Given the support for increased involvement of parents in their children's schooling and the positive contribution men can make to children's development, it is important to reach out specifically to fathers or other significant males in parent involvement efforts for pre-kindergarten and early childhood programs. This digest discusses barriers to male involvement, including: (1) fathers' fears of exposing inadequacies; (2) ambivalence of program staff members about father involvement; (3) gatekeeping by mothers; and (4) inappropriate program design and delivery. The digest also offers the…
Research on intergenerational learning includes a range of studies that focus on the transmission of beliefs and practices and modeling of behaviors from generation to generation. This critical review focuses on the broader issues in intergenerational learning and the multiple, though small, streams of work that examine the impact of fathers' involvement in families. The discussion focuses on four areas: (1) intergenerational and life-course issues that have emerged over the past 25 years; (2) parental influences on children with special emphasis on parenting and grandparenting, parent-child…
This conference presentation explores current patterns of public transfer receipt (such as earned income tax credit, public health insurance coverage, food stamps, and public assistance) among single-father families and provides an update on existing census-based research on characteristics of single-father families. Data were obtained from the March Current Population Surveys (CPS) for selected years from 1983 through 1995. Demographic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, and public transfer receipts were compared for three types of fathers: (1) married fathers; (2) single fathers…
This study reviewed research about fathering to develop a framework for understanding the variables that influence the level of father involvement in the life of a child. The contextual analysis is intended to inform responsible fatherhood initiatives and programs. Research findings indicate that father involvement is affected significantly by environmental factors, such as the man's relationship with the mother of his child, employment status, and income level. The study suggests that the contextual nature of fatherhood indicates that cultural, economic, institutional, and interpersonal…
This report focuses on the role and importance of fathers in the lives of their children. Emphasis is placed on ways that the family support movement can support fathers and strengthen families. The guide examines traditional family service assumptions about the involvement of mothers and fathers and describes programs that reach out to men. Articles identify barriers to fathers' involvement in family support programs and highlight the elements of community-based father-friendly programs. A special message from Vice President Al Gore is included.
This report describes a project undertaken in 1995 by the National Center for Children in Poverty to map State initiatives for young children and families and to develop a framework to track changes in initiatives over time. Thus, the Map and Track project was designed to determine the initiatives that States are undertaking to promote the healthy development of children. The report begins by identifying developments that make information about State initiatives for children and families timely; describing the types of State initiatives tracked by the project; outlining proxy indicators of…
