The growth of market forces and the rhetoric of 'choice' in education ignores economic and cultural differences between parents, especially the implications for lone mothers on low incomes, by assuming everyone has equal access to resources. Social, economic and education policies com bine to constrain and limit the involvement and 'choice' lone mothers have in their children's education. This article explores some of the struc tural and moral constraints placed upon lone mothers on low incomes in relation to their children's schooling, while acknowledging that lone mothers work within these constraints to create opportunities for their children in education.
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