Study Shows Fathers More Involved in Child’s Education

The National Center for Fathering, in conjunction with the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has released the results of a survey about fathers’ involvement in their children’s education. The Survey of Father’s Involvement in Children’s Learning showed that fathers have become significantly involved than they were 10 years ago.

Key findings of the survey were that the number of fathers who attend class events and visit their children’s classrooms has increased by 11% over the past decade. The number of fathers who walk or drive their child to school has increased by 16% during the same period. Fathers have also increased their level of interactions with school officials, teachers, and other parents. The number of fathers who attend teacher-parent conferences has increased by 8%, and the number of fathers who attend school meetings has grown by 7%. There are 12% more fathers now who attend parent meetings held at school.

These double-digit gains are important because they show that fathers are realizing the importance of being engaged in critical and educational activities with their children. A father’s presence at his child’s school shows that child the importance of education, and provides clear support for future educational success. Research has shown that if men make a conscious effort to become involved in the lives of their children, those children will achieve success academically, intellectually, and socially.

However, despite the positive results of the survey, there were other findings that showed there are many fathers who still have not engaged in any critical educational or social activities with their child. For example, 74% of fathers surveyed said that they never have lunch at school with their child; 54% said they do not volunteer at their children’s school; 39% said that they have never read a book to their child; and 32% said that they have never visited their child’s school classroom.

The National PTA has created a partnership with research and educational organizations to encourage fathers to become more involved in the lives of their children. The program, called Men Organized to Raise Engagement (MORE) has a mission to foster greater father and male role model involvement with children, in order to ensure positive outcomes and help children to form successful relationships with parents, communities, and schools. The National Center for Fathering, a member of the MORE partnership, is a non-profit educational organization focused on the goal of seeing every child in America with an involved father figure. The Center’s website, located at www.fathers.com, provides information about the group’s many initiatives such as the Father-Daughter Summit, Championship Fathering, Fathering Court, and training programs for fathers.

With concerned groups such as the National PTA and the National Center for Fathering, hopefully men will be inspired and equipped to take advantage of these vital and useful programs and resources so they can be the fathers their children so desperately need.