Breaking down barriers: Predicting paternal involvement in school
Kevin Lewandowski, M.S.Ed., & Robert J. Dixon, Ph.D., NCSP
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Abstract
Parental involvement has been proven to increase children’s
academic, behavioral, social, and emotional functioning. As research
continues to display the benefits of involved parents, programs have
been enacted at the local, state, and national levels. Despite the efforts
taken to increase parental involvement, mothers are still significantly
more involved in school-related activities and frequently the focus of
research. This study seeks to address the barriers to paternal schoolbased involvement and explore the facilitators to increasing the
involvement of fathers within their child’s schooling.
Introduction
Background
• Males are more likely than females to be suspended from school,
belong to a gang, carry a handgun, or be enrolled in special education
(Snyder & Sickmund, 2006).
• Programs, such as No Child Left Behind, have been enacted at the
national, state, and local levels aimed at increasing parental
involvement (Pomerantz, Moorman, & Litwack, 2007; Hill, 2009).
• Fathers who work as the sole earner for the family only spend 20 to
25 percent of the time involved directly with their children when
compared to mothers (Lamb, 1997; Pleck, 1997).
• Paternal involvement is associated with the student producing higher
grades, enjoying school more, having positive peer relationships, being
more involved in extracurriculars, and having fewer behavior problems
(Nord, 1998).
• Schools benefit from involved parents through a better reputation in
the community, improved teacher morale, higher parental ratings of
teacher performance, and increased support from families (Graham,
2008).
• Research shows that 39 percent of fathers never read to their child
and 54 percent never volunteer at their child’s school (National Center
for Fathering, 2009).
• The most common barriers acknowledged for parental involvement
are the parents’ work schedule, the scheduling of events, and not
finding out about school events in time (Godber, 2002).
Study purpose:
• This study examines what factors are most influential in predicting
paternal involvement with school-based activities at home.
• The study also examines fathers’ ability levels in assisting their
children with homework, as well as their perceptions of the school
climate.
• The study provides additional qualitative information on common
barriers and facilitators to paternal involvement.
• This information will add to schools’ future efforts to increase the
involvement of fathers in their child’s schooling.
Methods
Table 3. Variables Correlations
Participants: The current study sent out surveys to 604 father figures of
elementary students across three Midwestern schools. Of this sample,
164 father figures responded and 126 were used to calculate the
stepwise regression due to spoiled surveys.
Instrumentation: The fathers received a survey that assessed several
areas important to school-based involvement. The measure examined
school-based activities at home, barriers to participating in school
functions, levels of understanding various school subjects, and
perceptions of school climate (Boncana, 2010).
Data Analyses: To determine which factors had the largest influence on the
father figures’ involvement, a stepwise regression was completed. The
independent variables for this scenario were barriers to school
functions, understanding of the child’s assignments, perceptions of
school climate, satisfaction levels with their input into school decisions,
who makes school-related decisions in their family, and father figure
education level, while the dependent variable was home involvement
with school-based activities.
Results
• A breakdown of father figures, as well as an analysis by race and ethnicity,
can be found in Table 1.
• The reliability of the scale for each variable ranged from .61 to .93 (see
Table 2. for Alpha values, mean, and standard deviations for all four
scales).
• The correlation matrix for each scale resulted in several significant
correlations (see Table 3 for the correlation matrix).
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics
Biological Father
Step-Father
Other
Race/Ethnicity
Caucasian
Asian American
Native American
Other
Frequency
Percentage
149
12
3
90.9
7.3
1.8
156
1
4
3
95.1
0.6
2.4
1.8
2.
-.10
--
3.
.32**
-.13
-
4.
.21**
-.21**
.12
--
5.
.18*
-.03
.12
.41**
--
Discussion
6.
.19*
-.03
.22**
-.04
-.01
--
7.
-.09
-.06
-.01
.02
.03
-.09
--
• Paternal understanding of their child’s homework assignments predicted
home involvement on school-based activities, R2 = .10, F(1, 124) = 13.73,
p < .001. The addition of paternal perceptions of school climate slightly
added to this prediction, R2 = .13, ΔR2 = .03, F(1, 123) = 4.14, p < .04. For
a review of the confidence intervals, see Table 4.
• The best predictor of home involvement was the father figures’ level of
understanding the subject matter with a standardized Beta score of .32.
