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Fathers and young children’s literacyexperiences in a family environmentOlivia N. Saracho aa University of Maryland , USAPublished online: 05 Apr 2007.

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Early Child Development and CareVol. 177, No. 4, May 2007, pp. 403–415

ISSN 0300-4430 (print)/ISSN 1476-8275 (online)/07/040403–13© 2007 Taylor & FrancisDOI: 10.1080/03004430600563034

Fathers and young children’s literacy experiences in a family environmentOlivia N. Saracho*University of Maryland, USATaylor and Francis LtdGECD_A_156286.sgm10.1080/03004430600563034Early Childhood Development and Care0300-4430 (print)/1476-8275 (online)Original Article2006Taylor & Francis0000000002006OliviaSarachoons@umd.edu

Research provides evidence that fathers can promote the development of their children’s literacyskills, including reading books to them that are appropriate, engaging their children in discussionsabout books they read, recording in a notebook the books the children have read and encouragingtheir children to read more books. This review presents some emerging findings and issues in theresearch literature that are relevant to the role of fathers in promoting their children’s literacylearning. It also summarizes the concerns and findings presented in selected research studies.Recommendations are provided for both researchers and educators.

Keywords: Fathers’ roles; Literacy development; Family literacy

Introduction

Over the past quarter of the century, fatherhood has received attention in two keyresearch domains: the relationship between child developmental outcomes andpatterns of the fathers’ involvement and absence (for example, Lamb, 2004); andexamining ways fathers balance economic provisions, household work and participa-tion in child-rearing practices (for example, Palkovitz, 2002; Coltrane, 2004; Marks& Palkovitz, 2004). A current issue has emerged about the role of fathers in thechildren’s lives. This issue derived from the fact that, until recently, fathers wereperceived to be the ‘hidden parents’. The National Center for Education Statistics(1997) reported that: ‘They [fathers] were assumed to be the breadwinners of two-parent families, but of limited importance in non-financial aspects of children’s well-being and development’ (p. v).

*University of Maryland, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, College Park, MD 20742,USA. Email: ons@umd.edu

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Levine et al. (1993) affirmed that there has been a lack of research on fathers’ involve-ment with their children. They stated that their research on exemplary programssuggested that:

Father involvement has important implications for early childhood programs. It suggeststhat programs can make a positive contribution by helping fathers—or other men—develop warm, comfortable relationships with their children. And it suggests that how menrelate to children is influenced by how they think and feel about their role, how othersperceive them, and whether or not they have a support system. (Levine et al., 1993, p. 9)

Recently, researchers have focused their attention on fathers’ involvement in earlychildhood programs (Fagan, 2000; Lamb, 2004). A growing body of research hassupported the important role that fathers have assumed in their children’sdevelopment. Children whose fathers were actively involved and nurturing achieveda better school performance (Nord et al., 1997), a good self-esteem, healthier rela-tionships with peers and a healthier sex-role development (Green, 2003). Studieshave indicated that the fathers’ involvement in their children’s school makes a differ-ence in their children’s academic (Nord et al., 1997) and personal success.

Familism: a family’s standard commitment

The personal and academic success of most children is influenced by the support ofsignificant others. Research has shown that supportive relationships, including thefamily’s positive encouragement, can affect their school achievement (Prelow &Loukas, 2003). Steidel and Contreras (2003) attributed this support to familism,which is defined as the normative commitment of family members to the family andto family relationships. Familism was composed of at least three dimensions:structural, behavioral and attitudinal. The structural dimension defined the spatial andsocial perimeters based on the presence or absence of nuclear and extended familymembers. For example, how many adult relatives live within driving distance of thefamily’s home? The behavioral dimension of familism related to behavioral feelingsand attitudes about the family. For example, which family members contact thefamily through telephone calls or visits (Valenzuela & Dornbusch, 1994)? Anotherdimension of familism is attitudinal familism. It is a cultural value that determines theindividuals’ identity with an attachment to their nuclear and extended families as wellas their strong feelings of loyalty, reciprocity and solidarity for their family members(Cauce & Domenech-Rodriguez, 2002). According to Burgess et al. (1963), attitudi-nal familism is:

