Describe two conclusions which could be drawn from the data in Source A about family types and poverty.
OCR
A Level
2018
👑Complete Model Essay
Free Essay Plan
Essay Outline: Family Types and Poverty
Introduction
This essay will analyze the data in Source A to draw two conclusions about the relationship between family types and poverty. The essay will consider the relative prevalence of poverty in different family structures, including lone parent and couple families, both with and without working parents. It will also examine the potential impact of changes in employment status on poverty rates over time.
Conclusion 1: Worklessness is a significant factor in child poverty across different family types.
This conclusion can be drawn from the data because it shows a higher prevalence of poverty among workless families, regardless of whether they are lone parent or couple families. The data indicates a significant difference in poverty rates between working and workless families in both 2001/02 and 2011/12, suggesting that income from employment is a crucial factor in mitigating poverty.
Conclusion 2: Changes in poverty rates between 2001/02 and 2011/12 vary by family type.
While worklessness is a consistent factor, the data reveals a complex pattern in the change of poverty rates over time. While poverty rates decreased for many family types, particularly workless families, they increased slightly for working couple families. This highlights the importance of considering the specific contexts and factors influencing poverty in different family forms.
Discussion
This analysis suggests that the relationship between family structure and poverty is multifaceted. While worklessness is a consistent driver of poverty, the specific dynamics of poverty rates vary depending on family type and time period. This highlights the need for targeted policies and interventions to address the complex challenges of poverty in contemporary society.
Conclusion
This essay has explored two conclusions drawn from the data in Source A regarding the relationship between family types and poverty. The findings suggest that worklessness is a significant contributor to poverty across family types, but that poverty rates fluctuate based on family structure and specific time periods. These findings underscore the complexity of poverty and the need for nuanced policy responses.
Family Types and Poverty: Analysing the Data
Source A presents data on the relationship between family types, employment status, and child poverty rates across two time periods. Analysis of this data allows for several conclusions to be drawn regarding the factors influencing poverty among families with children.
Conclusion 1: The Persistent Impact of Worklessness
The most striking conclusion from Source A is the strong correlation between worklessness and child poverty, regardless of family type. In both 2001/02 and 2011/12, children in workless families, whether lone parent or two-parent, were significantly more likely to experience poverty compared to those with at least one employed parent. This highlights the crucial role of stable employment in ensuring family income and mitigating the risk of poverty. The data suggests that policies aimed at supporting parents into employment, such as affordable childcare and job training programs, could be effective in reducing child poverty rates.
Conclusion 2: Shifting Dynamics Within Family Structures
While worklessness remains a key factor, the data also reveals some noteworthy variations within different family structures across time. In 2001/02, the poverty gap between workless and working lone parent families was considerable, but this gap narrowed by 2011/12. This could be attributed to factors like increased government support for single parents or a rise in the number of single mothers accessing higher-paying jobs. Conversely, a slight increase in child poverty was observed among working couple families between the two periods. This trend might reflect stagnant wages, rising living costs, or a decline in the real value of social benefits, making it more challenging for even dual-income families to stay above the poverty line.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Source A underscores the persistent impact of worklessness on child poverty, emphasizing the need for effective employment support programs. Furthermore, it reveals the dynamic nature of poverty within different family structures, suggesting that a nuanced approach to policy-making, considering factors beyond employment status, is crucial to effectively address the multifaceted issue of child poverty.
Free Mark Scheme Extracts
Poverty and Family Structure
Workless families are more likely to be in poverty than working families whether two parent or lone parent and this was true for both years shown.
Children in workless lone parent families were more likely to be in poverty in both years than those in working lone parent families, however there was little difference in the proportions from workless and working couple families in 2001/02 and there were slightly fewer children in poverty from workless lone parent families than workless couple families in 2011/12.
The proportion of children in poverty from working couple families increased slightly between 2001/02 and 2011/12.
The proportion of children in poverty from 2001/02 and 2011/12 has decreased for other types, especially workless families.