H an n a L ib ersk a1
Instytut Psychologii, Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego
D a r iu sz F reu d en reich 2
Szkoła Podstawowa im. Augusta Cieszkowskiego, Kicin
IV
MODERN FATHER PARTICIPATION
IN CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT
AND NOT ONLY THAT
Udział współczesnego ojca w rozwoju dziecka i nie tylko
A BSTR ACT
The m a in p ro b lem o f th e stu d y c o n c ern s th e role o f a fa th e r in th e fam ily an d in p a rtic u la r h is c o n trib u tio n in u p b rin g in g o f ch ild ren . N ew p h e n o m e n a a n d changes in th e life c o n te x t have stim u la te d d ev e lo p m e n t o f a n ew a p p ro a ch to fa th e rh o o d . In crea sin g ly often th e fa th e r is n o t n ecessarily biologically related to th e ch ild b u t is a p e rso n c o n trib u tin g to d ev e lo p m e n t o f ch ild ’s psyche a n d engaged in c h ild ’s u p b rin g in g . The q u e stio n a p p e ars if c o n te m p o ra ry fa th e r still is th e h e a d o f family. To estab lish th e role o f th e fa th e r to d a y a stu d y w as m a d e acco rd in g to th e ex p o s t facto p ro c e d u re . The stu d y was b ased o n analysis o f d o c u m e n ts, in te rv iew a n d a q u e s tio n n a ire p ro p o se d . The subjects o f th e stu d y w ere 220 e le m e n ta ry school p u p ils b ro u g h t u p in full fam ilies a n d th e ir fath e rs a n d 37 c h ild re n fro m in c o m p le te fam ilies - b ro u g h t u p w ith o u t fathers. R esults have in d ic a te d a significant im p o rta n c e o f th e p rese n ce o f a fa th e r in a fam ily a n d his en g a g em en t in th e ch ild ’s affairs o n th e ch ild ’s d ev elo p m en t, sch o o l a c h ie v em e n ts an d b ehaviour. A lth o u g h m a n y fath e rs are co n v in ce d a b o u t th e ir influ en ce o n d ev e lo p m e n t o f th e ir ch ild ren , o n ly a few are aw are o f th e significance o f f a th e rh o o d o n th e ir ow n p e rso n a l develo p m en t.
Key words: father, role, fam ily life, child d evelopm ent
1 H a n n a Liberska, In stitute o f Psychology, 85-868 Bydgoszcz, ul. L. Staffa 1, P oland; e-m ail: hanna.liberska@ op.pl.
2 D ariusz F reudenreich, A ugust C ieszkowski E le m en ta ry School, Kicin, ul. G w arn a 1; e-m ail: d artan ian @ p o czta.o n et.p l.
STRESZCZENIE
G łów ny p roblem p odjęty w niniejszym artykule dotyczy roli ojca w życiu rodziny, a szcze gólnie jego udziału w rozw oju dziecka. N owe pojęcie ojcostw a pozostaje p o d w pływ em ró ż nych zjawisk i zm ian zachodzących w zm ieniającym się kontekście życia. W dzisiejszych czasach jest o n nierzadko postrzegany jako tw órca psychiki dziecka, a nie koniecznie jego biologicznej formy. W związku z pow yższym nasuw a się pytanie czy w spółczesny ojciec jest nadal głową rodziny?
W celu uzyskania odpow iedzi n a ta k postaw ione pytanie p rzeprow adzono badania zgodnie z p rocedurą ex p o st facto. W ykorzystano w nich m iędzy innym i analizę dokum entów , w y w iad i autorski kw estionariusz. W badaniach uczestniczyło 220 uczniów szkół po d staw o w ych w ychowyw anych w rodzinach pełnych oraz ich ojcowie i 37 dzieci z rodziny n ie p eł nych - pozbaw ionych opieki ojców.
W yniki b adań w skazują n a istotne znaczenie obecności ojca w rodzinie i jego zaangażo w ania w jej spraw y dla osiągnięć szkolnych dziecka: jego w yników w nauce i zachowania. C hociaż w spółcześnie wielu ojców jest przekonanych o swym wpływie n a rozwój w łasne go dziecka, to je d n a k niew ielu z nich m a św iadom ość znaczenia „ojcostwa” dla swego roz w oju osobistego.
Słowa kluczowe: ojciec, rola, życie rodziny, rozwój dziecka
INTRO DUCTIO N
Parenting, especially fatherhood has attracted attention of m any scientists m ainly psychologists, teachers, educationalists, sociologists and theologians (Dowiat, 1985, Delumeau, Roche, 1995, Pospiszyl, 1980). However, the knowledge of the m eaning o f the father’s role in the life o f contem porary child is insufficient, and the m eaning o f fatherhood in the m an’s life and in his own developm ent is even less recognised. We can indicate three sources of this knowledge: (i) theoretical ideas proposed in different areas of science and by different scientific approaches, (ii) empirical experim ents and (iii) popular knowledge based on experience o f m any generations. They provide us with general inform ation about different aspects of fatherhood such as procreative/ sexual, economic, social, em otional, caring as well as educational. However, the hitherto accum ulated knowledge is insufficient to fully recognize the role o f the father in the period of social and economic changes that have been happening in Poland over the last twenty years.
The concern o f teachers and tutors connected w ith inappropriate behaviour of children and the youth observed increasingly often not only at school but also outside it, as well as increasing educational difficulties and alarm ing m edia reports referring to this subject, substantiate deepening o f psychological
M odern father participation in child’s development..
research to find reasons for such phenom ena. (Liberska, M atuszewska, 2007). O ne o f the directions o f such research is to revise the hith erto knowledge on the father’s involvem ent in the child’s developm ent, including the preparation o f the child to enter the adulthood. A contem porary father has becom e aware of the fact th at looking after a little baby is an im p o rtant life task and a challenge and needs his engagem ent from the first days o f the child’s life. According to som e m en this task should start even earlier, since the child conception or since the decision on becom ing a p aren t (com pare H urlock, 1985, Kornas- Biela, 2009).
