TY - JOUR
T1 - The Meaning of "Good Fatherhood:" Low-Income Fathers' Social Constructions of Their Roles
AU - Summers, Jean Ann
AU - Boller, Kimberly
AU - Schiffman, Rachel F.
AU - Raikes, Helen H.
N1 - Funding Information:
The findings reported here are based on research conducted as part of the national Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project funded by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under contract 105–95–1936 to Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ, and Columbia University’s Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, in conjunction with the Early Head Start Research Consortium. The Consortium consists of representatives from 17 programs participating in the evaluation, 15 local research teams, the evaluation contractors, and ACYF. Research institutions in the Consortium (and principal researchers) include Administration for Children and Families (Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Judith Jerald, Esther Kresh, Helen H. Raikes, and Louisa Tarullo); Catholic University of America (Michaela Farber, Lynn Milgram Mayer, Harriet Liebow, Christine Sabatino, Nancy Taylor, Elizabeth Timberlake, and Shavaun Wall); Columbia University (Lisa Berlin, Christy Brady-Smith, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, and Alison Sidle Fuligni); Harvard University (Catherine Ayoub, Barbara Alexander Pan, and Catherine Snow); Iowa State University (Dee Draper, Gayle Luze, Susan McBride, and Carla Peterson); Mathematica Policy Research (Kimberly Boller, Ellen Eliason Kisker, John M. Love, Diane Paulsell, Christine Ross, Peter Schochet, Cheri Vogel, and Welmoet van Kammen); Medical University of South Carolina (Richard Faldowski, Gui-Young Hong, and Susan Pickrel); Michigan State University (Hiram Fitzgerald, Tom Reischl, and Rachel Schiffman); New York University (Mark Spellmann and Catherine Tamis-LeMonda); University of Arkansas (Robert Bradley, Mark Swanson, and Leanne Whiteside-Mansell); University of California, Los Angeles (Carollee Howes and Claire Hamilton); University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (Robert Emde, Jon Korfmacher, JoAnn Robinson, Paul Spicer, and Norman Watt); University of Kansas (Jane Atwater, Judith Carta; and Jean Ann Summers); University of Missouri–Columbia (Mark Fine, Jean Ispa, and Kathy Thornburg); University of Pittsburgh (Beth Green, Carol McAllister, and Robert McCall); University of Washington School of Education (Eduardo Armijo and Joseph Stowitschek); and University of Washington School of Nursing (Kathryn Barnard and Susan Spieker), and Utah State University (Lisa Boyce and Lori Roggman). The authors thank the Consortium reviewers who commented on earlier drafts of this article under the guidelines of the Early Head Start Research Consortium publications polices. The authors express appreciation for the involvement of the children, families, staff, and Early Head Start program directors from the research sites for their dedication to the national study. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, and mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2006, Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2006/5/1
Y1 - 2006/5/1
N2 - Objective. To gain a better understanding of how low-income fathers of young children think about their role as fathers, we conducted a qualitative inquiry into the beliefs of fathers of 24-month-old children about what "good fatherhood" means to them. Design. The 575 open-ended interviews, collected in 14 Early Head Start Fathers of Toddlers Qualitative Interview Substudy sites around the United States were analyzed using NUD*IST qualitative software to code and categorize the various roles fathers identified as important to them and their children. Results. Four broad types of roles were identified: (1) providing a stable environment (e.g., providing a living, "being there" emotionally and physically), (2) teaching (e.g., giving guidance, exposing their child to the world), (3) physical interaction (e.g., play, caregiving), and (4) emotional support (e.g., providing love, building self-esteem). Conclusion. The beliefs of these men are considered in the context of historical perceptions of fatherhood, as well as their implications for generative theories of fatherhood. Overall, fathers articulated a strong sense of commitment and intentionality in their plans for interactions with their children. Our findings provide opportunities for service providers and policymakers to develop positive strategies to ensure fathers' ability to carry out their intentions.
AB - Objective. To gain a better understanding of how low-income fathers of young children think about their role as fathers, we conducted a qualitative inquiry into the beliefs of fathers of 24-month-old children about what "good fatherhood" means to them. Design. The 575 open-ended interviews, collected in 14 Early Head Start Fathers of Toddlers Qualitative Interview Substudy sites around the United States were analyzed using NUD*IST qualitative software to code and categorize the various roles fathers identified as important to them and their children. Results. Four broad types of roles were identified: (1) providing a stable environment (e.g., providing a living, "being there" emotionally and physically), (2) teaching (e.g., giving guidance, exposing their child to the world), (3) physical interaction (e.g., play, caregiving), and (4) emotional support (e.g., providing love, building self-esteem). Conclusion. The beliefs of these men are considered in the context of historical perceptions of fatherhood, as well as their implications for generative theories of fatherhood. Overall, fathers articulated a strong sense of commitment and intentionality in their plans for interactions with their children. Our findings provide opportunities for service providers and policymakers to develop positive strategies to ensure fathers' ability to carry out their intentions.
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U2 - 10.1080/15295192.2006.9681303
DO - 10.1080/15295192.2006.9681303
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:72749117344
SN - 1529-5192
VL - 6
SP - 145
EP - 165
JO - Parenting
JF - Parenting
IS - 2-3
ER -