Bahamian Fathers' Involvement with Their Child’s Schooling: To What Extent does Family Structure Matter?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v28i0.441Keywords:
Parent Involvement, Schools, Bahamian fathersAbstract
This study examined characteristics of Bahamian fathers’ involvement with schooling using data from a comprehensive study on parent involvement within one Bahamian community. We triangulated data from parent survey (N = 91 males, N = 278 females) and community interview data (N = 33 community members) to compare fathers to mothers, examine whether fathers living in the same home as their child had an impact on their involvement with schooling, and pinpoint beliefs regarding family structure and gender norms. Chi-square analyses demonstrate that Bahamian fathers engaged with schools in very similar ways to mothers on over half the involvement indicators, with slight differences on the remaining indicators. Mean difference analyses of factor scores showed slight differences between mothers and fathers on academic involvement and more pronounced differences on involvement concerning basic needs. Interestingly, despite beliefs about family structure voiced by some participants, living in the same home as their child did not play a role in fathers’ involvement. We discuss our findings within the social context of The Bahamas, raise questions about the real impact of family structure on involvement, and call for more exploration on the impact of class and socioeconomic status on involvement with schools.References
Abdirahman, H. A., Bah, T. T., Shrestha, H. L., & Jacobsen, K. H. (2012). Bullying, mental health, and parental involvement among adolescents in the Caribbean. West Indian Medical Journal, 61(5), 504–508. https://doi.org/10.7727/wimj.2012.212
Anderson, P. (2021). Masculinity and fathering in Jamaica. The University of the West Indies Press.
Anderson, P., & Daley, C. (2015). African-Caribbean fathers: The conflict between masculinity and fathering. In J. L. Roopnarine (Ed.), Fathers across cultures: The importance, roles, and diverse practices of dads (pp. 13–38). ABC-CLIO.
Anderson, J. O., George, J. M., & Herbert, S. M. (2009). Factors impacting on student learning: A preliminary look at the National Test of Trinidad and Tobago. Caribbean Curriculum, 16(2), 99–126. https://journals.sta.uwi.edu/ojs/index.php/cc/article/view/604
Auerbach, S. (2001). Under co-construction: Parent roles in promoting college access for students of color (Publication No. 3032904) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing
Baquedano-López, P., Alexander, R. A., & Hernández, S. J. (2013). Equity issues in parental and community involvement in schools: What teacher educators need to know. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 149–182. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X12459718
Barrow, C. (2001). Contesting the rhetoric of ‘black family breakdown’ from Barbados. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 32(3), 419–441. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.32.3.419
Bethell-Bennett, I. (2014). Fragile masculinities: The loss of young men and the pervasive models of masculinity in The Bahamas that encourage them to fail. Caribbean Review of Gender Studies, 8. https://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/index.asp
Bevill, L. C. (2007). The effect of parental involvement upon student achievement and student diligence: A study of students and parents in Grenada [Doctoral dissertation, Tennessee State University]. https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3290732
Blackman, S., & Mahon, E. (2016). Understanding teachers' perspectives of factors that influence parental involvement practices in special education in Barbados. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 16(4), 264–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12083
Bowe, A. (2015). The development of education indicators for measuring quality in the English-speaking Caribbean. How far have we come? Evaluation and Program Planning 48, 31–46. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2014.08.008
Bowe, A. G. & Johnson, C. L. (2021). Parent involvement in schools: Barriers parents face within the Bahamian community. In E. Blair & K. Williams (Eds.), Handbook on Caribbean education (pp. 217–240). Information Age Publishing.
Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guilford Publications.
Calzada, E. J., Huang, K. Y., Hernandez, M., Soriano, E., Acra, C. F., Dawson-McClure, S., Kamboukos, D., & Brotman, L. (2015). Family and teacher characteristics as predictors of parent involvement in education during early childhood among Afro-Caribbean and Latino immigrant families. Urban Education, 50(7), 870–896. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085914534862
Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Academic Press.
Cole, S. M. (2020). Contextualising parental involvement at the elementary level in Jamaica. International Journal of Early Years Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2020.1777844
Collie-Patterson, J. M. (2003). The effects of four selected components of opportunity to learn on mathematics achievement of grade 12 students. College of The Bahamas Research Journal, 12, 56–71. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v12i0.53
Collie-Patterson, J. M. (2008). The national average is a D: Who is to blame? College of The Bahamas Research Journal, 14, 28–37. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v14i0.102
Daniel-White, K. (2002). Reassessing parent involvement: Involving language minority parents in schoolwork at home. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 18(1), 29–49. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=wpel
Desforges, C., & Abouchaar, A. (2003). The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievement and adjustment: A literature review. Department of Educational Studies, UK.
