Father's active involvement in a child's life and education is crucial for later positive outcomes, researchers say.
To examine the role of fathers in children's upbringing and education, a team of researchers from the University of Bath interviewed fathers, children and their teachers. Family members filled questionnaires provided by the investigators. Findings showed parental involvement beneficial for children's healthy development.
"In the area of early years education there is a convincing body of evidence which shows a persistent positive correlation between paternal involvement from the early years and later childhood outcomes," Dr Rita Chawla-Duggan from the Department of Education, who was involved in the study said in a news release.
"Based on this study, our contention is that by involving fathers in activities which previously were seen to belong to the mother's domain, child care and educational settings have the capacity to support families in ways which can enhance child outcomes and this is an area of research that needs further exploration."
Apart from that, researchers found fathers who start participating in one of the school activities like Fathers' Friday are more likely to participate in other educational support activities like sports day, parent's evening and extracurricular outings. The findings come at a time when a significant number of parents hesitate to involve in their children's upbringing and education.
"There are many obstacles to paternal involvement, ranging from separation to employment responsibilities, as well as attitudes of professional educational staff and social workers who tend to see childcare as the mother's responsibility," Dr. Susan Milner from the Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies, said. "This research therefore comes at a pivotal time where practitioners and government, alike, are seeking innovative methods to address the imbalance between paternal and maternal care."
Previous studies have shown the import role played by fathers in children's upbringing. Researchers from University of Oxford found children of fathers who engaged with them positively in the early postnatal period less likely to have behavioral problems in their life.
According to a study conducted by researchers from Brigham Young University, fathers play a major role to help build the quality of persistence in children and helping them to achieve ultimate success in their life.
Another study from the University of Connecticut found fathers influencing the personality of a child than a mother.