1) the feeling on the part of all members that they belong pre-eminently to the family groupand that all other persons are outsiders; 2) complete integration of individual activities forthe achievement of family objectives; 3) the assumption that land, money, and other mate-rial goods are family property, involving the obligation to support individual members andgive them assistance when they are in need; 4) willingness of all members to rally to thesupport of a member if attacked by outsiders; and 5) concern for the perpetuation of thefamily as evidenced by helping adult offspring in beginning and continuing an economicactivity in line with family expectations and in setting up a new household. (pp. 35–36)

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Fathers and young children’s literacy 405

Familial support provides assistance to nuclear or extended family members asneeded in everyday life. This element of attitudinal familism has the belief that, intime of need, the family should expect from and provide to other family members aninterchange of support during difficult times. The term ‘familism’ has been a corevalue of the family’s culture and has caught the attention of researchers, because ofits foreseen effects. Most definitions of attitudinal familism are similar to the onedeveloped by Burgess et al. (1963), except the one by George (1986). She expandedthe definition and included that family members must sustain closeness. Steidel andContreras (2003) developed an inclusive definition of attitudinal familism where theyselected various elements from several theoretical definitions, combined them andcreated a definition that the authors’ believed was clear and comprehensive. Steideland Contreras (2003) showed that attitudinal familism is composed of the followingstructural elements:

1. Familial Interconnectedness provides family members with both physical andemotional support including spending and cherishing time with relatives. Thiselement of attitudinal familism has the belief that the family should have a strongemotional and physical loyalty. Although the family members continue to havean independent personal life, families live near each other to participate in theireveryday lives.

2. Familial Honor protects and defends the family’s name and integrity. Thiselement of attitudinal familism has the belief that family members have theresponsibility to maintain, protect and defend the family’s name and honor.

3. Subjugation of Self for Family requires family members to respect and obey thefamily’s rules. This element of attitudinal familism has the belief that family ismore important than each individual member. Therefore, the family’s needs aremet even at the expense of the other family members’ personal needs and wishes.

Steidel and Contreras (2003) charged researchers to integrate these factors in theirstudies, because they identified essential knowledge about the individuals’ psycholog-ical functioning. The sociological literature considered familism to be the standardcommitment of family members to the family and to family relationships. Thefamily’s support has been fundamental in their children’s personal and academicsuccess (Prelow & Loukas, 2003). An essential component in the children’s educa-tional success has been the family’s support and involvement in school and non-school learning (Bernal et al., 2000), especially in the children’s literacy learning.

Literacy in a family environment

Studies have indicated that the family’s involvement in the children’s school andnon-school learning affect their educational success (Bernal et al., 2000), particularlyin their children’s acquisition of literacy. Tett (2000) and Stainthorp and Hughes(2000) found that families engaged in a comprehensive proportion of literacy eventsin the homes. They participated in literacy practices related to the families’ language,beliefs and cultural practices (Gregory, 2001; Robertson, 2002; Saracho, 2000,

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2001). Saracho (2002a, b, 2003) indicated that the children’s family environmentcan be used to focus on the families’ particular beliefs and practices to contribute tothe children’s successful achievement gains on the type of literacy valued by schools.She concluded that families can learn literacy practices and obtain a greater under-standing of the children’s literacy development. Gillanders and Jiménez (2004)found a relationship between the role of parental active support and the literacy prac-tices at home, which contributed to the children’s positive effects on literacy learn-ing. Family members recurrently read to children, modeled reading to children,made reading and writing materials accessible to children, and stimulated children toraise and respond to questions. Marks and Palkovitz (2004) advocated that familieshave an appropriate balance in involving fathers. They found that research onfathers’ involvement has been frequently taken for granted, held negative connota-tions or been inadequately conceptualized. They concluded that fathers’ rolesneeded to be conceptualized in order that families have an appropriate balance intheir involvement.

