Fathers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools

Executive Summary

Extensive research exists on the importance of parental involvement in children's education, yet relatively few studies have examined the individual contributions that mothers and fathers make to their children's schooling. There is a great deal of interest, however, in the role of fathers in children's lives. This interest stems from the fact that until recently fathers were the hidden parent. They were assumed to be the breadwinners of two-parent families, but of limited importance in non-financial aspects of children's well-being and development. Reflecting this bias in research on child development, many federal agencies and programs that deal with family issues focused almost exclusively on mothers and their children. In 1995, President Clinton issued a memorandum requesting that all executive departments and agencies make a concerted effort to include fathers in their programs, policies, and research programs where appropriate and feasible. This new attention devoted to fathers is not intended to lessen the focus on the important role that mothers play in their children's lives, but rather to highlight the fact that fathers are important, too.

This report provides a broad overview of the extent to which resident (excluding foster) and nonresident fathers are involved in their children's schools and examines the influence their involvement has on how children are doing in school. Information on involvement in schools was obtained from the parents of 16,910 kindergartners through 12th graders. Parents were asked which adult in the household, if any, had participated in four types of school activities since the beginning of the school year: attending a general school meeting; attending a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference with the child's teacher; attending a school or class event; and volunteering at the school. In addition, for children who had parents living elsewhere, respondents were asked about the children's contact with their nonresident parents and, among children who had seen their nonresident parents in the past year, whether the nonresident parents had participated in the activities since the beginning of the school year. Of the 6,908 children with nonresident parents, 5,440 had nonresident fathers. The data were collected from January to April of 1996 as part of the National Household Education Survey.

The report emphasizes fathers' involvement in their children's schools, but information on mothers' involvement is also provided. Throughout the discussion of resident fathers' involvement, a distinction is made between fathers in two-parent families and fathers who are heads of single-parent families. Two reasons prompted this approach. First, single-parent and two-parent families differ in many respects that can affect both how parents spend their time and how their children perform in school. Second, the NHES:96 data allowed the unusual opportunity to examine how parents in two-parent families share child-rearing responsibilities in one important realm: their children's schooling.

The major questions addressed by this report are listed below along with a brief summary of the results for resident and nonresident fathers.

Resident Fathers' Involvement
How do fathers compare with mothers in their level of involvement in their children's schools?
The answer to this question depends upon whether the focus is on two-parent or single-parent families. Fathers in two-parent families are much less likely than mothers in two-parent families to be highly involved in their children's schools, that is, to have participated in at least three of the four activities. On the other hand, fathers who head single-parent families show levels of high involvement very similar to those of mothers who head single-parent families. In two-parent families, the proportion of children with highly involved fathers is about half of the proportion with highly involved mothers, 27 percent and 56 percent, respectively. In single-parent families, however, children living with single fathers or with single mothers are about equally likely to have highly involved parents, 46 percent and 49 percent, respectively. Indeed, both fathers and mothers who head single-parent families have levels of involvement that are more similar to mothers in two-parent families than to fathers in two-parent families. This pattern is consistent with the roles that parents fill in two-parent and in single-parent families. In two-parent families, mothers generally assume primary responsibility for the children. In single-parent families, the lone parent must fill that role regardless of whether the parent is the father or the mother.

Does fathers' involvement increase or decrease as children grow older?
Fathers' involvement in their children's schools, like mothers' involvement, decreases as children grow older. The decline is due, in part, to schools offering fewer opportunities for parental involvement as children grow older. The pattern of decline, however, is not the same for mothers and fathers. The proportion of children with mothers who are highly involved in their schools declines steadily as the grade level of the children increases whether the children live in two-parent or in single-mother families. However, the proportion of children who have highly involved fathers does not decline steadily. In two-parent families, the proportion of children with highly involved fathers drops from 30 percent to 25 percent between elementary (grades K-5) and middle school (grades 6-8), but then drops only slightly, to 23 percent, in high school (grades 9-12). Among children living in single-father families, there is no decrease in the proportion who have highly involved fathers between elementary and middle schools (53 percent at both grade levels), but a large decrease between middle and high school (to 27 percent). These results are based on simple tabulations of the data that do not take into account such factors as the parents' education or mothers' employment.

Is the involvement of fathers in schools associated with other parental behaviors at home that may enhance children's school success?
Parents who are highly involved in their children's schools are more likely to be involved at home, as well. Elementary school children with fathers or mothers who are highly involved in their schools are more likely to have participated in educational activities with their parents (e.g, to have been told a story by their parents in the past week or to have visited a museum or historical site with their parents in the past month) than children whose parents have low levels of involvement in their schools. Children in the 6th through 12th grade with mothers or fathers who are highly involved in their schools not only have shared more activities with their parents in the past week than children whose parents have low levels of involvement in their schools, but their parents are more likely to expect that they will graduate from a 4-year college and to have discussed future courses with them. Such children are also more likely than other children to have connections to their communities as measured by the proportion with parents who regularly attend religious services, belong to community or professional organizations, or regularly volunteer in the community. Thus, families with high parental involvement in their children's schools provide their children with multiple types of resources at home, as well.

What factors are associated with fathers' involvement after selected child, family, and school characteristics are taken into account?
In two-parent families, the strongest influence on fathers' involvement in their children's schools is mothers' involvement. Fathers are more likely to be highly involved in their children's schools if mothers are and vice versa. Other factors that are important are the fathers' education, the presence of a stepmother as opposed to a biological mother, and the number of activities that families share with their children at home. As fathers' education and number of activities increase so does fathers' involvement. Fathers are also more likely to be highly involved in their children's schools if there is a stepmother present. Some of the factors relating to high father involvement differ by the children's grade level. Among children in elementary school, fathers are more likely to be highly involved if the mothers are employed full time as opposed to part time and if the children attend a private school rather than a public school that is assigned to them. Among children in the 6th through 12th grades, fathers are more likely to be highly involved if the children are boys and if the children are in higher grades.

In single-father families, fewer factors influence high father involvement after controlling for selected child, family, and school characteristics. Among children in elementary school, the likelihood of having highly involved fathers increases as fathers' education increases. Among children in grades 6 through 12, fathers are significantly more likely to be highly involved in the schools of their 6th through 8th graders than in the schools of their children in high school. Fathers who have discussed future courses with their children are also more likely to be highly involved in their 6th through 12th graders' schools. There is some evidence that attendance at public schools of their choice or private schools increases the likelihood that single fathers will be highly involved in their 6th through 12th graders' schools, but this evidence is weak.

A positive school climate, measured by the parents' assessment of discipline in their children's classrooms and schools, whether students and teachers respect each other, how welcoming the schools are, and how easy the schools make it for parents to be involved, is significantly associated with high father and mother involvement in their children's schools. As school climate becomes more positive, mothers are more likely to be highly involved, regardless of two-parent or single-parent status or grade level of their children. Among fathers in two-parent families, there is a weak association between a positive school climate and fathers' high involvement at grades 1 through 5, which becomes stronger at grades 6 through 12. As with mothers, as school climate becomes more positive, the likelihood that fathers will be highly involved in their children's schools increases. Single fathers are also more likely to be highly involved in the schools of their elementary school children as school climate becomes more positive, but school climate has no influence on their involvement in their 6th through 12th graders' schools.

Is fathers' involvement in their children's schools linked to measures of children's school outcomes, such as their class standing, whether they enjoy school, whether they participate in extracurricular activities, whether they have repeated a grade, or whether they have ever been suspended or expelled?
Fathers' involvement in their children's schools has a distinct and independent influence on many of these outcomes, even after controlling for potentially confounding factors such as the parents' education, household income, and, in two-parent families, the mothers' involvement. The relationships often continue to be important after information on home activities and the parents' educational expectations for their children is added to the models. In two-parent families, involvement of both parents in school is significantly associated with a greater likelihood that their children in 1st through 12th grade get mostly A's and that they enjoy school and a reduced likelihood that they have ever repeated a grade. Fathers' involvement has a stronger influence on the children getting mostly A's than does mothers' involvement.

Among children living in single-father families, high father involvement is associated with a greater likelihood that children in grades 1 through 12 get mostly A's and is marginally associated with a greater likelihood of their children enjoying school. High father involvement also reduces the likelihood that children in the 6th through 12th grade have ever been suspended or expelled from school.

In two-parent families, is there a gain from having both parents involved as opposed to only one? And, are there particular outcomes for which fathers' involvement appears to be especially important?
Results based on cross-tabulations suggest that children fare better when both parents are highly involved in their schools. Children experience a small, but significant, increase in the likelihood that they get mostly A's, enjoy school, and participate in extracurricular activities and a reduced likelihood that they have ever repeated a grade if both of their parents are highly involved in their schools compared to if only their mothers are highly involved. They do almost as well if only one parent is highly involved, regardless of whether that parent is the mother or father. Of course, the number of cases in which only the fathers are highly involved is small. Children fare the worst when neither parent is involved in their schools.

Although in a cross-sectional survey such as the NHES it is not possible to disentangle the direction of causality, it appears that fathers' involvement may be particularly important to children's academic standing, especially among children in the 6th through 12th grade. In two-parent families, fathers' involvement, but not mothers' involvement, is associated with an increased likelihood that children in the 1st through 5th grade get mostly A's. Among children in the 6th through 12th grade, after controlling for a variety of resources that parents offer at home, fathers' involvement, but not mothers' involvement, remains a significant influence on the likelihood that children get mostly A's. In single-parent families headed by a father, fathers' involvement in their children's schools is a significant influence on the likelihood that their 6th through 12th graders get mostly A's. However, the influence diminishes once fathers' educational expectations for their children and the number of activities they share at home with their children are included in the model.

Nonresident Fathers' Involvement
To what extent are nonresident fathers involved in their children's schools?
Nonresident fathers are much less likely than fathers in two-parent families to be involved in their children's schools. Of children in contact with their nonresident parents, 69 percent have fathers who have not participated in any of the school activities since the beginning of the school year. In contrast, 25 percent of children living in two-parent families have fathers who have not participated in any of the school activities. However, 31 percent of children who have had contact with their nonresident fathers in the past year have nonresident fathers who have participated in at least one of the four activities, 18 percent have nonresident fathers who have participated in at least two of the four activities, and 9 percent have nonresident fathers who have participated in three or more of the school activities. Like resident fathers in two-parent families, nonresident fathers are most likely to attend school or class events, such as sports events, and general school meetings. The proportion of children whose nonresident fathers have participated in each of these activities is 22 percent and 18 percent, respectively, compared to just over half of children in two-parent families whose fathers have participated in each of these activities.

What factors influence the involvement of nonresident fathers in their children's schools?
Children's grade level, household income, mothers' education, family configuration (single-parent family or step family), mothers' level of involvement in their children's schools, and fathers' payment of child support in the previous year are all important influences on nonresident fathers' involvement in their kindergarten through 12th graders' schools. Nonresident fathers are more likely to be involved if their children are in kindergarten through 5th grade than if they are in grades 6 through 12. Nonresident fathers are also more likely to be involved as household income, mothers' education, and mothers' involvement in their children's schools increase and if the fathers have paid any child support. When influences on nonresident fathers' involvement are examined separately for children in kindergarten through 5th grade and those in 6th through 12th grade, the specific factors that are important differ somewhat by grade level. Among children in kindergarten through 5th grade, the strongest influences on the involvement of nonresident fathers are mothers' education and involvement in the children's schools. Involvement of nonresident fathers is also higher if the fathers have paid any child support in the last year. Among children in grades 6 through 12, the strongest influences on nonresident fathers' involvement are whether the children live in mother-only families, household income, and mothers' involvement in their schools.

Do children with an involved nonresident father do better in school than children with a less involved or uninvolved nonresident father?
The involvement of nonresident fathers in their children's schools appears to be particularly important for children in grades 6 through 12, reducing the likelihood that the children have ever been suspended or expelled from school or repeated a grade. This association remains even after controlling for resident mothers' involvement in the schools, education, household income, and other potentially confounding factors. Nonresident fathers' involvement is also associated with a greater likelihood that children in grades 1 through 5 and in grades 6 through 12 participate in extracurricular activities. There is also evidence that the involvement of nonresident fathers increases the likelihood that children in grades 6 through 12 get mostly A's and that they enjoy school, though these associations are weakened after controlling for the resident mothers' level of involvement in the children's schools.

Summary
This report provides additional support to the already large body of literature that suggests that parental involvement in their children's schools is beneficial for children's school success. First, it demonstrates that the involvement of both mothers and fathers is important in contributing to children's school success. Second, it shows that parents who are involved in school are involved in other ways that promote their children's school success. Third, it shows that single mothers and single fathers are involved in their children's schools, even though they do not have a second parent to help them with their other obligations. Fourth, it suggests that there may be certain aspects of children's school performance and certain stages in the children's academic careers where fathers' involvement is particularly important.

The report also adds to the large body of literature on nonresident fathers by demonstrating that nearly one-third of nonresident fathers who have had contact with their children in the past year continue to play an important role in their children's lives by participating in school activities. Moreover, their participation in school activities makes a difference in their children's lives. The analyses suggest that more discriminating measures of nonresident fathers' involvement in their children's lives are needed in order to more fully understand the relationship between nonresident fathers' involvement and children's well-being. Inconsistencies about the benefits of nonresident fathers' continued contact with their children in extant studies may be due in large part to the fact that the simple measure frequency of contact is often used to measure involvement. This report shows that it is not contact, per se, that is associated with student outcomes, but rather active participation in their children's lives through involvement in their schools that makes a difference in school outcomes.


"Responsibility for our children's education must begin at home"
President Barack Obama


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