Devonish, J., & Anderson, P. (2017). Fathering the “outside” child: Differences and shortfalls among urban Jamaican fathers. Journal of Social and Economic Studies, 66(1), 33–77. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44732904
Feuerstein, A. (2000). School characteristics and parent involvement: Influences on participation in children's schools. The Journal of Educational Research, 94(1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220670009598740
Fielding, W. J. & Gibson, J. (2015). Education, attitudes and achievements of males and females in The Bahamas. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.4490.1603
Fine, M. (1993). [Ap]parent involvement: Reflections on parents, power, and urban public schools. Teachers College Record, 94(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681930940040
Green, D. S., Chuang, S. S., Parke, R. D., & Este, D. C. (2019). Multidimensionality and complexities of fathering: A critical examination of Afro-Jamaican fathers’ perspectives. Sex Roles, 81(9-10), 576–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-1012-2
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15, 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
Marshall, I. A., & Jackman, G. A. (2015). Parental Involvement, Student Active Engagement and the "Secondary Slump" Phenomenon—Evidence from a Three-Year Study in a Barbadian Secondary School. International Education Studies, 8(7), 84–96. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v8n7p84
Miller, E. (1994). Marginalization of the black male: Insights from the development of the teaching profession. Canoe Press.
Munroe, G. C. (2009). Parental involvement in education in Jamaica: Exploring the factors that influence the decision of parents to become involved in the education of their children [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto].
Murphy, S. (2002). The attitudes of Jamaican parents towards parent involvement in high school education [Master’s thesis, University of Wisconsin-Stout]. http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2002/2002murphys.pdf
National development plan of The Bahamas (2016): State of the nation report. http://www.vision2040bahamas.org/media/uploads/State_of_the_Nation_Summary_Report.pdf
O’Neil-Kerr, O. (2014). An investigation into form two students’ perceptions of their parents’ involvement in their education both pre and post their SEA examinations [Doctoral dissertation, University of the West Indies]. http://hdl.handle.net/2139/21614
Reddock, R. (2003). Men as gendered beings: The emergence of masculinity studies in the Anglophone Caribbean. Social and Economic Studies, 89–117. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27865342
Reddock, R. (2010). Gender and achievement in higher education. Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean, 12(1), 1–21. https://www.researchgate.net/profile
/Rhoda-Reddock/publication/235500045
_Gender_and_Achievement_in_Higher_Education/links/0fcfd51354c3802303000000/Gender-and-Achievement-in-Higher-Education.pdf
Reynolds, T. (2009). Exploring the absent/present dilemma: Black fathers, family relationships, and social capital in Britain. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 624(1), 12–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716209334440
Roopnarine, J. L., Brown, J., Snell-White, P., Riegraf, N. B., Crossley, D., Hossain, Z., & Webb, W. (1995). Father involvement in child care and household work in common-law dual-earner and single-earner Jamaican families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 16(1), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(95)90015-2
Roopnarine, J. L., Wang, Y., Krishnakumar, A., & Davidson, K. (2013). Parenting practices in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago: Connections to preschoolers’ social and cognitive skills. Revista Interamericana de Psicologia/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 47(2), 313–327. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/284/28430082015.pdf
Roopnarine, J. L., & Yildirim, E. D. (2018). Paternal and maternal engagement in play, story telling, and reading in five Caribbean countries: Associations with preschoolers’ literacy skills. International Journal of Play, 7(2), 132–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2018.1496000
Roopnarine, J. L., & Yildirim, E. D. (2019). Fathers’ cognitive engagement and preschoolers’ literacy skills in three ethnic groups in Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Black Psychology, 45(6–7), 494–517. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798419887067
Souto-Manning, M., & Swick, K. J. (2006). Teachers’ beliefs about parent and family involvement: Rethinking our family involvement paradigm. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(2), 187–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-006-0063-5
Troupe, K. (2017). Motivations influencing home support engagements in Jamaican high schools [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5509&context=dissertations
Walker, J. (2012). Parental involvement in an urban primary school [Unpublished master’s thesis, University of West Indies].
Walters, G. K., & Carpenter, K. (2017). Gender-role stereotypes and culture in Jamaica and Barbados. In K. Carpenter (Ed.), Interweaving tapestries of culture and sexuality in the Caribbean (pp. 15–34). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58816-2
Watson-Williams, C., Riddell, A., & Curtis, K. (2011, April). Parental involvement in education: Do schools and teachers have a role? [Discussion summary] EduExchange Meeting, Jamaica Partners for Educational Progress Community of Practice. https://www.mona.uwi.edu/cop/sites/default/files/consolidated_reply_files/EduExchange%204_Summary%20_Final_0_0.pdf
Yildirim, E. D., & Roopnarine, J. L. (2017). Paternal and maternal engagement across six Caribbean countries and childhood outcomes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 53, 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.08.007
Yildirim, E. D., & Roopnarine, J. L. (2021). Paternal and maternal cognitive engagement and preschoolers’ literacy skills across six ethnic groups in Suriname. Journal of Black Psychology, 47(6), 476–502. https://doi.org/10.1177/009579842110076
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research. design and methods. Sage Publications.