• The only other significant predictor of home involvement was the father
figures’ perceptions of school climate.
• The other factors that were examined through the stepwise regression
were barriers to participating in school functions, how satisfied they
were with their input into school decisions, who makes the decisions in
their family related to school, and the father figures’ level of education.
Table 4. Regression Results
Involvement with School-Based Activities at Home
Model 2
Variable
Model 1 B
B
95% CI
Constant
31.06
21.96
(9.84, 34.07)
UTOT
1.03
.97
(.42, 1.51)
SCTOT
.21
(.01, .41)
• The father figures responded to two qualitative questions that examined
the barriers and facilitators to their involvement in their child’s schooling
(see Table 5).
Table 5. Qualitative Responses
Table 2. Internal Consistency Reliability of Variable Scales
Variable Scale
Home Involvement (HI)
School Function
Interference (SFI)
Understanding of
Subject (U)
Perceptions of School
Climate (SC)
1. HI TOT
2. SFI TOT
3. U TOT
4. SC TOT
5. Q 1
6. Q 2
7. B 2
1.
--
Alpha
.90
Mean
46.56
SD
7.23
.61
13.84
2.32
.93
15.00
2.21
.90
49.01
6.04
Barriers to Involvement
Work
Time
Communication
Facilitators to Involvement
Time
Communication
Website
Frequency
60
35
9
4
88
27
24
8
Percentage
58.3
15
6.7
30.7
27.3
9.1
**The frequency reported for barriers and facilitators refers to the number
of responses reported by father figures. The three examples below each
category were the most common responses.
• For those father figures who report being more involved with school
activities at home, they tend to have more understanding of the subject
matter, higher perceptions of school climate, more satisfaction with their
input into school decisions, and have more input in their family about
school decisions.
• Father figures who reported barriers to attending school functions were
more likely to have lower perceptions of school climate.
• Those father figures who were more satisfied with their input into school
decisions had higher perceptions of school climate.
• Finally, the fathers’ levels of understanding the academic material was
related to their role within their family regarding making school decisions.
• A limitation of the current study was that there was limited variability in the
respondents of the survey. If conducted again, the sample should include
father figures of varying ethnicities or an increased number of
nontraditional father figures.
Summary, Implications, and Conclusions
• When trying to increase a father figures’ level of involvement with schoolbased activities at home, ensuring that they understand the subject matter
is the most influential factor.
• The primary barriers that father figures reported for their involvement with
school-based activities were work and time.
• The most reported facilitators to the involvement of father figures were
time, communication, and a functional school website.
• In order to increase the involvement in school-based activities at home,
school psychologists should focus on ensuring that father figures
understand the subject matter, are speaking with school staff, and have
access to a parent friendly website.
References
• Boncana, M. (2011). Partnership, student achievement, and parental involvement in a Utah
elementary: Multilevel growth curve and critical interpretive analyses. Dissertation Abstracts
International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 71(9), 3112.
• Godber, Y.E. (2002). School climate: Understanding parent perspectives to strengthen familyschool relationships. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social
Sciences, 63 (6-A), 2128.
• Graham, D. H. J. (2008). The role of parental involvement in the education of secondary school
children in Barbados: An examination of family and school contexts on classroom motivation.
Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 69(1A),
• Hill, N. (2009). An analysis of teachers' and parents' perceptions of the barriers of parental
involvement in urban elementary schools based on grade-level. Dissertation Abstracts International
Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 70(6-A), 1931.
• Lamb, M. E. (1997). Fathers and child development: An introductory overview and guide. In M. E.
Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (3rd ed., pp. 1-18). New York John Wiley.
• Nord, C.W. (1998). Students do better when their fathers are involved at school. U.S. Department
of Education, (NCES), 98-121.
• Pleck, J. H. (1997). Paternal involvement: Levels, sources, and consequences. In M. E. Lamb
(Ed.), The role of the father in child development (3rd ed., pp.67-103). New York: John Wiley.
• Pomerantz, E.M., Moorman, E.A., & Litwack, S.D. (2007). The how, whom, and why of parents’
involvement in children’s academic lives: More is not always better. Review of Educational
Research, 77(3), 373-410.
• Snyder. H. N.. & Sickmund, M, (2006).Juvenile offenders and victims: 2006national report.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention.
• Statistical Consulting Center at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s
• Survey of fathers’ involvement in children’s learning. (2009). National Center for Fathering (PTA).