In view of the alarm ing dem ographical indicating increasing num ber o f single m others, divorces and non-form al relationships, the concern of scientists, theologians, welfare institutions, religious societies, volunteers about the father’s role in the future in the context of correct developm ent o f the new generation has become a m oral and social imperative.
THE IDEAS OF ‘FATHER’ A N D ‘FATHERHOOD’
The word describing the father in the slavic language groups comes from praindoeuropean w ord ‘atta’/daddy/ used as a pet nam e for ‘father’. Although, the w ord ‘father’ belongs to the category o f fundam ental notions difficult to define but un derstood by the m ajority of people. According to the Polish Language D ictionary a father is som ebody who has got his own child or children, while “fatherhood” is the fact of fathering a child or children (Polish Language Dictionary, 1992). There are also m any secondary m eanings o f this w ord derived from it such as, e.g. an ancestor, founder, progenitor, initiator, author of some m ovem ent and a creator. In the area o f religious associations this w ord refers to ordained m onk, the nam e of an order, the Pope / Holy Father/ and G od /O u r Father/.
The ideas of ‘father’ and ‘fatherhood’ have got several aspects: biological, psychological, sociological and legal. Unfortunately, none of these aspects comprises the deepest m eaning of this idea or all the elem ents m aking the entire picture o f a person called the father or, w hat’s more, full contem porary understanding of ‘being a father’.
In the social area the legal fath erh o o d dom inates over the biological fatherhood. The child’s father is a m an legally b o u n d to the child’s m o th er and does n ot have to be the actual biological father o f the child. For this reason the w ord ‘father’ refers first o f all to th e social and legal status and not biological one.
ROLE OF FATHER IN THE FAMILY.
THE MODEL OF FATHER
The family as a basic social unit is not a herm etic entity excluded from the social life, on the contrary, it is closely related to all kinds of social structures and is subjected to all kinds o f external influence. According to B ronfenbrenners (1989) ecological approach the family has the status o f a social m icrosystem and functions within greater systems described as mezo-, egzo- and macrosystems. Hence it is clearly understood that all the political, social, economic, cultural changes taking place in society have profound influence on the family, inducing form ation of its new m odel and w ithin it a new position o f the father, referring also to the sexual roles (see Miluska, 1999). The m odern family is exposed to a great variety o f external processes, am ong them the following:
• Industrialization - the replacem ent o f hum an power with other sources
o f energy has caused technological changes which transform ed the style o f living. Appearance of a large num ber o f new professions and specializations has resulted in elim ination o f social and professional traditions, professions no longer go from father to son,
• Urbanization - the depopulation of the country and m igration to
cities has brought profound lifestyle changes; families are no longer m ultigenerational, the frequency and intim acy of family contacts has weakened,
• Dem ocratization which has been m anifested as changes in family
interrelations, changed w om ans position in society and increased professional activity o f wom en. Leading to gradual disappearance of the traditional family roles with the w om an taking care of the family atm osphere and the m an responsible for the family welfare.
• Individualization m anifested by isolation of the family from other
families o r social groups ( for example: schools),
• A tom ization m anifested by breaking up the social structures into smaller
partly isolated entities having special aims and roles; this phenom enon has also been noted in the family systems and is related to highly valued autonom ization o f its subsystems,
• M edialization and virtualization o f life, which threatens to some extend
the intim acy of the family life, traditions and family habits,
• Liberalization o f social life including the family life (Tyszka, 2002).
The above process make a background o f specific changes in the family m odel and the fathers role. For a long tim e the patriarchal family m odel had been functioning, which was a legacy o f the culture of A ncient Greece and Ancient Rome and had been spread with Christianity and Hebrew culture. This
M odern father participation in child’s development..
m odel was characterised by a strong position o f the father acting as ‘the head of the family’ (“pater fam ilia ”) and representing the family in the social and public life. His power (“patria potestas”) inside the family relied on strong authority and entitled him to act as a judge in family m atters. The father had great influence on the lives of the other m em bers o f the family. His m ain responsibility was to provide for the wife and children. The father-child contacts were instrum ental; in contrast to the m other whose duty was to care for the children and the husband, the father preferred autocratic style o f upbringing based on bans and punishm ent. The father had no deep em otional bonds w ith his children. Relations between the father and the child or children were purely instrum ental.
The collapse of the traditional patriarchal family m odel has been preceded by profound economical, legal and historical changes. The father has lost the status o f the ’’pater familias” and his position as the head of family has weakened. In the legislation the term ‘parental authority’ has been replaced by ‘ father authority’ (in French legislation the Bill o f the 4 th o f June, 1970).
The new concept of the ‘ fatherhood’ has been influenced by different phenom ena and changes in the areas listed below.
• Changes in the type o f marriage and m odel o f fam ily - Breakdown
of m arriage as an insitution has been m anifested by changes in the family model. Apart from the traditional m odel (mother, father, children), the num ber o f single parent families has increased in which there is only one parent to bring up the child, m ostly a mother. The num ber of reconstructed families or the families with the so-called ‘com ing round parent’ or with one parent tem porarily absent has grown. As a consequence the status of the father has been reduced; the father’s role in the family has been either completely elim inated or shared by a few men;
• Filiation law - The status of fatherhood has also declined in its biological
sense. The father is not only the person who conceived the child but also the m an who takes care of the child and participates in the child’s upbringing.
• Progress in the field o f m edicine and biology - fast developm ent of
m edicine and biology has contributed to the change in the m eaning of fatherhood. The availability of artificial insem ination introduced new types of filiation. Every anonym ous sperm donor can be a father. Taking into account all the m oral reservations related to this m ethod, the problem o f the m eaning o f fatherhood gets a new dim ension in the form of the question who should be called a real father o f the child, is it the sperm donor or the m an who takes part in the child’s developm ent and upbringing.