Fathers and children’s literacy learning

Studies on the relationship between fathers’ participation and children’s literacyoutcomes have been neglected. This is unfortunate since fathers’ reading habits havea considerable impact on their children’s reading ability, interest levels and readingchoices (Lloyd, 1999). This oversight is no better described than in the literature onfamily organization and on father absence among low-income families.

Researchers showed that shifts in traditional family structures were related toproblems in the home environments. For example, the absence of fathers in familylife reflected changes in the family’s disposition (e.g. higher divorce rates, overwhelm-ing growth of out-of-wedlock births, neglect), which challenged the schools (Blanken-horn, 1995). It was also suggested that the fathers who lived in the same householdwere too busy elsewhere to engage in their children’s literacy development. Durkin(1966) attempted to determine the fathers’ role in their young children’s readingachievement in the elementary school, but she found it impossible to get fathers toshow up for interviews and to discuss their role in early reading activities. Excuses fortheir absence included ‘being on the road’, ‘working during the day and going toschool at night’, ‘spending long hours at the office’ and ‘having two jobs’. Her inter-views with a small sample of fathers indicated that they had some positive influenceon their children’s early reading achievement. Although most fathers wanted to spendmore time with their children, they encountered familial, personal, structural andcultural barriers that may have precluded them from becoming more involved withtheir family (Lloyd et al., 2003). In fact, several studies indicated that timeconstraints, co-parental relations and the mothers’ work status influenced the fathers’involvement (Ortiz et al., 1999).

Researchers on family literacy have mainly focused on maternal contributions(Ortiz, 2004), because they have assumed that mothers were the primary caregiverswho were responsible for teaching young children to read and write (Dickinson et al.,

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Fathers and young children’s literacy 407

1992; Clark, 2005). Some researchers have found that fathers can contribute to theirchildren’s literacy development, which challenges the presumed stereotype on thelack of paternal involvement in a traditional maternal, childcare activity (i.e. readingand writing with children). These studies have also challenged the assumption thatfathers have limited interest and involvement in their children’s academic learning.For example, Laosa (1982) found that fathers spent less time in early literacy prac-tices than their spouses, but they read with their children on a regular basis. Millardand Hunter (2001) explored which parent read most with their children. They foundthat 37% of the fathers and their partners read to their children in equal amounts.The fathers’ degree of participation with their children’s literacy practices hasincreased substantially over the past few decades (Fisher et al., 1999).

The fathers’ early literacy practices ranged from fathers who rarely read with theirchildren to those who established consistent reading and writing routines (Ortiz,1994, 2004). Karther (2002) observed that fathers monitored their children’sprogress and participated in book reading. Ortiz (2000) found that fathers usedseveral reading materials and writing styles in their literacy practices inside andoutside the home environment. Ortiz and his associates (Ortiz et al., 1999; Stile &Ortiz, 1999) indicated that the majority of the fathers engaged in weekly school-related literacy practices with their children, whereas almost two-thirds of the fathersread with their children for recreational purposes. Ortiz (2004) supported theseresults. His study on paternal involvement confirmed that the fathers engaged in earlyliteracy practices and identified three major themes: curiosity of print, personal valuesand beliefs and marital role function:

1. Curiosity of print referred to the fathers’ reactions to their children’s natural inter-est in reading and writing activities. For example, fathers would read newspapers,books and magazines in the presence of their children and then asked them ques-tions concerning the nature of the activity. Children usually imitated theirfathers’ reading behaviors.

2. Personal values and beliefs extended the fathers’ early literacy participation. Forexample, when fathers and children discussed the need of learning to read andwrite or when fathers modeled reading behaviors in their children’s presence,fathers communicated to their children the importance of literacy learning.

3. Marital role function influenced the level of democracy in the fathers’ early literacyparticipation. For example, Ortiz (1996) found that fathers who ‘shared’ child-care responsibilities (e.g. both parents feeding and bathing their children) withtheir spouses were those who engaged more in joint literacy activities than thosewho ‘divided’ such duties. He concluded that fathers who ‘shared’ equal dutieswere those who also assumed the responsibility for helping their children to readand write.

