Fathers must take more responsibility for teaching their children
to read, a report has urged. Even the busiest, who may not have
time to offer a bedtime story, can encourage a love of books
and language in the home.
They can be better role models for sons and daughters simply
by asking about their school work, the Government-commissioned
report says.
The review, by Jim Rose, underlines the crucial role that parents
and particularly fathers, have to play in education. Some may
not be able to spend time reading with their children because
of work pressures. Others may not be confident readers themselves.
But the report says they can still make an important contribution
by talking to their children and finding out what they are learning
in class. They should set an example for their offspring, particularly
sons, by making it clear that education and reading are a key
means to success.
An Oxford University study in 2004 underlined the importance
of the paternal bond, finding that fathers could make a real
difference if they formed a bond with children from the age
of seven. The findings were based on a study of 17,000 children
born in 1958 who were tracked throughout the stages of their
lives.
Researchers found that those children whose fathers regularly
read or played with them, or organised family outings, were
more likely to have successful marriages and obtain A-levels
and higher qualifications.
But research from the Open University and the University of
London's Birkbeck College, found that too many fathers are
emotionally immature and fail to play their part with their
sons. They are happy to discuss football but no good at discussing
serious problems with their children.
Another survey from YouGov, of over 4,000 parents, found that
65% of mothers were responsible for reading to their children.
16% of fathers were simply too busy with other activities
to devote time to storytelling, according to the research
for Starbucks.
(Daily Mail, 20 March 2006)
Children, Fathers and Fatherhood launched in Scotland in 2005,
as a national approach to issues affecting children and fathers.
It aims to raise awareness of those issues and encourage all
dads to develop their fatherhood skills.
One of those skills includes encouraging a child through
school. Studies have repeatedly highlighted the positive role
fathers can have in their children's education. Interest and
involvement are strongly associated with better education
outcomes for children, including better attitudes towards
school, better behaviour and reduced risk of exclusion, greater
progress at school, better results and higher levels of educational
qualifications.
Men in Childcare was set up in 2000 to encourage men to consider
a career in early years provision. Since then, more than 700
men have taken certified training programmes across the country
and this year 11 men graduated from Stevenson College in Edinburgh
with HNCs in childcare.
However, with teaching increasingly dominated by women (only
7% of primary teachers are men and the gender split in secondary
schools is moving towards a female bias) schools have to look
at ways to draw fathers into schools.
One way has been to develop projects aimed at improving fathering
skills. Sanquhar Primary in Dumfries and Galloway has set
up a fathers' club, similar to those run by community and
family centres. Still in its early days it has proved successful,
helping men to feel more at ease in the school setting.
Sanquhar Primary was one of the first schools in Scotland
to set up a dads' club. Headteacher, Anna McCann, says: "There
is a really nice, positive feeling about the fathers' group
and it is having a big effect on the rest of the school."
Since it began, in August 2005, the numbers of dads dropping
in at the school has increased, and at the two parents' evenings
held so far this term, the attendance of fathers was higher
than before.
Concern over boys' attainment led the school to consider
ways of drawing fathers and other key male figures in children's
lives into the school. But with a teaching staff of 13 women
and one man, being more male-focused was a challenge. The
answer was a fathers' club, run by Alex Douglas, the only
male teacher, with organised events for fathers and children
that would prove irresistible to both.
The club is breaking down barriers that are inhibiting men
from coming to school but is also providing an opportunity
to improve fathering skills, so that the relationship between
father and child is a positive one. Improved communication
is the key but the group also shows fathers the sorts of activities
they can do at home with their children.
It is hoped that, from there, they will feel more positive
about school in general and be more encouraging of their child's
education. Ms McCann has found that once men have got over
the hurdle of attending a fathers' group they are less reluctant
to attend other school events.
Mr Douglas has organised an intensive programme of more than
two events a month to sustain momentum in the first year.
There have been, or are planned, sports days, overnight camping,
lots of construction evenings - kite making, model making,
designing coats of arms, constructing musical instruments
from rubbish - farm visits, a mobile assault day, Frisbee
golf and a torch-lit treasure hunt.
(TES Scotland, 2 December 2005)
Research shows fathers should
read books they like to their children
Research has shown that fathers should be encouraged to read
to their children, from material that interests them. A US
study showed that those who choose material they find enjoyable
spend twice as long reading to their children. A professor
at California State University is running courses to teach
fathers to develop confidence, with courses covering areas
such as storytelling, technology and writing.
Professor Ortiz, who has conducted much research into time
spent by fathers reading to their children, has suggested
that fathers need to find their "literacy comfort zone".
In one of his studies he found that fathers who read school
recommended texts read only for 15 minutes but if they read
material that they had chosen themselves, it increased to
half an hour. "Fathers like to read things they have
a personal interest in such as Sports Illustrated or golf
magazines." He claims. 'There is nothing wrong with that.
The point is you are reading to your child.' He says that
men who read to their children develop a stronger bond with
them and the children tend to do better in school.
(TESS, 12 August 2005)
Stepfathers left to bring up
baby
Government-funded research published in June 2004 shows that
the proportion of men becoming stepfathers has doubled over
12 years. The rise in social, as opposed to biological, parenting
is an important new phenomenon in family life, which could
have profound effects on parent-child and sibling relationships
as well as on public policy.
The research, reported in a new Economic and Social Research
Council publication, The Seven Ages of Man and Woman, shows
that no fewer than 17% of men born in 1970 are stepfathers,
twice as many as among men born in 1958.
This means that, on average, 10% of the siblings of today's
six to eight-year-olds are step-siblings or half-siblings.
The average number of siblings of a child at this age is just
1.5. Forty years ago the average seven-year-old lived with
2.1 other children, only a tiny minority of whom would have
been step-siblings.
The research, based on major cohort studies following the
lives of thousands of people born in 1958, 1970, 1984-86 and
2001-02, also shows that the likelihood that a child will
be living with both natural parents by the time they are in
their teens is falling rapidly.
Of people born in 1958, almost 90% were still living with
both parents at age 16. This fell to 82% for people born in
1970 and to 65% for people born in 1984-86. Fifteen% of babies
born in 2001-02 live just with their mothers. Of these nearly
four in ten have no contact with their biological fathers
at all.
Mary MacLeod, chief executive of the National Family and
Parenting Institute, said that it would be wrong to assume
that social relationships in step-families were any less committed
than blood relationships within traditional nuclear families.
(The Times, 21 June 2004)
Father's help is an exam boost
Children who are close to their fathers as youngsters go
on to do better in exams, according to Oxford University researchers
who looked at 3,303 children and noted how much involvement
they received from mothers and fathers at age seven. Factors
rated included reading to children, taking them on outings
and being interested in their studies.
The study then looked at each child's academic achievements
by the age of 20 and gave points on a sliding scale ranging
from no qualifications to A level or equivalent. Those with
a lot of support at seven did far better than those without.
Researcher Dr Eirini Flouri said: "Both mothers' and
fathers' involvement influences educational attainment. Both
effects are statistically significant. But even when accounting
for what mothers do with their children, what fathers do with
their children is an important factor in predicting educational
performance."
The study was published in the British Journal of Educational
Psychology in May 2004.
Such news will be welcomed by caring fathers. A recent survey
by Readers Digest of British teenagers aged 13 to 18 revealed
that they rated their mothers' parenting skills better than
their fathers' in every aspect of life except for driving
them around.
(Daily Mail, 28 May 2004)
Encouraging responsible black
dads
Babyfather Alliance aims to encourage responsible parenting
among black males in the UK, in particular those who are separated
from their children. It has teamed up with Barnado's in a
bid to foster a debate on black men, black children and the
relationship between the two. The workshops seek to enable
and promote debate about issues of identity, parenting, prejudice
and education, as they relate to children and families.