• Change in the woman's status in society - Increasing professional
activity of w om en has deprived the father of the status of the only responsible for the family welfare. Fathers earnings are often comparable with those o f their wives’ and sometim es even lower, which significantly changed the fathers role in the family.
• The child's position in the fam ily - General recognition of the children’s
rights has definitely decreased the power of the father in the family. All the changes m entioned above have forced a change in the role of contem porary m en including their family role.
W hat is the contem porary m odel o f the father ? The contacts of father with children have evolved from strictly instrum ental to m ore em otional (com pare Przetacznik-Gierowska, Tyszkowa, 1996). C ontem porary father is no longer the highest authority in the family, though, an authoritative style of upbringing has been evaluated as m ost favouring developm ent of social com petences of the child (com.. Bee, 1995). An im portant function of the father still is to provide for the family and protect the inner stability of the family.
The father has started taking over some household duties hitherto reserved for w om en (com pare Liberska, Matuszewska, 2001). The father is increasingly often present at the childbirth, increasingly engaged in baby care, and in general in the problem s o f the child, giving his support, caring about developm ent of the child’s abilities and preparing the child for the future social roles. To some extend it resembles the earlier roles o f the father assigned traditionally to him.
W hat is the beginning o f playing the father’s role? From the psychological point o f view im p ortan t is the m om ent w hen a m an becom es aware o f the fact o f becom ing one. This awareness triggers in m an’s psychic m any psychological m echanism s, arouses im agination and dream s, stim ulating the reconstruction of the concept o f his own life and planning the child’s future and m any other processes o f developm ental nature. M any m en are very proud o f being fathers, which can result in changes in th eir own self-evaluation and self images. The fact o f being a father changes the m an’s social stand. It stabilises his position in the adult m ature m en’s world and at the same tim e makes him take up new developm ental tasks (Havighurst,1972, Levinson, 1986). The fact of taking them up determ ines developm ent of close em otional bon d betw een the father and the child. If this is an attaching b o n d (com pare Bowlby, 1988) it stabilizes the father’s influence on the child for h is/h er whole life but, what is seldom m entioned in literature, the attaching bon d will have a great influence on the future father’s life as well as his fu rth er developm ent (com pare Plopa, 2005). Unfortunately, not all fathers are aware o f the bonds connecting them with their children and not in all fathers the process o f the developm ent of the father’s awareness is undisturbed.
Is a m odern father still the head of the family? Surely he is not in the same m eaning as before, there is some new content in this notion. C ontem porary father is regarded to be mainly a creator of the child’s psyche but not necessarily a creator of his/her ‘biological form. The father today faces the task of shaping a new personality, preparation of a new hum an being to live in the society in a defined culture and to meet the challenges o f the dynamically developing civilization. Even if the father does not understand his procreative role in this way (compare. Erikson, 2000), he is offered a chance to enjoy raising the children, contributing to creation of the atmosphere of safety and stabilisation in the family.
____________M odern father participation in child’s developm ent...____________
METHODOLOGY
The main problem, aims and questions o f study
The m ain problem o f this paper concerns the roles of contem porary father in the family especially his participation in the child’s development. The interest in these problems has been stimulated by analysis of the work of outstanding psychologists and sociologists indicating the crisis of the family and authorities (Smetana, 1995, Bauman, 2006, Obuchowski, 2001). Does the current situation entitle us to assume the thesis about a decline in parental authority, including that of the father? Perhaps it is just the change in the hitherto form of authority which is replaced by the authority based on partnership and friendship? We tend to the second supposition.
The m ain purpose of the survey presented was to answer the question about the role o f contem porary father in the child’s developm ent assessed on the basis o f school success or failure and social adaptation.
The research questions were:
1. W hat functions are carried out by contem porary fathers in their families? 2. W hat family m odel is currently dom inant taking into account the
father’s role?
3. W hat is the contem porary father’s understanding of his parental role? Does he realise the significance of his parental role to his child, does he see the relation between his individual developm ent and that of his child? Does he treat the realisation of the parental role as pro- developmental, i.e. stim ulating their individual development?
The attem pt to grasp the contem porary m en understanding o f fatherhood was also expected to bring inform ation on social stereotypes related to fatherhood and the attitude to the activities involved.
The next problem referred to the role of the father in shaping the school perform ance o f the child and has been expressed in two questions:
4.1 Does the fathers presence in the family influence the success of the child at school? If yes, what are the areas o f this influence?
4.2 Does the fathers presence in the family influence the social adaptation of the child at school? The m easure of success in social adaptation assum ed in the study was the lack of educational problem s o r low intensity of such problems.
A survey of literature from the field o f psychology of education published in the 1970s and 1980s provides argum ents supporting the thesis that the influence of father on school success o f the child and the level of child’s adaptation to school conditions is significant (Ziemska, 1977, Hurlock, 1985, Przetacznik- Gierowska,W łodarski, 1994, Birch, M alim, 1995). Thus, we should expect to get the answer confirm ing the positive influence o f the father on the school success, m ainly in the general education subjects and behaviour. However, no premises have been given in literature to support any expectations as to the relation between the father presence and the child’s success in the arts, except some know n cases o f particularly talented persons (Hornowski, 1978). Moreover, in the light o f the earlier m entioned works of Obuchowski, Bauman or Smetana, the significance of family as the fundam ental social environm ent becomes increasingly restricted. The works o f these authors indicate declining authority o f the parents and seem to point out that the influence of the father on the child’s developm ent, including his/ her school carrier, gradually disappears. In view of the two divergent standpoints regarding the influence o f the father on school adaptation o f the child and his/her school success and behaviour, we decided not to form ulate research hypotheses but only research questions.
