But these new roles also produced conflict. Anne Scott described how she and her daughter experienced learning to read at home.

It was a nightmare just getting her to read, to learn to read when she was in Grade 1. I was working nights at the time because I was on my own. I was always too tired to sit and read with her. One day the teacher had a go at me. And I just said to her “You know you’re the one who gets paid to teach her to read between 9.10 and 3.15 and if you can’t, then this is your problem, not mine.” (A. Scott in Louden, 1994, p. 6)

The juxtaposition between institutional ideals for parental involvement in literacy and the situated experiences of mothers, who are most often called upon to do this work, is highlighted in these contrasting perspectives. Yet as Anne Scott makes clear, the situated experience of mothers does not always correspond to these ideals. There is a silence in welfare-to-work and parental involvement policies over who is meant to do the work of ensuring these policies are successful. As described in Chapter Three, Standing (1999), Smith (1999), and Dudley-Marling (2001) suggested that these often demanding time-consuming responsibilities will be left to mothers who are likely already juggling multiple roles and family/work conflicts. Such conflicts are acknowledged in parental involvement policies — but they are not excuses for not participating, as the following text from suggests:

Although some working and single parents may be unable to contribute to schools because of work commitments and time constraints, educators are discovering many additional ways that parents can help students and their schools. Some of these ways are dependent upon the school's desire to involve parents. To effect change, parents must find time to participate in their children's education while schools must provide the supports necessary for them to be involved. The resulting partnerships between parents and teachers will increase student achievement and promote better cooperation between home and school. Together these efforts will connect families and schools to help children succeed in school and in their future. (Nathan, 2003)