Support Father Engagement: What Can We Learn From Fathers?

Kyle Miller,Lakeesha James,Jordan Arellanes

doi:10.53956/jfde.2022.151

Abstract

Fathers play a unique and important role in children’s lives. However, gendered attitudes and practices with families have precluded their full engagement in children’s education and development. Based on the collective effort of a local fatherhood coalition, the purpose of this community-based study was to explore how fathers view themselves as involved in children’s lives and their perceived barriers to involvement in order to initiate change in local schools and community. Twenty-three fathers from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds participated in interviews and focus groups to describe their definitions of father involvement, strengths as fathers, and needs. A collaborative, qualitative analysis of data led to the identification of four themes that framed the experiences of fathers and their needs. Mothers played a powerful role in promoting and prohibiting fathers’ involvement; technology provided opportunities to connect but also interfered with attachment efforts; fathers in more privileged positions were able to focus on attachment rather than merely providing; and school engagement was rarely mentioned with a focus on extra-curricular involvement. We discuss the influence of paternal characteristics and situational factors in how these themes inform the lives of fathers and the complex nature of fatherhood. Implications for schools and communities are offered in hopes to disrupt current practices and design more inclusive and equitable approaches to including fathers in family engagement efforts.

Highlights

The term parent implies the inclusion of both mothers and fathers, the vast majority of parental investigations focus solely on mothers
Fathers in this study desired to focus their parenting on attachment, co-parenting, joint activities with children, and reducing the interference of technology
Real world realities, legal challenges, and gendered school and community practices hindered fathers from achieving their parenting goals. These findings contribute to scholarship on the disconnect between fathers’ ideal versions of themselves and their current involvement behaviors due to the myriad obstacles that interfere with paternal involvement (Wall & Arnold, 2007)

Summary

Introduction

The term parent implies the inclusion of both mothers and fathers, the vast majority of parental investigations focus solely on mothers. There is a notable lack of attention given to fathers (Downer, 2007; Guarin & Meyer, 2018; Posey-Maddox, 2017) This same sentiment can be found in many school and community initiatives that direct family engagement efforts toward mothers (Guterman et al, 2018; Lee et al, 2016; Phares et al, 2010; Rice, 2015). Decades of research and practice have stressed the absence, disinterest, and lack of competence of fathers in their children’s education and development (Booth & Edwards, 1980; Pruett et al, 2017; Valiquette-Tessier et al, 2019), placing fathers on the fringe of parenthood These erroneous and gendered attitudes, which are entrenched in family engagement practices, have restricted fathers’ abilities to fulfill a more comprehensive role in their children’s lives (Amato, 2018). This article highlights the valuable and collaborative work of a local fatherhood coalition located in the Midwest of the United States, which is a driving force in helping to improve the lives of fathers and their children

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion