Father Involvement Content in Parent Education Programs in BC

Father Involvement Content in Parent Education Programs in BC

Denise Hodgins, M.Ed., Ph.D. (student)

School of Child & Youth Carewww.cyc.uvic.ca [email protected]

http://www.cyc.uvic.ca/

mailto:[email protected]

Research Study Overview Content analysis of formal parent

education programs in BC


education programs in BC Not an evaluation of programs


education programs in BC Not an evaluation of programs Not an observation of programs


education programs in BC Not an evaluation of programs Not an observation of programs Not an account of father participation



Conducted in 2007



Conducted in 2007 Interviewed directors



Conducted in 2007 Interviewed directors Analyzed program materials

Research Questions Is father involvement included in the

program content? If so, what does the content include?



How is father involvement defined and described in the program content?



How is father involvement defined and described in the program content?

What approach to father involvement is taken in the program content?

Research Questions Is father involvement included in the program

content? If so, what does the content include? How is father involvement defined and

described in the program content? What approach to father involvement is taken

in the program content? What factors, if any, are included in the

program content that address what contributes to and/or deters the involvement of fathers?

Program Criteria offered in BC at the time of my study;

Program Criteria offered in BC at the time of my study; designed for parents of young children,

between the ages of zero and six;


between the ages of zero and six; formal education programs rather than

drop-in or informal support services;



drop-in or informal support services; with content that is identified in an outline or

program materials;




program materials; with content that does not change each time the

program is delivered based on who participates and what the participants request; and




program materials; with content that does not change each time the

program is delivered based on who participates and what the participants request; and

focused primarily on parent outcomes.

Formal Programs Found in BC (N=26)

Region Different Program

s

# of Location

sNorth 9 25Interior 10 52Fraser 8 32Vancouver Coastal 6 49Vancouver Island 11 35

Participating Programs (N=17)Program focus

# Offered to

Support child behaviour

8 Mom/dad/couple

Parenting relationship

3 Mom/dad/couple (1)Parenting couple (2)

General 2 Mom/dad/coupleAttachment 2 Mom/dad/coupleFathers 2 Fathers only

FI Content Found (N=17)

FI Content # Type of programSpecific 4 Fathers (2)

Couple relationship (1)General (1)

Images and/or parenting example only

11 Attachment (2)Child behaviour (8)General (1)

None 2 Couple relationship (2)

Promising Findings

Variety of audiences presented with specific FI content

Promising Findings

Variety of audiences presented with specific FI content

Generative approach to FI

Approaches to FI

Based on Erikson’s (1950, 1982 as cited in Dollahite, Hawkins & Brotherson, 1997) concept of generativity, generative fathering is “fathering that meets the needs of children by working to create and maintain a developing ethical relationship with them” (p. 20).

Approaches to FI

A deficit paradigm situates fathers as “uninvolved, uninterested, unskilled and unmotivated to perform their proper paternal role” (Hawkins & Dollahite, 1997, p. 7).

Approaches to FI

A comparative framework views paternal involvement through a mother template (Palkovitz, 1997), whereby fathers’ involvement and abilities are “invariably described and evaluated . . . by using women’s performance of the mother role as the model or standard” (Day & Mackey, 1989, p. 401).

Promising Findings

Generative approach to FI Variety of audiences presented with

specific FI content Several dimensions of FI

acknowledged

Dimensions of FI Found (n=15)Dimension of FI In parenting

example/image

In written material/discussi

onDiscipline 11 2Caregiver 8 4Emotion coach 8 3Play partner 8 2Teacher/role model

7 3

Provider 4 3Cognitive processes

0 2

Support mother 0 1

Promising Findings

Generative approach to FI Variety of audiences presented with

specific FI content Several dimensions of FI

acknowledged Pathways/barriers to FI introduced

Pathways/barriers to FI (n=4)

Father’s emotions 4Self-reflection 3Mother gatekeeping 3Philosophical shift 3Parenting team 2Open to learn 2Self-nurture 2

There is opportunity to:

provide parent education programs with space to examine the relational qualities that impact effective parenting, rather than focus on “problem parenting” as necessarily stemming from a lack of knowledge or skills about behaviour (Grusec, 2006), inviting the exploration of the interconnectedness of paternal involvement with other relational contexts (Palkovitz, 2002).


improve parent education programs so they take into account the enormous complexity of father involvement, including the “cultural embeddedness and variability” (Roggman et al., 2002, p. 2) of fatherhood today.


explore the tensions, challenges, and possibilities that are generated within the “shifting gender practices in the culture of parenting” (Daly, 2004, p.11) for both fathers and mothers.

Why focus on parent education as a place to increase father involvement

information?Education and support resources available to

parents are growing (Mann, 2006)



parents are growing (Mann, 2006)Parent education programs both project and

participate in generating the construction of parents





Formal programs can compliment other resources designed to support parenting capacity





Formal programs can compliment other resources designed to support parenting capacity

Many parents participate in prenatal and post-natal parent education classes (Solk, 2007)


information?Education and support resources available to parents

are growing (Mann, 2006)Parent education programs both project and

participate in generating the construction of parentsFormal programs can compliment other resources

designed to support parenting capacity Many parents participate in prenatal and post-natal

parent education classes (Solk, 2007)Not including father involvement information in

parent education programs is a missed opportunity

Father Involvement Content in Parent Education Programs in BC

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