Perspectives of single mothers and their relationship with the staff at their children’s school: a narrative inquiry

Abstract

The depiction of the ‘family’ is normative: two-parent homes are the acceptable standard. Single parents deviate from the norm, and are perceived as ‘outsiders’ and/or ‘failures’ that require ‘charitable’ support. This perception is cause for a deconstruction of the school system. Using poststructuralism, the deconstruction of the inequitable layers of the school system is the first step to identifying the areas of unitary subjectivity and language that educators in public schools are consciously or unconsciously dictating. This narrative inquiry will address: 1) What are the experiences of single mothers in the Manitoba public school system? (2) How do these experiences impact their collaborative relationships with their children’s school? (3) How can school staff reshape their operations to increase collaboration with single mothers? Study findings suggest that educators take the necessary steps to deconstruct their discourse around lives that single mothers live, striving to create equity in family partnerships.