Does it really matter whether or not dads
read with their children? Research says that it does. Christina
Clark from the National Literacy Trust sets out the evidence.
Research in the last three decades has established
a clear link between parental involvement and children's
educational attainment. Although most of this research has
taken "parental involvement" to be the same as mother's
involvement, increasing attention has been paid to the specific
influences fathers and other male carers have on their children's
development.
Much of the research on father involvement
and child outcomes, both in the UK and internationally,
has focused on educational achievement. This research has
shown that when fathers take an active role in their children's
education by volunteering at school, helping children with
their homework or attending school meetings, children are
more likely to do better academically, to participate in
extra-curricular activities and to enjoy school (Nord et al., 1997). Children
also benefit in numerous other ways from having involved
fathers, including increased cognitive abilities, higher
self-esteem and greater social competence. Overall, children
are more likely to reap these benefits the earlier fathers
become involved with their children's learning (Clarke-Steward, 1978).
However, with the exception of studies into
the facilitators of or barriers to father involvement in
family literacy programmes, the relationship between fathers'
engagement and children's literacy outcomes has rarely been
explored in detail. This is surprising since fathers' reading
habits can have a substantial influence on their children's
ability to read, their levels of interest and their reading
choices (Llyod, 1999). Shared literacy activities can also strengthen
the bond between fathers and their children. Indeed, it
has been suggested that the lack of male role models involved
in reading and other literacy-related activities during
children's early years is one of the possible causes for
the declining rates of school achievement for boys (Wragg et al., 1998).
So, what is known about fathers' level of
engagement with their children's literacy activities? Surveys
have shown that there are high social expectations for fathers
to spend time with their children, as evidenced by recent
provisions of paternal leave and flexitime in the workplace (Dex & Ward, 2007; Smeaton, 2006).
Not only are there greater expectations on men to become
involved fathers who are active in their child's upbringing,
but young men today also endorse less traditional gender
roles (Scott et al., 1998) and wish to participate more fully in family life (Henwood & Procter, 2003).
This shift in perceptions of fatherhood is
borne out by time-use surveys (e.g. Fischer et al., 1999), which indicate that although
mothers continue to devote more time to caring for children,
fathers' involvement in child-related activities has increased
substantially in the past few decades. As part of these
activities, fathers are involved with their children's literacy.
Research shows that fathers who share in childcare duties,
such as feeding and bathing the child, tend to be more involved
in their children's reading and writing than fathers who
do not participate in childcare duties (Ortiz et al., 1999).
When asked who read most with their children
in a UK study (Millard & Hunter, 2001), 37 per cent of fathers reported that they
and their partners both read to their children in equal
amounts, while 40 per cent conceded that their partners
were more likely to read with their children than them.
Interviewing 26 fathers regarding their literacy involvement
with their children, a US study (Ortiz et al., 1999) found that the majority
of fathers reported engaging in weekly school-related literacy
practices with their children, whilst almost two-thirds
of fathers also read with their children for recreational
purposes. Common to these studies is the finding that fathers
view reading as a way to maintain a relationship with their
children, and believe that having books in the home and
being seen reading by their children are important (Lloyd, 1999).
While fathers might want to increase the amount
of time spent with their children, there are family, personal,
structural and cultural barriers that may hinder increased
involvement in family life (for a review see Goldman, 2005). Fathers may also not see that
they have a role to play: one study found that they tended
to give the child's mother the main responsibility for reading
with children, usually because they viewed her as the main
teacher and caregiver (Karther, 2002). This perception might not be inaccurate.
Children in a National Literacy Trust survey (Clark & Foster, 2005) reported that
their mothers were more engaged with their reading than
their fathers were. Not only were fathers less likely than
mothers to encourage children to read more, but fathers
were also seen to be reading less than mothers. Similarly,
when asked who had taught them to read, children reported
that it had been their mother, followed by their teacher,
and then their father who had taught them.