Variables and their indices
The m ain independent variable (X -l) was assum ed to be the role of the father in the family. The standards o f behaviour and standards o f execution o f a given role have im pact on the behaviour of the person taking a given role through social pressure and expectations. The role of the father is - am ong others - defined by the functions he should perform in the family (Woźniak, 2002). According to the traditional family model, the m ain function o f the father is to provide the family with financial safety, decide about im portant family matters, including rewards and punishm ents, and to control the behaviour o f the family m em bers. In the traditional family m odel the father is supposed to be the person to look up to, a role-model, especially for the sons (Hurlock, 1985). In the egalitarian model,
M odern father participation in child’s development..
the role o f the father is on the one hand enriched by the functions related to the engagem ent in the care and upbringing o f the child, participation in creating family atm osphere and in household chores, while on the other hand, the father is released from some duties, in particular from the control and disciplinary tasks (Hurlock, 1985, Harwas-Napierala, 2001, 2003). According to the family m odel with father unengaged in family m atters and child’s upbringing (full family) the functions of the father are drastically lim ited to providing financial support (Janukowicz, 2002), although such a father is formally entitled to have influence on child’s upbringing. In general the role of father in such a family is highly restricted, his im pact on the child’s developm ent is nonexistent or at m ost m inim um . In the incom plete families (formally or inform ally incomplete, e.g. separation w ithout divorce) the role of father is m odified in a different way. W hen the father leaves the family, his control function disappears and he ceases to be a role-m odel for his child/ children and his role as breadw inner becomes limited.
The indicators of functions perform ed by fathers were the answers to particular questions in the questionnaire, given later in the text.
The dependent variables (Y) were the success and failures at school and social adaptation. The indices of the variables were provided by the responses to the questionnaire, class register, teacher’s com m ent book and interviews with teachers.
Analysis of the three above m entioned family m odels has shown differences in the relations between the variables studied (Figs.l, 2, 3).
Father’s role (X) includes:
О M aterial safety of family (X -1 )
О Taking decisions on im portant family
m atters (X-2)
Z> Introduction and execution o f
punishm ent and reward system (X-3)
Z> Acting as a role-m odel (X-4)
Z> Stimulation of child’s physical abilities
and the abilities in subjects taught at school, in particular in sciences and m anual w ork (X-5)
О Performance of works requiring
m uch physical strength at hom e (X-6)
►
Child success and adaptation(Y):
О school success and failure
(Y-l): • In sciences
• In physical ed u catio n an d m an u al w o rk
3 social adaptation at sch ool (Y-2) (no problem s w ith child’s beh av io u r at school)
Father’s role (X) includes:
Z> Material safety of family (X -l)
О Participation in taking decisions on im portant family m atters (X-2) О Participation in introducing and
execution o f punishm ent and reward system (X-3)
О Acting as a role-m odel (X-4)
О Stimulation o f child’s physical abilities and the abilities in subjects taught at school, in particular in sciences and m anual w ork (X-5)
О Participation in different household chores (X-6)
3 Participation in creation of family
atmosphere (X-7)
3 Participation in child’s care and
education (X-8)
►
Child success and adaptation
00
:3 school success and failure (Y-l):
• In sciences
• In physical education and m anual work
3 social adaptation at school (Y-2) (no problems
w ith child’s behaviour at school)
Fig. 2. Schem e o f relations betw een th e variables stu d ied in th e egalitarian m o d e l o f full fam ily3
Father’s role (X) includes:
M aterial safety of family (X -l)
►
Child success and adaptation (Y):
3 school success and failure (Y-l):
• In sciences
• In physical education and m anual work
3 social adaptation at school (Y-2) (no problem s
with child’s behaviour at school)
Fig. 3. S chem e o f relations betw een th e variables stu d ied in th e fam ily m o d el w ith father u n en g ag ed in fam ily m atters a n d child’s u p b rin g in g (full family)
3 (com m ent: italics w as u sed to in dicate th e re stric tio n in p erfo rm an ce o f a given fu n ctio n , b o ld italics was u sed to in dicate ta k in g u p a new fu n c tio n o r ex ten sio n o f th e h ith e rto range o f a given fu nctions; (it refers to Figs. 2 an d 3).)
RESEARCH METHODS A N D TOOLS
The research procedure applied was ex post facto. The m ethods and tools employed included the analysis o f docum ents, interview and questionnaire constructed by us.
The questionnaire was constructed to elicit inform ation on the family
structure, family atm osphere and father-child relationship. All family m em bers were asked to fill in the questionnaire (children, father, m other). The responses were individual and anonym ous. Each person was given the questionnaire and asked to respond to the questions individually and independently. In this paper we concentrate on the p art filled in by fathers. The questions concerned the family structure, m aterial conditions, cultural level, atm osphere at hom e, organisation o f child’s learning (doing hom ew ork), cooperation between parents and school. Fathers were asked to specify w hether they live w ith the wife and children or separately, to indicate the m ain breadw inner of the family (in their opinion), give their profession and tim e devoted to professional duties, tim e devoted to wife and children, hom e duties (taking care of child/children, support given to child/ children in their problems, sharing child’s interest and household chores). Fathers were also asked to describe their role in m aking a system of punishm ent and rewards and its execution, to explain the understanding of the father’s role, to estimate the sense of responsibility for the family and children and to specify the m odel o f family they come from (traditional, partnership, m atriarchal, with father / m other/ unengaged in child’s upbringing).
Analysis o f docum ents was undertaken to provide supplem entary
inform ation on the school success or failure and social adaptation of the child. The docum ents analysed included the school registration forms, class registers, certificates and opinions from Psychological or Pedagogical Counselling Units and teachers’ com m ent books. The inform ation obtained from the docum ents included: the family structure (complete, incomplete), m aterial status, learning conditions at hom e (e.g. the child having or not having his/her own room , his/ her own desk, table, part o f a room , hom e library), child’s behaviour at school, child’s health status. The docum ents also indicated pathological phenom ena if present in the child’s family and threw some light on the quality of interpersonal relations.
Interview was applied to learn about the opinions of teachers on the school
problem s o f a given child and the probable reasons o f the problems as well as about the subjects the child finds difficult or easy and school learning achievements. The inform ation from the interview perm itted recognition o f relations between the level o f school success and failure and the family environm ent, in particular the role of father.
