In a large rural region in a southeastern state in the United States, many children are not proficient in one to three areas of school readiness, including self-regulation, social skills, and mathematics. Although evidence exists that parents' perspectives about school readiness influence kindergarten preparedness, the problem that was the focus of this study was the gap in literature regarding fathers' perspectives in preparing their children for kindergarten and the challenges fathers face engaging in their child's kindergarten preparation. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore fathers' perspectives regarding children's school readiness, and the challenges that fathers encounter when engaging in children's kindergarten preparedness. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, which indicates that environmental and societal influences impact a child's development, was the conceptual framework. Twelve fathers were purposefully sampled from a group of community-based prekindergarten schools. Semi structured interviews were conducted, and data analyzed using thematic coding. Findings revealed that fathers perceived their engagement in children's school readiness promoted skills effective for kindergarten and felt that support from schools would help them meet the needs of children for optimal school readiness. This study has the potential to effect positive social change by bringing fathers' perspectives to the forefront, providing them with a voice concerning the challenges they encounter in promoting school readiness, and influencing policies that may lead to additional training and education promoting fathers' influence on their children's school success. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]