30239

WiSe 20/21: Alleinerziehen als Forschungsgegenstand: Konzepte, Befunde und sozialpolitische Bedarfe

Hannah Zagel

Information for students

Please note: This seminar is taught in German.

Comments

Single parenthood is often seen as a contrasting case to the ‘normal family’ in public and academic debates. Today, the description of single parenthood as a liberating family setting is rare, but discussions focus on the disadvantages single parents and their children are experiencing, such as high poverty rates, social and emotional stress and barriers to employment. In many countries, single parents were key targets of welfare state reforms in the 1990s and 2000s. Some countries were able to increase single parents’ employment and hence reduce poverty risks (e.g. the UK), but in others poverty rates were stable (e.g. Germany) or even increased (e.g. Sweden). A newer strand of research on single parenthood focuses more on the heterogenous living conditions, and the dynamics of family life by which people enter and exit single parenthood. This block seminar covers three main themes: a) the two conceptual angles on single parents as a family type and as a life course episode, b) empirical studies of single parents’ demographic characteristics and living conditions, c) policy approaches to supporting single parents. close