RESEARCH INDICES
In the study on the role o f father (X) the father’s family functions were described by the following indices (Table 1).
Table 1. Indices d escribing th e in d e p e n d e n t variable
Traditional model Egalitarian model
Indices are the responses to particular questions
indicated Material safety of family (X-l) Material safety of family (X-l) 2, 3, 5, 9, 18 Taking decisions on important family
matters (X-2)
Participation in taking decisions on important family matters (X-2)
4, 7, 8,17
Introduction and execution of punish ment and reward system (X-3)
Participation in introducing and execution of punishment and re ward system (X-3)
15, 16
Acting as a role-model (X-4) Acting as a role-model (X-4) 23, 24 Stimulation of child’s physical abilities
and the abilities in subjects taught at school, in particular in sciences and manual work (X-5)
Stimulation of child’s physical abi lities and the abilities in subjects taught at school, in particular in sciences and manual work (X-5)
14, 19,22
Performance of works requiring much physical strength at home (X-6)
Participation in different house hold chores (X-6)
12, 13
- Participation in creation of family atmosphere (X-7)
6
- Participation in child’s care and education (X-8)
10, 11, 14, 20, 24,21
The indices describing the dependent variable defined as the child’s success and failure at school and social adaptation (Y) are defined in Table 2.
Table 2. Indices o f d e p e n d e n t variable (Y)
Dependent variable Y: Indices - school success and failure (Y-l)
• In sciences
• In physical education and manual work
• School grades
• Opinions of Psychological and Pedagogical Counselling Units on the child’s abilities and interests
- social adaptation at school (Y-2) (no problems with child’s behaviour at school)
• Opinions of teachers collected in interviews and data from the teachers’ comment books used for evaluation of child’s behaviour
The course o f study
The subjects o f the study were inhabitants of W ielkopolska district, in seven villages close to a large city o f Poznan. The study was carried out in two stages. In the first stage the subject o f interest was determ ination of functions o f fathers in complete families, while in the second stage - the success and failure of children in school education and their behaviour at school. The participants of the study in the first stage were 220 children attending elem entary schools in the first few years o flearning and their 201 fathers. In the second stage of the study the above group was extended by 19 children from incom plete families and 18 children from reconstructed families with their fathers or step-fathers and the school teachers of the children.
The study was realised in the years 2008 -2009, such a long tim e of the study was related to the need to develop individual personal contact with the subjects who took part in it.
____________M odern father participation in child’s development...____________
RESULTS
As follows from the results, the fathers perform m any functions in family, also those related to the child’s care and upbringing (Table 3). As the priority they declare the engagem ent in financial support of family and high level of responsibility related to this issue (97.3%). M any fathers declare high sense of responsibility for the intellectual developm ent of their children (80.9%) and for their m oral developm ent (67.7 %). The fathers who declared that they were responsible for the developm ent o f their children in all spheres o f life made as m any as 90.5% of the respondents. The m ajority of fathers 81% take care of children but only on the days free of professional work and when the weather is nice. From this group of fathers alm ost two third (65.9%) devotes the whole day to their children. The interest in child’s problem s was varied; every third father adm itted strong interest in child’s m atters (36.8%), m ore than half of the fathers studied declared m oderate interest in child’s m atters (58.6%). The m ajority of fathers (73.1%) are sure that they control the peer contacts of their children. Alm ost all fathers studied (99.5%) declare that they decide about the system o f punishm ent and rewards in the family. The fathers inquired believe that in this way they have im pact on the success and behaviour of child at school, and they m uch prefer rewarding their children. The m ost often rewards include: watching TV (45.9%), giving sweets (39.1%), going for a walk or to the cinem a together (9.5%), m oney (3.2%) and playing together (1.8%). They also use
punishm ent. The fathers studied declared engagem ent in taking care of their children being fully convinced that in this way they have positive im pact on the children. Frequently they escort children to school (44.5% alm ost everyday and 55.5% a few tim es a week) and from school (14.1% everyday and 27.7% a few tim es a week). The fathers interest in children school activities is expressed by financing and buying the equipm ent needed for classes; in the group studied it was declared by 95% of fathers. This way o f engagem ent in child’s m atters is practised on days free of work by 44.1% of the fathers studied, a few days a week by 29.5%, and alm ost everyday by 21.4%. Only 10.5% o fth e fathers studiedhelps their children in hom ework, but 89.5% never help them in hom ework.
The m ode of engagem ent in taking care o f the children changes with the children age. The m ajority of the fathers studied (83.7%) declared having taken care of their children from the first m onths of their life; 18.2% o f them used to do it everyday, 33.2% - a few days a week and 32.3% - only on days free o f work. At present w hen their children are school-age, they m ost often declare m aking meals for their children (30.5%), it is an everyday duty of 9.5% of the fathers studied, 5.5% of them do it a few times a week and 15.5% only on days free o f work. A nother area of taking care of children is that related to children health, alm ost every forth father is engaged in medical care of their children; 5.5% of the fathers go w ith their children to medical appointm ents a few tim es a week, whereas 20.9% - do it only on work-free days. Over one third of the fathers (36.8%) share the interests o f their children and spend tim e with children to develop them , while 58.6% - share the children interests in part. The m ajority of the fathers studied expressed satisfaction o f their perform ance the role of father; 75% of the fathers claim that they are highly satisfied with their parent perform ance, 23.2% - are m oderately satisfied. O nly 1.8% of the fathers studied (four persons) claim that they have no reasons to be satisfied of their perform ance as fathers. M any fathers believe that they are authorities for their children (85%), but every seventh does not th in k so (See Table 3. on pages 90-91).
