« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Life In Low Income Families In Scotland: A Review Of The Literature
Summary
CONTEXT
Child poverty is at the heart of the UK and Scottish Governments' agenda (Bradshaw 2001; Department of Health 1999). In 1999, Prime Minister Blair announced that it was to be the UK government's mission to eradicate child poverty by 2020, to half it by 2010 and to reduce it by one quarter by 2004. The political context of a contemporary Scotland (in which responsibility for some poverty-related matters are devolved), the subtlety of variation in political priorities that results (such as the greater emphasis on social inclusion in Scotland - Scottish Executive 1999; The Scottish Parliament Information Centre 2000), and quantitative and qualitative differences in how poverty is experienced in Scotland (Brown et al. 2002), necessitate a Scottish-level analysis of poverty. Nevertheless, it should be acknowledged that responsibility for most of the economic factors which would tackle child poverty are reserved at Westminster.
RESEARCH AIMS
This review is the first stage of a research project which explores the experiences and views of poverty amongst individuals and groups living within low income households with at least one child under the age of eighteen. This review is a statement on our current understanding of low income living in Scotland, which (i) enhances our theoretical understanding of the significance of, and manner in which, poverty is viewed and encountered by individuals and groups living in low income households, and (ii) recounts the experiences and views of people living in low income households in Scotland. A secondary role of this review is to inform the second stage of the research project. Thus, this review was drawn upon by the research team for the purpose of designing a series of focus group interviews with groups living within low incomes households with at least one child under the age of eighteen.
METHOD
Reflecting the availability of published work, this desk-based study is as much a 'review of the literature', as it is a 'literature review'. There is a lack of research which explores the way in which life is experienced in low income households. However, anecdotal and incidental accounts of poverty are prevalent in the media, the literature of anti-poverty campaigning groups and the popular press. Thus, in addition to systematically reviewing relevant literature and presenting findings in a structured and concise manner (literature review), it is prudent to reflect on the wider ways in which relevant knowledge is generated and used by interest groups (review of the literature). An initial review of the research team's own work and knowledge of the field, preceded a systematic review of English language literature on research on the perceptions and experiences of those living on low incomes. Having identified possible articles of interest through bibliographic databases, the abstracts were read in order to exclude those not relevant to the specific aims of this study and to provide a preliminary assessment of the nature of current knowledge.
LOW INCOME LIVING AND FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN IN SCOTLAND
Low income living is a social problem in Scotland. Too many children live in poverty. The UK government and Scottish Parliament have recognised this and are taking steps to tackle the problem. Although there is no official definition of poverty in the UK, there is an established tradition of expert analysis using measures of low income to proxy for poverty. This empirical measurement of low income/poverty has become more central to government policy agendas in recent years; the proportion of children living in low income households is monitored annually to review progress in governments' goal to eradicate child poverty.
UNDERSTANDING LOW INCOME LIVING
Although low income is closely associated with ideas of poverty, social exclusion and quality of life, there are important differences between these concepts. Indeed, to some extent the focus on measuring low income (to estimate poverty) deflects attention away from aspects of quality in lives of material hardship and how people experiencing poverty perceive, manage and respond to life on a low income. Research which engages people experiencing poverty is required to redress this imbalance and to counter possible biases which may arise from the way in which poverty is encountered second-hand through poverty writing in academic, media, popular literature and campaigning groups' literature.
EXPERIENCING LOW INCOME
In both academic and government research, there is now a greater willingness to engage people rather than merely to research them. This reflects, and is reinforced by, a shift away from quantitative toward qualitative modes of research. This shift in research approach is consistent with this project's goal of seeking to understand the experience of people living on a low income. There is much to be gleaned from the limited research that has been undertaken with families experiencing a low income in Scotland. There is denial of living in poverty (although many will concede that they are less well off than others) and concerns are not only expressed over material hardship, but extend to lacking power to effect change, monotony in their everyday lives, social relations, the importance of neighbourhood and public service provision. Above all, parents are concerned for the welfare of their children and report being prepared to sacrifice their own needs in order to fulfil at least some of their children's. Accounts of children's experience of life on a low income are not limited to the autobiographical reflections of adults. Work with children has involved groups of affluent children and children experiencing poverty reflecting on their understanding of poverty; these studies have shown how children are aware of socio-economic differences, but that they tend to draw heavily on their own experiences, which tends to embrace a limited social circle of either mostly poor or mostly affluent. However, very little research has been undertaken which explores the experiences of children living on a low income.
« Previous | Contents | Next »