the family as a whole and not just the individual lone mother. In this article we explore how social relationships, inside and outside the family, are central to the ‘family–work project’ of sustaining employment.

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Relationships of Care: Working Lone Mothers, their Children and Employment Sustainability

Living with poverty: a review of the literature on children's and families' experiences of poverty

The concept of social exclusion is increasingly important in policy and research but has rarely been addressed from a child-centred perspective. Childhood is a social experience in itself, one that has its own norms and customs, and where the demands of participation and inclusion may be considerable, likewise the costs of exclusion. This paper explores the meaning and experience of social exclusion for children by focusing on a particular group of children and young people, those ‘looked after’ in the public care system. The sample involved children who had minimal contact with their parents, and who although not currently materially poor were vulnerable to a high future risk of experiencing poverty. They thus provided a valuable opportunity to explore some of the relational aspects of social exclusion. Using in-depth interviews to explore the meaning of friendship in their lives, the study revealed the importance of social relationships for these children, andin particular the impact of the care system on their capacity to make and sustain social networks. The findings suggest that the relational aspects of poverty are not just consequences of material poverty but can have a dynamic of their own, one that may have a particular resonance for children. This has implications not just for children in the care system, but also for children in families, where family poverty and the restricted social and economic integration of parents may also have an impact on children’s capacity for developing social relationships and wider social networks.

Tess Ridge

Papers

Childhood poverty and social exclusion: From a child's perspective

The Everyday Costs of Poverty in Childhood: A Review of Qualitative Research Exploring the Lives and Experiences of Low-Income Children in the UK

Relationships of Care: Working Lone Mothers, their Children and Employment Sustainability

Living with poverty: a review of the literature on children's and families' experiences of poverty

Excluding Children: Autonomy, Friendship and the Experience of the Care System