Exploratory Study of Turkish Fathers' Involvement in the Lives of Their Preschool Aged Children

During the past few decades, there have been significant social changes affecting children and their families. Fathers are assuming a more active role in child rearing, primarily as a result of increases in the numbers of women in the work force, and numbers of children in non-parental care. Fathers as well as mothers play a significant role in young children's development. Findings from research studies conducted in North America suggest that there are several positive effects of father involvement on young children. However, father involvement is a relatively recent topic in early childhood education in Turkey, and little is known about the extent of Turkish fathers' involvement. The present study examined Turkish fathers' involvement in the lives of their preschool aged children. The amount of time that fathers and children spend together, the types of activities they engage in, and factors that could be related to father involvement (e.g., age, education, income, working hours) were investigated. Participating in the study were 84 fathers of 3-6 year old children enrolled in four public early childhood education settings in Istanbul, Turkey. An instrument titled, "Father Involvement Questionnaire", was used to measure father involvement. Findings indicated that father's occupation type, monthly income, number of marriage years, numbers of children in the family, and fathers' work hours affected their involvement. Findings are discussed with reference to fathers' accessibility, responsibility and engagement.