A ccording to the fathers studied, the families they m ake m ost often represent the traditional m odel; 70.9% fathers share this opinion, 20.5% fathers claim that th eir fam ily represent the egalitarian m odel, and 8.6% fathers th in k th at th eir families are o f m ixed type. O n the basis of the m aterial collected it is difficult to draw a reliable conclusion as to the do m in an t family m odel (see Table 3). The d o m in an t m odel w ould depend on the type of functions used for the classification. W hen considering the first three functions such as the financial su p p o rt of family, taking decisions on im p o rtan t m atters concerning fam ily an d intro d u ctio n and execution o f the p u n ish m en t and rew ard system (variables X -l, X-2 and X-3) the d om inan t was the traditional m odel. Analysis o f the frequencies o f perform ance o f acting as a role-m odel
M odern father participation in child’s development.
(X-4) and stim ulation o f child’s physical abilities and the abilities in subjects taught at school, in p articular in sciences and m anual w ork (X-5), has shown that some families realised the m odel of fam ily w ith the father uninvolved in family activities. The data on the engagem ent in household chores (X-6) indicate prevalence o f the m odel w ith the father unengaged in family m atters and in child’s upbringing over the egalitarian m odel. The data on the participation in creation of fam ily atm osphere (X-7) and participation in taking care o f children and th eir upbringing (X-8) poin t to the prevalence o f th e egalitarian m odel o f family. The m ode o f realisation o f the three functions was consistent w ith the traditional family m odel, the m ode o f realisation of next two was consistent w ith the fam ily m odel w ith the father unengaged (in fam ily m atters and child’s upbringing) and the last two - w ith the egalitarian m odel. Realisation of one function proved to be consistent w ith the m odel w ith the father unengaged and the egalitarian m odel, w ith prevalence o f the form er. Analysis of the responses obtained does no t perm it classification o f the m ode of father’s role perform ance to any o f the family m odels considered. At present stage we can only assum e th at this role is u n d er transform ation.
The th ird research question concerned the contem porary fathers understanding of his parental role and their opinion on w hether they perceive acting as father as stim ulating their personal development. According to the results, the m ajority o f the fathers studied -o v er 90%- believe that they have considerable im pact on developm ent o f the child’s personality, system of values and m oral principles. The m ajority o f the fathers, 85%, claimed that “you just are a father”, while only 15% responded that “you should learn how to be a father”. This result m eans that only a small fraction of the fathers realised the significance o f parental activity for their personal development. This small group of fathers are, on the one hand, convinced o f their generally positive im pact on psychological developm ent o f the child and, on the other hand, they are aware of their own developm ent following from this activity, so they see a connection between their personal developm ent and that o f the child.
The subsequent research question concerned the fathers influence on the child’s perform ance at school (the areas of influence) and his/her social adaptation, m easured by the level o f educational problems. Analysis of the data collected has shown differences in the school achievement o f children depending on the presence or absence of fathers. From am ong 220 children from complete families, m ore than one fifth (20.4%) obtained very good grades from general subjects, nearly half (48.3%) got good grades and 27.8% got sufficient grades, while only 3.5% o f these children got poor grades. From the same group of children over 61% got very good grades from artistic subjects, 30% got good grades and about 9% got sufficient grades, none got po or grade.
T ab le 3. F am il y fu n c ti o n s of c o n te m p o ra ry fath ers (X ) -о 3 О X S' in CN ON ГП 00 NO 3 -С г> си о -о г> 43 ' S о Æ £ U-* U-. О О =£ ^ гП К <N On On X in X ON in ON 00 ^ g 2 с _ ^ сю ^ ^ С 0 0 о ’С ю ^ 03 г о £ х: ■ g сл С С - О V о с 4з - С Л 2 £ ^ -Я —* U. u -В-.П -s« ’S .15
а: сз s
5 s & 5 £ -'t î . s S и « ^ OA S -S О U. " ОС И Ю с « iî û I з ^ 5 л з § £ u* U-t о "и, О с-С— 7 СЛ 3'и X с >S ctf с £ с£ <£ -D 73 £ «в tu -о о s с л 00 щ X 1 .<3 о С и С и 3 с с о сл с ^ О <N 2 Xи v—■" -2 2 ^ о 00 ~ .£ оз 1 1 = 1 о и-ъ s о, 3 3 £ Й с си .£ о с о 3 ^ а *? S * "О _ с £ оз о3 op to С > ч ‘и J2 з V. "3 h р ? •S 'S С 3 2 с 'СП «и 03 С •§■ Je .s а 'S g 03 3 CU CU Th X 7 3 o £ os СЮ с LA 1 a è rt rs СЛ O Ut о» o o •-P -C 5 — u JL •— сл 73 •S *- ao3 аз 3 13 £ 3 .y -a e £ S X! -C 3 с CU « Я 2Î2 t) Й 1 3 .S i, U = £ s ■fi 3 11 £ “ u o .£ M С cn . £ O .ü V, 'C * j 03 З а з з -3 У Ê rt *rj <и Ь ii (" я СЛ +2 CU 3 'О и 3 -з о S "ев с о 73л о С и си 3 £ >s Ê * tp. >< .2 £ сл •а ^а» 73 00 32 fS Ё Й. с 03 53 2 ^ 7 3 ^ X с £ — * л в С . 2 5 .2 с te п з о си сл -2 ^ 73 2: О *-■ о ^ я Ь С * с .2 S 7 3 о £ 3 g Ö •6 s . « ^ '3 ю ° •£ з С IS ^ 0 ’S С с 2Я X Th X £ Л QJ з .2 ■-С "'Л .— С > . 7 3 - -с л С и 03 и о сл £ с — — <33 с 7 сл trt w 3 _ j e .У £ a1t 13 I ł s94
M odern father participation in child’s development... £ хОO ' \ 0o ' --РO' nO 'P vPO ' 1П in i n •—1 0 0 on О on r i VO NO 0 0 0 0 ON ON ON nO o ' ' SO ' O 'sO 'OO ' 'OO ' ' ÇO ' ON t"s un NO NO r i ON СЛ LO (N NO СЧ NO Г'* LO -4O O ' LO Ö ГО 3 X Cd D -ÇU ćd cu з Z, ъ G no 3 о» fv cd C U ^ о м и Т З 00 С 00 s .3 ^ В С 'Т' 00 ад c^.S с 2 - я S 3 ^ з 03 о £ 2 § & .Я и u ' • I I I ь cd S 03 JŚ о5 ю"3 й 04 - 2 о § 2 ^ ^ О . 03 С О О кч си <и с и O ' к - О оСТ 33 <-> — ел 2 " О I g o О cd О ч ? — г о k-M 0 0 cd £ кн <и - С cd г> к- 01) 2 о сю cd с 3 о си 01) С 1 о - 2 О "Î о О с и Си р 1 3 ' .В-4 ’3 сг л ^ -о ^ щ 1Л щ ^ Ё о Ё VOŁ °” 3 чзoj I с • " О 73 к. Qj 22 Л и У с 1 ч*“' •£ — •г? Cd £ Æ 0 0 с ю с : с 'I- й ■S.-S ' З С О 22 U 2 о 22«и с/з 3 О — 5ё S с с о си ел О 3 сю с с ю с 2 00 с ’5Ь с 03 -О .В- В4 *Г5 Р £ £ £ * cd с/з _u М ел к- > -О — £ с и 2 2 О о си 3 U с 3 cd с ю В . 3 1н кч 2 ‘ 3 кч ~ CU CU CUкч