The fathers in this study valued the importance of providing early literacy practicesto their young children. Karther (2002) supported that fathers valued literacy learn-ing. Hiebert and Adams (1987) also supported that the fathers’ participation withtheir children influenced their young children’s knowledge of literacy. Pleck and

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Masciadrelli (2004) reported that most studies provided significant positive relation-ships between fathers’ participation and their children’s literacy development.

Fathers’ reading practices can have a considerable effect on their children’s capac-ity to read, their degree of interest, and their reading selections (Lloyd, 1999; Lloydet al., 2003). Shared literacy activities can also reinforce the bond between fathers andtheir children (Fisher et al., 1999). Ortiz and his colleagues (for example, Ortiz et al.,1999; Stile & Ortiz, 1999) suggested several reading and writing activities that canpromote father–child dyads. All of these studies supported that fathers perceivedreading as a way to build a relationship with their children, and assumed that havingbooks in the home and modeling reading to their children was important (Lloyd,1999; Lloyd et al., 2003).

Several researchers (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 1993; Delgado-Gaitán, 1994; Ortiz,1996, 2000, 2004; Saracho, 2000, 2001, 2002a, b) recommended that fathers extendtheir literacy practices beyond books or schooling. Ortiz (2000) showed how fathersread with their children for a variety of functions including education, religion, work-related events and recreation. Fathers have integrated a variety of literacy experiencesin their entertainment, daily living, general information and religion. Kalman (1997)reported how a father with a fourth-grade education engaged with his three daughtersin various literacy activities in their work, recreation, church, home and school.Kalman inferred that reading was ingrained in the environment of the individual’sdaily life and suggested that literacy practices concentrate more on the necessity toconvey meaning instead of obscure school reading assignments.

Most studies on the fathers’ participation and their children’s literacy outcomeshave focused on educational attainment (Flouri & Buchanan, 2004; Lamb, 2004).Laosa (1982) showed how fathers with an advanced formal education engaged infather–child early literacy practices. Fathers can become critical contributors to apositive development and improve their children’s achievement outcomes. Durkin(1966) interviewed a few fathers on their literacy practices and found that they hadsome positive influence on their children’s early reading achievement. Gallimore et al.(1991) found that the amount of literacy activities that fathers engaged in for theirpersonal use had an impact on their children’s academic reading test scores. Nord etal. (1997) demonstrated that children who usually achieved high marks, enjoyedschool and never repeated a grade were those children whose fathers engaged inschool at a moderate or high level. Both fathers from two-parent families and fatherswho lived outside the home had the same level of involvement in school and yieldedthe same results. Flouri and Buchanan (2004) examined how fathers’ involvementcontributed to their children’s schooling. Their longitudinal study of 17,000 childrenindicated that the fathers’ involvement with their seven-year-old children influencedtheir educational attainment when these children reached age 20.

Studies provided consistent evidence to indicate that the reality has endured thatfathers valued the importance of providing their children with experiencesthat promote their children’s literacy development. Clark’s (2005) review indicatedthat fathers were able to report literacy problems at school, but they may have lackedthe motivation to participate in conventional print-related activities. Fathers have

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expressed a desire to become involved in their children’s literacy development, butthey preferred to have opportunities to participate in interesting literacy practices(Ortiz, 1994, 2004; Ortiz et al., 1999; Stile & Ortiz, 1999; Saracho, 2000, 2001,2002a, b). Ortiz et al. (1999) suggested several literacy activities for fathers, such asreading environmental print (e.g. road signs, logos, billboards and televisionadvertisements), reading newspapers, magazines, dictionaries, maps, telephonedirectories, manuals and bedtime stories; spelling and defining words; spellingfigures, and their names; coloring and tracing letters; and making use of the computerfor spelling or writing activities.

Conclusions

The literature reviewed suggested that fathers can contribute to their children’sliteracy development and academic success. The fathers in the cited studies engagedin literacy practices that influenced their children’s literacy development. The studiesalso suggested that fathers, like mothers, can assume responsibility for their children’sliteracy and writing development. They also can become literacy resources and mean-ing-makers in their children’s family environment. The results of the cited studies canbe used to guide researchers with future studies and educators to successfully recruit,retain and work with fathers.

