Crises impacting South African men’s participation in early socio-education development of children and possible useful interventions

Abstract

The objective of this study was to establish the factors that hinder men from actively participating in the early socio-education development of their children. An exploratory sequential design and semistructured interviews were used to engage 25 purposively sampled fathers who live in communities within the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. Qualitative data were analysed through analytic induction and grounded theorising and presented descriptively. Coleman’s social capital theory provided the theoretical lenses that enabled an understanding of men’s crises that impacted the rationale for the nature of the interventions suggested in this article. Findings indicate that participants experienced extreme crises that impeded their ability to genuinely participate in early socio-education development of their children. Fathers reported experiencing huge crises, some of which appeared self-imposed. The social system that immensely stereotypes men appeared to further deepen their crises, which resulted in their inability to contribute to children’s socio-education development. Most current explanatory models on men’s participatory experiences in children’s early social development are largely deficient, derogatory, and recriminatory. The author suggests that such interpretive models may be counterproductive. If fathers are to genuinely contribute to children’s socio-education development, father-specific support programmes must be put in place. Some helpful interventions have been suggested.

Basotho ontology of disability: An afrocentric onto-epistemology

“…Contemporary child development discourse has begun to resuscitate the role fathers have to play in the upbringing of their children ( Okeke, 2018 ). This is an attempt in bringing back the traditional role of African fathers who were regarded as providers, protectors of their wives and children ( Makofane, 2015 ).…”

Disrupting Patriarchal Perceptions of Single-Mother Families: An Analysis of Adolescent Narratives

“…Ratele and Nduna's (2018) research shows that fathers are generally absent in South African families. Fathers are often stereotyped, both socially and within academic spheres, as being disinterested in being involved and present in their children's lives (Madhavan, Townsend, and Garey 2008;Okeke 2018).…”

“…However, as Thomas et al (2019, 2) explain, "research about specific parental practices at home that foster [self-regulated learning] are still scarce". The contributions of all primary caregivers to educational support are important; however, there is a growing body of research that seeks to understand the contributions and practices of fathers in particular (Jeynes 2015;Kim and Hill 2015;Mncanca, Okeke, and Fletcher 2016;Okeke 2018;Richter and Morrell 2006). The concept of father involvement constitutes positive engagement in activities that promote educational opportunities for their children.…”

“…Father involvement has been a topic of growing scholarly debate both within South Africa and internationally, and researchers have been particularly interested in how a lack of father involvement impacts the educational achievement of children (Kim and Hill 2015;Okeke 2018;Richter and Morrell 2006). The specific contributions that fathers can make have been framed in highly gendered terms that may reflect patriarchal norms (Kim and Hill 2015).…”

The influence of father involvement during childhood on the emotional well-being of young adult offspring: a cross-sectional survey of students at a university in Botswana

“…For example, fewer people are getting married (Perelli-Harris & Amos, 2015), many couples cohabit (Perelli-Harris & Styrc, 2018), divorce rates are on the increase (Letamo et al, 2015), and many men and women are choosing to stay single (Lundberg et al, 2016). Yet, it is widely recognised that the involvement of fathers in raising children is beneficial to their well-being and development (Lamb, 2004(Lamb, , 2010Okeke, 2018;Ramotuana & Amone-P'Olak, 2020;Salami & Okeke, 2018). The absence of fathers in the family may influence child outcomes, such as education, social relationships, and behavioural and the emotional well-being of offspring (Mbulayi & Kang'ethe, 2020;Okeke, 2018;Ramotuana & Amone-P'Olak, 2020;Salami & Okeke, 2018;Waldfogel et al, 2010).…”