Bahamian Fathers' Involvement with Their Child’s Schooling: To What Extent does Family Structure Matter?

Abstract

This study examined characteristics of Bahamian fathers’ involvement with their child’s schooling using data from a comprehensive study on parent involvement within one Bahamian community. We triangulated data from a 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 in academic involvement and more pronounced differences in involvement with 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 paternal involvement, and call for more exploration of the impact of class and socioeconomic status on involvement with schools.