Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Introduction to the Male and Father-Involvement Initiative

Jan 30, 2002

Responding to the Need for Male Involvement in Children's and Families' Lives
The idea that parent involvement in children's lives is an exclusively female domain is a misperception that hurts thousands of American children and haunts educational and social efforts to help them. The idea that all fathers of children from low-income and high-risk backgrounds absent themselves from child rearing is false.

A recent study of a pre-kindergarten program for at-risk children found that a majority of mothers surveyed reported their children had regular and consistent interaction with their father or another male role figure despite the high proportion of single-parent families being served by the program. And a nationwide survey of Head Start programs serving low-income families, found that a man was present (whether the father, mother's boyfriend, male relative, or friend) in approximately 60 percent of Head Start families. A similar national survey concluded that the majority of parents and staff members felt an emphasis should be placed on involving Head Start fathers in the program.

The myths and stereotypes surrounding men in low-income households have had a significantly negative impact on policies relating to programs that benefit disadvantaged families. Generally these policies identify "parents" (that is to say, the adults who assume primary responsibility for the child's physical and emotional wellbeing outside the classroom) as targets for their outreach initiatives. Yet program implementation typically discourages the participation of men in parent-involvement activities. Initiatives designed to encourage male involvement in pre-kindergarten programs for children at risk for later school failure are few and far between. There is a failure to build upon the strengths that men can bring to the parenting situation-strengths that can be utilized in the development of effective home-school partnerships. It is not surprising that when men become actively involved in their children's lives, they can positively impact many aspects of children's development.

Research reveals four factors that impede Head Start and state-funded pre-kindergarten programs from achieving father involvement. They include:

(1) fathers' fears of exposing inadequacies,

(2) ambivalence of program staff members about father involvement,

(3) gatekeeping by mothers, and

(4) inappropriate program design and delivery[1].

NHSA's Male and Father-Involvement Initiative is showing Head Start programs ways to drawing men and fathers back into the lives of children and families.

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[1] Levine, J.A. (1993). Involving Fathers in Head Start: A Framework for Public Policy and Program Development. Families in Society, 74(1): 4-19 as cited in Father/Male Involvement in Early Childhood Programs. ERIC Digest. October, 1996.

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