PRESCHOOL
Fathers become involved in classrooms when teachers better trained

Jim Barlow, Life Sciences Editor
(217) 333-5802; b-james3@uiuc.edu

6/1/2001

Photo by Bill Wiegand Brent McBride, a professor in the UI department of human and community development, says fathers can become more involved in their children's early education programs if teachers are trained to include them.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Intensive sensitivity training aimed at teachers has put a hole in the myth that father figures aren’t there or don't care when it comes to kids enrolled in early education programs geared for low-income, at-risk households
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Teachers who went through the training reported that more fathers – or father figures – played a bigger role in parental involvement than was the case in the classrooms of teachers who did not participate. The results of a three-year study, in which University of Illinois researchers worked closely with teachers, were published recently in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

"The intervention changed their mindset about men in the classroom and opened a door, allowing greater opportunities for male interaction with kids," said Brent A. McBride, a professor in the UI department of human and community development. "At first, teachers tended to avoid the men altogether or would talk to them about sports or something unrelated to the children. We had to sensitize the teachers about their response to fathers, to make them aware of their biases."

A previous study by McBride had found that parent-involvement initiatives in 1992-93 resulted in less than 5 percent of male participation in such programs. This time, however, sensitivity training specifically geared to help teachers attract fathers led to a 23 percent response rate by fathers. Since biological fathers sometimes were absent, efforts also targeted a family's current father figure.

Researchers targeted a pre-kindergarten "at risk" program, which has repeatedly attained an exemplary rating from the Illinois State Board of Education. The program enrolls about 300 students, but teachers previously had done little to reach out to fathers. A second state-funded pre-kindergarten program of about 175 students served as the control group, where teachers did not get training.

At the target site, 14 teachers were observed as they interacted with parents and then counseled in one-on-one and group sessions on issues related to father/male involvement. In all, 21 teachers took part in the study. A 12 percent participation rate of males occurred in the control program.

A lack of opportunities for father involvement is often prevalent in early childhood programs for low-income, at-risk households, because of the myth that many of the children have no contact with a father or other adult male, McBride said. The misperception often acts as a barrier that school staff members often don't try to hurdle to draw fathers into classroom programs, he said.

The increasing response by men still was insufficient, the researchers concluded. "If as a society we truly believe that active father/male involvement in early childhood programs is beneficial and desirable, such low rates of participation are not acceptable," they wrote.

The study by McBride and graduate students Thomas R. Rane (now at Washington State University) and Ji-Hi Bae was partially funded by the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station.