Paternal involvement in Title 1 schools: a qualitative study of fathers' perspectives

Abstract

Federal educational legislation has mandated a variety of parent involvement initiatives to encourage and support parents of Title 1 schools as partners in their children’s education. The current literature identifies that parent-school partnerships are represented largely by mothers and not fathers. The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine how fathers were involved in their children’s education both at home and at school and ways to encourage their participation. In particular, this study focused on home-school partnerships of ten fathers whose children were attending a Title 1 school. The findings indicated that fathers are involved in numerous home learning practices and school directed activities. They felt strongly about their responsibility to be positively involved in their children’s education. According to these fathers, their interests have not been represented when schools plan parent involvement programs and activities. Recommendations from the study indicated schools could benefit from collecting information from fathers to determine ways to engage them and improve their levels of school participation. Furthermore, the study highlighted the need for school leaders, educators and parent organizations to create a culture that acknowledges and values the skills and experiences that fathers can bring into the educational learning environment.