Perceptions of Father Involvement among Turkish Fathers with Pre-school Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare father involvement among fathers with children in pre-school in terms of their status of having only one or more than one child. The study sample consisted of fathers of 3-5 year-old children who were enrolled in pre-schools in the district of Altıeylül, Balıkesir. Data pertaining to the involvement of fathers with one child and with more than one child were collected with the Father Involvement Scale (FIS) developed by Şendil and Sımsıkı (2014). Data was collected from a total of 325 fathers and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to test the construct validity of the FIS. The data derived from the Father Involvement Scale were collected in three sub-dimensions: DI (Discretionary Involvement), BC (Basic Care), RC (Responsiveness and Closeness), and were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. The results of the research revealed that the number of children had an impact on the discretionary involvement and responsiveness and closeness dimensions of father involvement and that fathers with only one child had higher levels of perception of the role of fatherhood and also higher levels of household task involvement compared to fathers with two or more children. According to these results, since a positive perception of the role of fatherhood is strongly and positively associated with family involvement activities, educators may provide support in enabling fathers and other family members to develop a positive perception of fatherhood. In providing this support, to avoid the differences stemming from the variable of being a father of a single child or of more than one child, planning activities together with fathers to provide real-life examples that promote time management and effective leisure time management may encourage fathers to spend more quality time with their children.

Low-Income Turkish Mothers’ Conceptions and Experiences of Family Life

“…Economic restrictions may also intensify gender inequalities in parenting. Studies in Turkey document that low-income fathers carry an intense workload (compared to middle-class fathers), and their long working hours hinder their involvement in child care ( Biber, 2016 ; Bozok, 2018 ). Hence, women’s reports of the ideal family structure are indicators of traditional gender roles, which are further reinforced with their socio-economic circumstances.…”

“…Besides, men’s involvement in family life is perceived as “helping” or “assisting” women, rather than taking equal responsibility for the tasks as spouses or fathers ( Bozok, 2018 ). Among low-income Turkish families, fathers spend significantly less time with children because they work longer hours and have fewer financial resources to afford extracurricular activities ( Biber, 2016 ).…”