I Be Africa Man Original: Towards a Contextual Conceptualization of Father Involvement in the Education of Children with Disabilities in Kenya

Father involvement could play a significant role in the lives of children with disabilities. Research is scarce on father involvement in the education of children with disabilities in Africa. We seek to provide a context for father involvement in the formal education of children with disabilities in Kenya, with the aim of contributing to the development of a conceptual understanding for father involvement in such a circumstance. We examine general research on father involvement in Kenya, explore the policy frameworks that guide fatherhood in the country, and look at the specific area of involvement in education. We then present a case study that examines father involvement in the formal education of children with disabilities in Kenya. Our analysis flags up a key opportunity in the pursuit of education for children with disabilities when fathers are involved; they can support their children with disabilities’ access, participation and success in education. We highlight the need for research that builds upon the voices of fathers to illuminate their role in education and we also make some suggestions toward a conceptual lens that will highlight the contextual realities involved, particularly in regard to the education of children with disabilities.

The Influence of Father Involvement on Their Children’s Self-Esteem in the Arab World

To understand the role of Arab fathers in raising their children, which remains understudied, this study analyzed different forms of father involvement during childhood and their relationship with children’s self-esteem during adult life. Drawing on a larger study on father involvement, data were collected from 2,170 respondents across ten countries in the Arab world, consisting of questionnaires about their relationships with their fathers and life history interviews focusing on father involvement. Regression analyses indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between nurturing father involvement, socioeconomic status (SES), and self-esteem, while psychological control showed a statistically significant negative association with self-esteem. Further analysis, differentiating between Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and non-GCC countries, revealed that SES has a stronger relationship with self-esteem in non-GCC countries than in the resource-rich GCC countries.

Peran Pengasuhan Ayah Terhadap Kemampuan Penyesuaian Diri Anak Usia Dini

Kemampuan penyesuaian diri pada anak dipengaruhi oleh pola pengasuhan di keluarganya, termasuk didalamnya keterlibatan ayah dalam pengasuhan. Peran ayah dalam pengasuhan anak usia dini memberikan dampak yang positif bagi anak. Ayah lebih mendorong anak untuk mencoba sesuatu yang baru, mengajarkan keberanian, kemandirian, dan rasa tanggungjawab pada anak. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara peran pengasuhan ayah terhadap kemampuan penyesuaian diri anak usia dini. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kuantitatif yang memberikan deskripsi kuantitatif atau numerik tren, sikap, atau pendapat suatu populasi dengan mempelajari sampel populasi tersebut. Pengukuran menggunakan dua instrumen, yaitu Skala Penyesuaian Diri Anak dan Inventory of Father Involvement (IFI). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara peran pengasuhan ayah dan kemampuan penyesuaian diri anak (r=0,402, p=0.012). Peran pengasuhan ayah memiliki kontribusi sebesar 16,1% terhadap kemampuan penyesuaian diri anak.

Patterns of Father Involvement and Child Development among Families with Low Income

This study examined patterns of father involvement and their relations with social, behavioral, and cognitive development among low-income children < 5 years. Latent class analysis on data from 2650 fathers (Mage = 29.35 years) in the Supporting Healthy Marriages program revealed four father involvement patterns: (1) High positive involvement (48%); (2) engaged but harsh discipline (42%); (3) low cognitive stimulation (8%); and (4) lower involvement (2%). The low cognitive stimulation pattern was associated with greater father- and mother-reported child behavior problems and lower child socioemotional and cognitive functioning. The engaged but harsh discipline pattern was associated with more father-reported child behavior problems. These findings highlight the need for active engagement of fathers in parenting interventions to promote child development.

Couples’ Communication Behaviour and the Gender Division of Family Work Across the Transition to Parenthood

This study investigates the conceptual argument that constructive and explicit couple communication may reduce gender inequalities in couples’ division of family work. We focus on the transition to parenthood which for most couples in Germany results in a shift towards a more traditional division of labour. Using 314 first-time parents from the German Family Panel, we apply growth curve models to assess whether partners’ prenatal characteristics explain the division of housework and childcare around the time of childbirth and in the following years. After controlling for gender ideologies and economic resources, male partners’ frequency of positive communication is associated with greater father involvement in housework and childcare from the start. However, neither men’s nor women’s communication behaviours dampen the shift towards a more traditional division of housework and childcare in the first years after childbirth. The frequency of negative communication does not correlate with the division of family work.

Interventions with Fathers: Effective Social Work Practice for Enhancing Individual and Family Well-Being

Father involvement, as specifically parent-led or engaged activities, is recognized and understood as distinctively broad in scope, but also rigid and historically prescribed by gendered social roles such the provider and protector roles. American fatherhood is rooted in masculine tropes that historically restricted men to narrowly circumscribed social roles and expected parental performance. All too frequently hegemonic masculinity stifles broad paternal engagement and ingenuity as well as children’s and families well-being. In addition, racial and ethnic bias and discrimination limits Black and other men of color’s ability and access to enact paternal expectations and obligations broadly shared by American civil society and the fathers themselves (Johnson & Johnson, under review). Interventions with these fathers and their families frame the empirical studies in this Special Issue of Research on Social Work Practice.

Toward a Better Understanding of the Associations Among Different Measures of Father Involvement and Parenting Alliance

The variety of measurement methods used in fathering research to assess fathers’ involvement makes it difficult to summarize what we know about paternal involvement and its correlates and antecedents. Aiming to shed light on the potential consequences of using different measures of paternal involvement, this study examined: (a) the associations among three measures of father participation in parental activities, namely self- and mother-reported questionnaires and a father-completed time diary, and (b) their respective associations with a well-documented predictor of father involvement, i.e., parenting alliance. The sample included 80 parental couples with a 6-month-old child. Although moderate associations were found among measures of father involvement, only the maternal and paternal questionnaires were associated with parenting alliance. These results suggest that time diaries and questionnaires tap into different aspects of father involvement that can have distinct correlates and determinants. Better acknowledgment of the diverging results attributable to the use of different measurement approaches of father involvement is needed.