Summary of Findings: Fathers play an extremely important role in their children’s lives and a plethora of research indicates that father involvement is significantly related to positive child outcomes. A father’s interest in a child’s schooling is strongly linked to educational outcomes for the child. Fathers who devote time to their sons are giving them a greater chance to grow up as confident adults. Boys who feel that their fathers devote time, especially to talk to them about their worries, school work and social lives, almost all emerge as motivated and optimistic men. Father involvement in children’s education at age 7 predicts higher educational attainment by age 20, in both boys and girls. For boys, early father involvement protects against delinquency in later life. The involvement of fathers exerts an influence on children’s positive attitudes to school.

Published by the Department for Education and Skills [2003].

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