ERIC Number: EJ1425256
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-308X
EISSN: EISSN-1059-308X
How Father-Friendly are K-12 Schools? Findings from a Community Survey
Kyle Miller; Jordan A. Arellanes; Toy Beasley; Megan Kybartas
School Community Journal, v34 n1 p85-108 2024
Fathers make important contributions to children's learning and development; however, schools and community organizations consistently report challenges to engaging fathers in their work. As part of a larger community-based participatory research project, a local fatherhood coalition created and distributed a survey to learn how various organizations and programs supported or marginalized fathers in their work. A mixed methods analysis of survey data indicated that K-12 schools were significantly less father-friendly than social service organizations, with K-12 schools disclosing that little to no services targeted fathers and most family engagement efforts prioritized mothers or assumed father disinterest. Comparatively, some social service organizations reported father-specific programming or early efforts to change policies and practices that unjustly favored mothers. However, most organizations, including K-12 schools, needed greater guidance and resources to become more father-friendly. In this article, we describe how the fatherhood coalition utilized survey results to guide their efforts in supporting local fathers and transforming organizational practices to make family-related programming and activities more inclusive of fathers and other male caregivers.
Descriptors: Social Services, Elementary Secondary Education, Professional Personnel, School Personnel, Parent Participation, Family Programs, Fathers, Community Organizations, Gender Bias, Gender Differences, Family Involvement, Parent School Relationship, Program Attitudes, Social Attitudes, Employee Attitudes, Negative Attitudes, Positive Attitudes, Program Evaluation
Academic Development Institute. 121 North Kickapoo Street, Lincoln, IL 62656. Tel: 1-800-759-1495; Web site: http://www.schoolcommunitynetwork.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Tests/Questionnaires; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A