From the group o f children from incom plete families (m ainly because o f parents divorce) as far as general subjects are concerned, 10.5% got very good grades, 21% got good grades, 26.3% got sufficient grades and 42% got poor grades. From artistic subjects 10.5% got very good grades, 31.5% got good grades, alm ost 58% got sufficient grades, no children got poor grades. Am ong the children participating in the study 7.5% came from complete but reconstructed families (m other and step-father or father and step-m other). The m ain reason for the reconstruction of families was the divorce o f the first parents and a second m arriage with a person who took the place o f the m issing parent. In the group of children from such families the school achievements were m uch worse; no children got very good or good grades from general subjects, only one child had satisfactory grade and the others got po or grades. As to the results from artistic subjects one th ird o f the children from this group got good grades and the rest got sufficient grades; there was no child w ith very good grade and no with po o r grade.
The results confirm a significant im pact o f father’s presence in the family on the level o f school achievements o f the child and his/ h er behaviour. The differences in school achievements are statistically significantly correlated with the presence or absence o f the father in the family. The school results of the children brought up in the full families (with the exception of the reconstructed families ) are significantly higher than those who come from not full family - w ithout the perm anent fathers care, (divorce, leaving the family or som ething like that) (in the case o f the general subject y2 = 4,08 > y2a= 3,84, к = 1, a = 0.05; and in the case o f the artistic subjects %2 = 3,86 > x2a= 3,84, к = 1, a = 0.05).
The children from the group o f complete families did not have serious educational problem s and m ost of them had their behaviour evaluated as impeccable (over 57%) or very good (over 30%), while some slight problem s were noted for 12% of such children, only one child from this group had m ore serious problem s and had his/ her behaviour evaluated as unacceptable. In the group of children from incom plete families, w ithout constant fathers care, only 10.5% had their behaviour evaluated as impeccable, 42% got very good grades and 37% got good grades. However, every tenth child form this group had some serious problem s and their behaviour was evaluated as unacceptable. Grades describing behaviour are know n to reflect child’s problem s with school adaptation.
Analysis of the behaviour grades obtained by the children from reconstructed families indicates that they tend to have serious education problems; only 33.3% had their behaviour evaluated as good, while as m any as 66.7% were evaluated as showing unacceptable behaviour.
Results o f our study have confirm ed the im portance of presence o f fathers in the family structure in the aspect o f educational problem s o f children at school.
Statistical analysis has shown significant differences in the child’s perform ance at school between children from complete and incom plete families. The children from complete families show higher level o f adaptation to school environm ent than those from incomplete families (w ithout father’s care) and those from reconstructed families (%2 = 27,89 > x2a = 13,82, к = 2, a = 0.001). As follows from the results presented above, the children from full families and developing in relatively stable conditions (em otional stability included) get statistically significantly better results in general subjects and artistic subjects as well as show better social adaptation to school environm ent.
____________M odern father participation in child’s developm ent...____________
SUMMARY
The above presented and analysed results provided the grounds to answer the research questions posed in the study. At present it is impossible to indicate a single dom inant m odel o f fatherhood. The m odel currently realised combines three types o f models: the father -patriarch, the father unengaged in family m atters and child’s upbringing and the p artn er of wife and children. It can be expected that in future one of them will becom e dom inant. According to the results, the presence of father in the family and his engagem ent in fam ily m atters have significant im pact on the school achievements of the child both scholarly and in social adaptation. The support and acceptance of the father are needed for the children of both high abilities or lim ited abilities. The support and care shown by fathers can take different forms: m aterial, physical, emotional, intellectual and instrum ental. Some father still prefer the lim ited involvement in child’s upbringing offering m ostly m aterial and instrum ental support (Freudenreich, 2010). In conclusion, irrespective o f the earlier dom inating m odels o f fathers “strict authority”, “breadw inner” or “playmate”, which are still functioning in some families, contem porary fathers increasingly often tend to be engaged in everyday activities o f their children. C ontem porary father stops being a breadw inner only and takes up the role of care provider, som etim es a playmate. Is such a partnership o f the father and the child an expression o f the postm odernistic spirit that is to bring increased effectiveness o f father and child functioning or is it another restriction o f the father’s role, m oreover a restriction w hich is rath er risky from the point o f view o f correct child developm ent? At the present stage o f the study it is impossible to give a reliable answer to these questions, b u t it is possible to p u t forw ard a thesis that contem porary fathers approach the stage o f being aware o f significance of fatherhood for their own personal developm ent.
REFERENCES:
B aum an, Z. (2006). P łynna nowoczesność. [Liquid m o d e rn ity ]. K rakow : W ydaw nictw o Literackie.
