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The paper provides a descriptive analysis of non-resident fathers in the UK in relation to living standards and social relationships. Drawing on data from the large-scale, nationally representative UK Poverty and Social Exclusion 2012 study the paper highlights that non-resident fathers have higher levels of poverty and deprivation, and lower levels of social support than do fathers with resident-only children. The paper therefore addresses the situation of a relatively ignored subpopulation and contributes to ongoing discussions about the limitations of the household as the unit of analysis for measuring living standards by noting the potential importance of extrahousehold financial responsibilities.

Popular and political discussions in the UK about children's future prospects are currently dominated by an emergent dichotomy in which either 'poverty' or 'parenting' is posited as the explanatory factor. In the current period of austerity this oppositional framing has become increasingly explicit: in response to the riots which took place across England in August 2011 one set of commentators focused on a lack of personal responsibility with its origins in the absences of appropriate parental role models, while others emphasised poverty and social disadvantage as causal mechanisms. The same pattern of highlighting either poverty or parenting is evident in major policy documents, including two significant government commissioned reports The Foundation Years (2010) and Early Intervention (2011).This paper argues that the development of the poverty/parenting dichotomy should be resisted because it is both unconvincing and unhelpful. Notwithstanding its popular and political prevalence, this discourse is unconvincing because research evidence suggests the importance of both parental engagement and financial resources for outcomes for children. Further, it is unhelpful because the creation and maintenance of this dichotomy works against developing a nuanced understanding of how the practices and attitudes of parents interact with economic circumstances and access to resources. Therefore the paper argues that as social researchers we must actively challenge lazy misrepresentations of existing evidence and counter any simplistic discourse. This needs to be done in combination with conducting work which can develop better understandings of the relationships between material disadvantage and what parents do, as well as effectively communicating these findings.

The UK government's White Paper on Education, The Importance of Teaching (2010), includes a proposal ( Troops to Teachers) to encourage ex-service personnel to train as teachers: this paper presents a critical analysis of the discussions promoting the initiative. Firstly, it is argued that the initiative attempts a rapprochement between 'reputation' and 'respectability' (McDowell, 2003) by presenting 'military masculinity' as the solution to problematic 'protest masculinity'. Secondly, the paper highlights three contradictions that emerge when the proposal is read alongside broader educational policy: teaching as a career only for high academic achievers versus teaching as appropriate for those with low levels of educational attainment; education as offering everyone the same opportunities versus practices which intentionally segment educational experience along class lines; and male teachers as the embodiment of traditional masculinity or as undermining gender stereotypes.

Fathering is alleged to have undergone dramatic changes in recent decades with proclamations of 'new fathering' dominating the literature. However, it is not always obvious what this new and 'involved' fathering entails. This paper aims to bring greater clarity to the nebulous concept of the involved father. While acknowledging the recession of traditional fatherhood centred on breadwinning, the argument looks beyond this oft-identified process. Instead the focus is on elucidating the elements viewed as the essential components of the father-child relationship. For the fathers in this study, the concept of intimacy seems to encapsulate ideas about good fathering. The idea of 'intimate fathering' encompasses, but goes beyond an emotional connection, and prioritises the quality of the parent-child relationship. This definition has implications for the analysis and understanding of fathering behaviour. In particular, such intimacy may be disassociated from a time commitment.

Considers the exclusionary processes arising from the way in which fathers are excluded from childcare activities. Outlines the parental leave provisions in the UK and explores the nature of the assumptions made about fatherhood. Compares the take up of parental leave by both men and women in other European countries. Concludes that whilst the current system supports a balanced work and home life but the significant gender differences in take‐up of parental leave between men and women means that legislation may be making gender division with respect to early childcare more marked rather than reduced.

This text provides insights into the nature and extent of poverty and social exclusion in the UK today for different social groups: older and younger people; parents and children; ethnic groups; men and women; disabled people; and across regions through the recent period of austerity.

This article examines how parenting practices popularly classed as 'good' are related to poverty, education and time pressure. Using the 2012 UK Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) survey we argue that parenting practices such as reading, playing games and eating meals together are not absent among those who are less well educated, have lower incomes or are more deprived of socially accepted necessities: therefore, political claims of widespread 'poor parenting' are misplaced. Further, we suggest that the dominant trope of poor people being poor at parenting may arise because the activities of the most educationally advantaged parents – who do look different to the majority – are accepted as the benchmark against whom others are assessed. This leads us to suggest that the renewed interest in sociological research on elites should be extended to family life in order that the exceptionality of the most privileged is recognised and analysed.