Research considerations

Research studies need to provide an insight into fathers’ contributions to theirchildren’s literacy development. These studies also need to develop and test any inter-ventions that can provide fathers with the knowledge to promote their children’s liter-acy development. These interventions need to help researchers and educators identifyinteresting and motivating opportunities that can help fathers assume responsibilityfor promoting their children’s literacy development. For example, Ortiz and hiscolleagues (for example, Ortiz et al., 1999; Stile & Ortiz, 1999; Ortiz, 2004) madeseveral recommendations to motivate fathers to participate in their children’s literacydevelopment:

1. They suggested various techniques that fathers can use to participate in their chil-dren’s literacy learning.

2. They discussed several reading and writing activities that can promote father–child dyads.

3. They made several suggestions on ways teachers can initiate and support literacyactivities with fathers and their children in their classrooms.

This participation can have an impact on children’s literacy development. In addi-tion, a literacy program for fathers can assist them to learn literacy strategies andbecome critical contributors to their children’s literacy learning. These resultssupport the development of family literacy programs. Family literacy programs canraise the awareness of fathers, children and teachers concerning the importance of the

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role that families assume in literacy development. They can provide teachers withstrategies that help them to promote home literacy in children by focusing on thefamilies’ language and culture.

The studies that were reviewed indicated that the fathers assumed a critical role intheir children’s literacy development. They also identified several voids that need tobe considered. For example, researchers who are interested in exploring the fathers’contributions to their children’s literacy learning should consider the fathers’multifaceted roles in the complexity of the community and family environment.Before generalizing the importance of the fathers’ roles in their children’s literacydevelopment, it is important that studies be conducted to examine all aspects of thefather’s involvement and the impact of the fathers’ roles on their children’s literacydevelopment. In addition, their studies need to consider important factors beforegeneralizing such as the family’s personal history, cultural beliefs, cultural values andlanguage as well as the fathers’ contributions to specific literacy situations. Accordingto Clark (2005), researchers need to determine whether father involvement affectstheir children’s literacy development or whether their involvement is only an indica-tion of the existence of other family issues (e.g. co-parental relations, attention,amount of interaction). Fagan and Iglesias (1999) recommended that researchers gobeyond studying father involvement, and also study the actual changes in the qualityof the fathers’ behavior.

Studies must be rigorous and systematic to address the methodological issuesfound in the previous studies. For example, it is important to use appropriate samplesizes that have sufficient power for analyses purposes. In addition, different types ofmethodology other than self-reports need to be used.

Educational considerations

Researchers have found that there is a lack of male role models involved in readingand other literacy-related activities during the children’s early years (Wragg et al.,1998). The National Reading Campaign’s Reading Champions advocates that it isessential to provide boys with examples of reading role models whom they identifywith and relate to. Positive male reading role models generate an environmentwhere boys feel confident as males and readers (Torsi, 2005). Providing literacyactivities that include positive male roles may encourage fathers to engage in literacyactivities. For example, stories that present fathers in a positive way may be senthome to encourage both fathers and children to share these books. In addition, liter-ature books that have both fathers and children as the main characters in the storiescan be used. For example, the following books include both fathers and children inthe story.

● Alexander, L. (1993) Me and my dad (Kelley Jarvis & Richard Maurizio, Illustr.)(Stamford, CT, Longmeadow Press).

● Carle, E. (1991) Papa, please get the moon for me (New York, Schuster Children’sPublishing.

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● D’Andrea, J. D. (1996) If I were a Houston rocket (New York, Playhouse PublishersInc.).

● McCafferty, C. & Rasmussen, W. (2000) Picture me as dad’s little helper (JenniferThompson, Illustr.) (Noblesville, IN, Custom Storybooks).