Bee, H. L. (1995). Lifespan development. N ew York: H a rp e r C ollins College P ublishers. Birch, A. , M alim , T. (1995). D evelopm ental psychology: fr o m infancy to adulthood
[Psychologia rozw ojow a w zarysie: o d niem ow lęctw a d o dorosłości] (tran slated by J. Łuczyński, M .O lejnik). W arsaw: P W N .
Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base: Parent - C hild A tta c h m en t an d H ealthy H um an
D evelopm ent. N ew York: Basic Books.
B ro n fen b ren n e r U. (1989). Ecological system s theory. A nnals o f Child Developm ent, 6, 187-249.
D elum eau J., R oche D .(1995). H istory o f fathers and fa th erh o o d [H istoria ojców i o j costw a] (tran slated by J.Radożycki, M .P aloetti- Radożycka). O riginal in French, W arsaw: WSiP.
D ow iat J.(red.) (1985). K ultura Polski średniowiecznej X -X III w. [The culture o f m edieval P oland X -X III]. W arsaw: PIW.
E rikson, E. H .(2000). Childhood a n d society [D zieciństw o i społeczeństw o] (tran sleted by P.Hejmej). P oznan: D o m W ydaw niczy Rebis
F reudenreich, D. (2010). Środow isko ro d zin n e a sytuacja u cz n ia w szkole [Family e n v iro n m en t a n d th e situation o f th e pup il at school]. Referat w ygłoszony p odczas I Interdyscyplinarnej K onferencji D o k to ran tó w „R odzina w obec w yzw ań w spółcze sności Bydgoszcz, 19-20.11.2010
H arw as-N apierała, B. (2001). M odele ról płciow ych i ich psychologiczne konsekw encje dla m ałżeństw a i ro d zin y [G en d er role m odels a n d th e ir psychological c o n seq u e n ces for m arriag e an d family]. W: H. Liberska, M. M atuszew ska (red.). M ałżeństw o:
m ęskość - kobiecość, miłość, ko n flik t (75-96) [M arriage: m a scu lin ity - fem ininity,
love, conflict].. P oznań: W ydaw nictw o F undacji H um aniora.
H arw as-N apierała, В. (2003). Z m ian y w fu nkcjonow aniu ro d zin y i ich konsekw encje dla rozw oju rodziców [C hanges in th e fu n ctio n in g o f fam ily an d th e ir consequences for th e dev elo p m en t o f p arents]. W: B. H arw as-N apierała (red.). R odzina a rozwój
człowieka dorosłego [Fam ily a n d developm ent o f th e adult] (11-24). P oznań: Wyd.
N auk. UAM.
H avighurst, R.J. (1972). D evelopm ental tasks an d education. N ew York: McKay.
H ornow ski, B. (1978). R ozw ój inteligencji i uzdolnień specjalnych [D evelopm ent o f intelligence a n d special abilities], W arsaw : W SiP
H urlock, E. (1985). Child developm ent [Rozwój dziecka] (tra n sla ted by K .Lewandow ska, B .R osem ann, M .Tyszkowa). W arsaw: PW N .
Janukow icz, M .(2002). Czy w spółczesne ojcostw o to ojcostw o nieobecne? [Is m o d e rn father th e one u n en g ag ed in fam ily m atters?]. M ałżeństw o i R odzina, 1, 43-47
M odern father participation in child’s developm ent..
Kornas-Biela, D. (2009). Pedagogika prenatalna. N ow y obszar nauk o wychowaniu. [Prenatal developm ent. N ew area o f science o f education]. Lublin: Wyd. KUL.
Levinson, D. (1986). A co n cep tio n o f ad u lt developm ent. A m erican Psychologist, 41, 3-13. Liberska, H ., M atuszew ska, M. (red.) (2001). M ałżeństw o: męskość - kobiecość, miłość,
ko n flik t [M arriage: m a scu lin ity - fem ininity, love, conflict]. Poznan: W ydaw nictw o
F undacji H um aniora.
Liberska, H , M atuszew ska, В. (2007). R o dzinne u w aru n k o w an ia zachow ań agresyw nych m łodzieży [Fam ily d ete rm in a n ts o f aggressive behaviors o f adolescents]. R oczniki
Socjologii Rodziny, 187-200.
M iluska, ]., (1999). Role płciowe człow ieka w cyklu życia. Przegląd koncepcji b adań [G ender roles in life cycle. O verview o f studies]. Psychologia Wychowawcza, 5, 385-399.
O buchow ski, К. (2001). W poszukiw aniu właściwości człowieka [In search o f h u m a n featu res]. Poznan: G A R M O N D O ficyna W ydaw nicza.
P lopa, M. (2005). Psychologia rodziny. Teoria i badania [Psychology o f family. T h eo ry n a d research], K rakow : Im puls.
Pospiszyl, К. (1980). Ojciec a rozwój dziecka [Father a n d child developm ent], W arsaw: W ied za Pow szechna.
P rzetacznik-G ierow ska, М., Tyszkowa, М. (red.) (1996). Psychologia rozwoju człowieka, t . l [Psychology o f h u m a n developm ent]. W arsaw: Wyd. N aukow e PW N .
P rzetacznik-G ierow ska, М., W łodarski, Z. (1994). Psychologia wychowawcza [E ducatio nal psychology], W arsaw: W yd. N aukow e PW N .
Sm etana, J.G. (1995). P aren tin g style a n d co n cep tio n o f p are n tal a u th o rity d u rin g ad o le scence. C hild D evelopm ent, 66, 299-326.
Tyszka, Z. (2002). R odzina we współczesnym świecie [Fam ily in m o d e rn reality]. Poznan: A dam M ickiew icz U niversity Press.
W oźniak, A., G apik, L. (red.) (2002). Problemy m ałżeństw a i rodziny [M arriage an d fam ily problem s] Poznan: Interfund.
Z iem ska, M .(1977). R odzina a osobowość [Fam ily a n d personality], W arsaw: W iedza Pow szechna.
