Lone mothers and 'parental' involvement: A contradiction in policy?

At the same time as the number of lone mother families has been increasing, education policy has demanded more involvement in children's schooling fro m 'parents' (i,e., mothers). Social policy in this area is inherently contr adictory encouraging lone mothers into paid employment on the one hand, whi lst imploring mothers to 'help' in (and out of) the classroom on the other. Whilst lone mothers become scapegoats for all societal ills, parental invo lvement schemes are seen to solve society's 'problems'. Drawing on data fro m a research project, this article begins to examine the contradictions wit hin and between these policies for low income lone mothers.