This presentation links sociological perspectives of fatherhood and homelessness to qualitative research with fathers experiencing homelessness. Reporting on the findings from 40 in-depth interviews and two focus groups, it explores participants’ conceptions of fathering and details the material and symbolic barriers to fathering while experiencing homelessness. Fathers describe a ‘performance failure’ that results in ‘distancing’ themselves from their children and acting to conceal their inabilities to fulfil the prescriptive social norms and dominant representations of fatherhood. Findings highlight the impact of these social processes as well as the utility of reconceptualising performances of fathering within social work practice. The presentation concludes by exploring the relationship between sociological perspectives and approaches to social work.

About Steven Roche

Steven is a PhD candidate in the Department of Social Work at Monash University and a Research Officer at the Institute of Child Protection Studies (ICPS) at ACU. Following several years of social work practice, Steven has worked on research projects investigating children’s safety in institutions and in residential care, the post-settlement experiences of children and their families from a refugee backgrounds, experiences of homelessness, the relationship between family conflict and youth homelessness, as well as policy and practice in the out-of-home care sector. Steven completed a Master of Social Policy from the University of Melbourne in 2016 and has published in Australian Social Work, The British Journal of Social Work and Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies.