Research clearly shows that children benefit in many ways when their fathers are positively engaged with them. The study below highlights how early and ongoing father involvement in a school setting benefits his children long-term, especially in at-risk populations.
HIGHLIGHTED STUDY
McBride, Dyer & Laxman (2013) Father involvement and student achievement: variations based on demographic contexts
DID YOU KNOW that ongoing father involvement in schools is particularly linked to greater academic success for children? “Father involvement throughout the childhood years may have a unique impact on student achievement in later childhood, even after controlling for the influence of early mother involvement. Early father involvement was linked to subsequent father involvement, which in turn predicted student achievement concurrently…These findings suggest that father involvement over time may be centrally responsible for fostering children’s achievement. The essential element contributing to student achievement may be a history of paternal involvement, manifested in stability across the childhood years. Stable father involvement is what matters for student achievement.”
DID YOU KNOW that father involvement in schools may be especially beneficial to at-risk populations of children? “Given that low socioeconomic status (SES) is a risk factor for low achievement (e.g. Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994; McLoyd, 1998; Patterson, Kupersmidt, & Vaden, 1990), it may be that father involvement has the most benefits for children who are somehow ‘at risk’…Fathers’ participation may be most beneficial for children who are in danger of failure in school (either via pre-existing achievement and/or a lack of economic resources). In low SES families that lack [academic and financial] resources, father involvement in school settings could take on a more prominent role as a determinant of achievement.”
DID YOU KNOW highlights key research findings from a study or group of studies that reveal a unique aspect of fatherhood, capture something surprising about fatherhood, or that relate directly to a TFP program area.