Overall, studies show that fathers are generally
less likely to take part in traditional reading and writing
activities than mothers (e.g. Millard, 1997). Several researchers have argued
that the current emphasis on literacy has included a narrow
view of book-based literacy practices, thereby neglecting
media with which fathers are more comfortable - for example,
using technology, languages other than English, or activities
involving pop culture. A US study (Ortiz et al., 1999) lists various activities
in which fathers report they have participated, including:
reading environmental print such as road signs, logos, billboards
and television adverts; reading newspapers, magazines, dictionaries,
maps, telephone directories, manuals and bed-time stories;
spelling and defining words; spelling names; colouring and
tracing letters, and making use of the computer for spelling
or writing activities.
UK researchers have explored the extent to
which mothers' and fathers' involvement independently affected
their children's schooling, and whether levels of father
involvement were dependent on the degree to which mothers
are involved. This research was based on longitudinal data
from the National Child Development Study, a study of 17,000
children born in one week in March 1958. Flouri and Buchanan (2004) found that
both father's and mother's involvement at age seven predicted
the child's educational attainment by age 20, irrespective
of the other parent's involvement. This study also found that
the impact of father involvement on children's later educational
outcomes did not depend significantly on the degree of mother
involvement. In a separate study (Flouri et al., 2002), this research also highlighted
that engagement by both the father and the mother contributed
significantly and independently to children's attitudes
towards school.
The literature reviewed here indicates that
fathers have an important role to play in their children's
literacy development. However, involving fathers in their
children's literacy activities not only benefits their children.
There are also numerous benefits that have been reported
for the fathers themselves, including greater skill acquisition,
greater confidence and self-esteem, a better father-child
relationship, and increased engagement with learning.
Finally, a finding by US researchers (Fagan & Iglesias, 1999) is worth
keeping in mind when studying father involvement. They found
that actual changes in the quality of paternal behaviour
are necessary for significant outcomes to come about, suggesting
that an emphasis on increased father involvement alone may
not be sufficient for bringing about change or beneficial
impacts. Reading, if it can be seen as something that is
fun, can be one way of ensuring that quality time together.
References
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students' amount of reading. Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 26, 116-131.
DfES (2002). Investment for Reform: 2002 Spending Review. London: The Stationery
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DfES (2003). Every Child Matters. London: The Stationery Office.
DfES (2004). Statistics in Education. London: The Stationery Office.
DfES (2006). Social mobility: Narrowing social class educational attainment gaps.
Accessed on 15 May 2006 at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STA/
t000657/SocialMobility26Apr06.pdf.
Gillborn, D. & Mirza, H. (2000). Educational Inequality: Mapping class, race and gender
– a synthesis of research evidence. London: Office for Standards in Education.
Guthrie, J.T., & Wigfield, A. (2000). Engagement and motivation in reading. In
M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of Reading
Research. Vol III (pp. 403-422). New York: Erlbaum.
Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children
from first through fourth grades. Educational Psychology, 4, 437-447.
Neuman, S. & Celano, D. (2001). Access to print in low-income and middle-income
communities: An ecological study of four neighborhoods. Reading Research Quarterly,
36, 8-26.
OECD (2002). Reading for Change: Performance and engagement across countries. Paris:
Organisaiton for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Palmer, G., North, J., Carr, J. & Kenway, P. (2003). Monitoring poverty and social
exclusion. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Parsons, S. (2002). Basic skills and crime: Findings from a study of adults born in 1958
and 1970. London: The Basic Skills Agency.
Parsons, S. & Bynner, J. (2002). Basic skills and social exclusion: Findings from a study
of adults born in 1970. London: Basic Skills Agency.
Rice, M. (1998). The prison reading survey: A report to HM Prison Service Planning
Group. Cambridge: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.
Social Exclusion Unit (2004). Breaking the cycle: Taking stock of progress and priorities
© National Literacy Trust - June 2006
11
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Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., Serpell, R. & Schmidt, D. (2000). Reading is a source of
entertainment. The importance of the home perspective for children’s literacy
development. In K. Roskos & J. Christie (Eds.), Play and literacy in early childhood:
Research from multiple perspectives. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
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Exclusion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stanovich, K.E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of
individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21,
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