This InfoSheet is a brief review of information for family services practitioners and fatherhood advocates, which highlights basic recommendations for making a father-friendly Early Childhood Family Education program. (Author abstract modified)
New families, in particular new fathers, face a world that can be very exciting but also very daunting. Most of the teachers in the early-childhood classrooms are women. Many of the parent education teachers are women. One way to help fathers feel at ease within these classrooms is to identify male teachers or volunteers who can helprecruit and welcome men into the group. This InfoSheet provides a few ways for ensuring the fathers that need help will ask for it. (Author abstract modified)
A fundamental principle of child development underpinning early childhood practice is that children need stable, nurturing relationships with both men and women to develop strong gender identities. With more than 60% of young children in non-parental care during part of their day, it is of serious concern that less than 5% of the early childhood workforce is comprised of males. The low wages typically paid to early childhood teachers is often cited as the reason for this under-representation. However, this explanation only partly explains the phenomena as there are numerous low paying…