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Journal Article Neoconservative social scientists have claimed that fathers are essential to positive child development and that responsible fathering is most likely to occur within the context of heterosexual marriage. This perspective is generating a range of governmental initiatives designed to provide social support preferences to fathers over mothers and to heterosexual married couples over alternative family forms. The authors propose that the neoconservative position is an incorrect or oversimplified interpretation of empirical research. Using a wide range of cross-species, cross-cultural, and social…
This workbook was provided to participants in an Early Head Start/Child Welfare orientation training program held in June 2003, in Washington D.C. The first part of workbook includes information about the child welfare system, including the Children’s Bureau and child welfare services. The second part of the workbook includes child welfare resources, including a listing of federal funding resources for technical assistance, prevention activities, and online resources. The following sections review the major components of the Head Start program and the Early Head Start program. And provide…
In this report we describe the state of current research on father involvement and point to ways in which research findings might inform the economic and public policies that affect fathers. We do not intend an extensive review of the literature (see Lamb, 1997); rather, our goal is to integrate research and policies on father involvement into a framework that emphasizes the synergistic relationship between the two. A central aim of this report is to highlight limitations of past research and policies on father involvement and to raise questions that we hope will guide future efforts in this…
This working paper explores the role of fathers and father-child relationships in the psychosocial development of adolescents by examining outcomes data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) files on children and mothers. The survey uses a number of measures to evaluate child development and well being; other characteristics of children and mothers; information about family structure and household makeup; family income, home environment, and other sociodemographic factors; as well as children's perceptions of their mother, father, and or/step father. The initial survey was…
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Journal Article Fathers and mothers (n = 120) of preschool-aged children completed 2 measures assessing fathers' behavioral involvement in child care (i.e., the amount of time that the father was the child's primary caregiver and the number of child-care tasks performed). The results reaffirm the findings from previous studies that father's long work hours can be a barrier to greater participation in child care but that mothers' extended work hours serve to increase father participation in child care. Women's perception of their husbands' competence as parents and marital satisfaction also explain fathers'…
Other, Fact Sheet
This kit was developed for educators and other professionals who are working to increase family involvement in education. It outlines strategies for involving fathers in children's learning at home, at school, and in the community. (Author abstract)