Contact errol.john@barnardos.org.uk
or call 020 8498 7326.
(TES, 25 April 2003)
Fathers are vital to children's success
The vital role of the father in giving a child a successful
future was confirmed by a 40-year study into the lives of
thousands of volunteers. The study concludes that close paternal
involvement not only improves academic performance but also
relationships and health.
The benefits were greatest for youngsters who established
a strong bond from at least the age of seven. Oxford University's
Centre for Research into Parenting and Children tracked the
lives of 17,000 children born in 1958, monitoring their progress
at 7, 11, 16, 23 and 33.
They were given scores at each stage according to how big
a part their fathers played in such pursuits as reading, helping
with homework and accompanying them on outings.
The highest scorers performed best in school, socially and
in their own subsequent marital relationships.
Unfortunately, a study to be released by the British Market
Research Bureau shows that only 12% of dads get involved in
their children's education. Two-thirds blame pressure of work
for not getting to school meetings.
Dr Ann Buchanan who led the Oxford research said: "The early
years are critical. More needs to be done to involve fathers
and help them understand they have an important role. School
parent meetings need to become more father-friendly and health
visitors and hospitals need to talk to fathers."
(Daily Mail, 1 March 2002)
Male role models' importance
may have been overstated, research suggests
The Government may be wrong in trying to attract more men
into primary teaching according to new research. One study
shows that children's security at home, not the sex of their
teacher, determines their early achievement at school. Another
study points out that the percentage of male teachers in primary
schools has only fallen slightly since the First World War.
The reports suggest that changes in the curriculum and teaching
might be more helpful in improving boys' performance.
Both studies were conducted by researchers from the University
of the West of England. Penelope Harnett and John Lee show
that the imbalance between male and female teachers in primary
schools is of long standing. Men represented only 25% of elementary
school teachers in 1914 and the same proportion of primary
teachers in 1967. The proportion has fallen since, but only
slightly, to 22%.
(TES, 28 September 2001)
Research shows families need fathers
Fathers are just as important as mothers in a child's upbringing,
research shows.
The presence of a father means children are more likely
to succeed at school and less likely to commit crime. Those
from two-parent families also tend to have better social skills,
a report says.
What Good Are Dads? found that fathers are increasingly
taking over the mother's traditional role. In 36% of families
with two earners, fathers are the children's main carers.
They are also the carer in most cases where the mother is
the sole earner.
The report says the involvement of fathers with children
of primary school age improves the chances of exam success
at 16. Young children who have regular contact with their
father are less likely to have a criminal record by the age
21. Toddlers who spend time playing with their father are
more sociable when they enter nursery school.
The research was commissioned by Fathers Direct and the
National Family and Parenting Institute, two charities with
Government backing
(Daily Mail, 13 June 2001)
Fathering helps self-esteem
Fathers who devote time to their sons - even as little as
five minutes a day - are giving them a far greater chance
to grow up as confident adults, a parenting research project
has found. Boys who feel that their fathers devote time especially
to them and talk about their worries, school work and social
lives almost all emerge as motivated and optimistic young
men full of confidence and hope. These findings come from
a study from the Tomorrow's Men project, support by Oxford
University and funded by Top Man. More than 1,500 boys aged
13 to 19 were surveyed. 'High level fathering' it was found,
was much to the most important factor in success. More than
90 % of boys who felt that their fathers spent time with them
and took an active interested in their progress emerged in
the 'can-do' category. By contrast, 72% of those who felt
that their fathers rarely or never did these things fell into
the group with the lowest levels of self-esteem and confidence,
and were more likely to be depressed to dislike school and
to get into trouble with the police.
(The Independent, 1 February 1999)
A survey commissioned by the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children, based on 1,000 children
between 8 and 15, found that while half did homework or reading
with mums, only 34% did so with their dads. Nearly 80%
said they wanted their dads to spend more time with them,
2% more than wanted time with their mothers.
(The Independent, 10 April 1997)
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