Fathers are important role models for children, especially with their reading habits.The National Reading Campaign’s Reading Champions targeted fathers from a widespectrum of backgrounds and professions who enjoyed reading. The NationalReading Campaign’s Reading Champions encourages fathers to become reading rolemodels and gives the following suggestions to parents (Torsi, 2005), which can easilybe adapted to fathers. When reading with children:

● Do not wait until the last minute to get prepared to engage in a literacy event withthe children.

● Allow children to share whatever is of interest to them.● Include newspapers and magazines as part of the reading event.● Create characters by trying different voices to color the story. Dads are usually

good at this.● Record stories from the radio or the father’s own reading and have children play

them when fathers are not at home.● Introduce reading through a variety of interests such as sports or games, car manu-

als or video-game magazines.● Make use of school or local library events that are focused on families. Some may

be specifically for fathers and their children.

Family members prefer a father who is more involved, which can have positiveeffects on family functioning (Coltrane, 2004). Fathers need to be encouraged tobecome actively involved in school events. Pleck and colleagues (Lamb et al., 1987;Pleck & Masciadrelli, 2004) suggested four facilitating factors: motivation, skills andself-confidence, social approval and institutional. Once fathers begin to enjoy theschool event, they will want to return to other school events. It is important thateducators make fathers feel wanted and welcomed. A storyteller or author visit is anevent that might appeal to fathers. Both fathers and children can enjoy the sameexperience (Chamberlain, 2005).

The challenge that is presented to researchers and educators is to find ways toattract fathers to participate in school events. Family literacy programs need to bescheduled when it is convenient for the fathers to be present. Educators may seekassistance from their institution.

Institutional assistance can consider factors such as employment hours and sched-uling issues. Fathers who work fewer hours and have more flexible work schedulesmay be able to become more involved with their children than those who work longhours or who have inflexible schedules (Coltrane, 2004). Liz Chamberlain (2005)suggested ways to encourage families to participate in school events. Her sugges-tions have been adapted to use with fathers. In implementing a school event withfathers:

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412 O. N. Saracho

● Remind them of the school event through signs and posters at the school andverbally on the day of the event.

● Time of the school event should coincide with the fathers’ schedule, such as whenthey are dropping off or meeting children.

● Identify key fathers to spread the word, especially among those fathers who are newto the school or whose first language is not English.

● Provide refreshments during the school event, allowing fathers to relax and interactwith other fathers.

● Have interesting books on display and encourage children to go around and talkabout the books.

● Invite the local librarian to the school events and ask them to encourage fathers tosign up for a library orientation.

● Use school events to invite fathers to become members of a book selection commit-tee.

● Encourage the fathers to share their views about how to recruit more fathers toparticipate in school events.

● Work with fathers to develop reading tips for fathers to use at home.● Offer literacy workshops and invite a representative from the local bookshop to

share materials that the fathers can use.● Announce new reading resources that are appropriate for fathers to use in your

school newsletter, or on your website.

Researchers (for example, Cabrera et al., 2000; Hofferth, 2003) found thatfathers became more involved and showed more warmth when both male andfemale genders are accepted as equal. Educators can make sure that they makethis acceptance one of their goals. They can promote this goal during an interven-tion approach for family literacy. Also, fathers who had a strong fatherhoodidentity or who were actively embraced in the father role were the ones whowould become more involved. Fathers who were more actively involved becamemore competent (Beitel & Parke, 1998). Competence in fathering has beenachieved through interventions designed to develop fathers’ parenting skills(Cowan & Cowan, 2000).

Interventions can be developed with literacy activities that would be of interest toboth the fathers and the children. Family literacy programs can be developed as anintervention approach to assist fathers and their families learn literacy strategies(Saracho, 2002a, b). These literacy programs can focus on enhancing: the quality offamily–child interactions, the quality of the family environment, the development of‘desirable’ values and the development of the families’ strengths rather than their‘deficits’ (Saracho, 2002a, b). According to Saracho (2002a), family literacyprograms need to utilize: objects and materials from the community and homeenvironment, the children’s language, interests and emerging skills; literacy strategiesthat will promote the children’s communication; and the families’ understanding ofnew information. These suggestions can make fathers feel more comfortable andmotivate them to become involved in their children’s literacy learning.

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