Will fathers' involvement improve education?

Schools across the country are to encourage fathers to become more involved in their children's schooling in an effort to improve exam results and attendance.

A report published by the National Family and Parenting Institute says activities in which fathers and father figures will take part will include cookery, reading, computing and football.

Research from the Department for Education and Skills shows fathers' involvement is associated with better exam results, better mental health and raises pupils' enthusiasm for school.

Steve Davies, head teacher of Coopers Lane Primary, in Lewisham, south London, said some were "really scared" of coming into school and saw it as a mother's job.

Should fathers get more involved in their children's schooling? Do you think it would have an impact on their children's education?

This debate is now closed. Thank you for your comments.

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The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received:

Many lone parents have a very difficult struggle and this is reflected in the children's attitudes John H, Kent

I teach and I also have six children. Rather than getting fathers into schools. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to get them to face up to the responsibilities they abdicate when leaving one parent families behind with all the attendant problems that creates. Many lone parents have a very difficult struggle and this is reflected in the children's attitudes. This does not excuse the normal households where the parents (father and mother) simply abdicate all upbringing to the education system.
John H, Kent

Why fathers? Why not parents? As with all things, some are very active, some overactive and pushy, some lazy, some hostile, and most in the middle. Does this sort of one size fits all exhorting, hand-wringing mentality really achieve anything whatsoever?
Richard, Ashford, England

I've always taken part in home-based learning activities. However, when I came to ask myself how best to be involved in school, the answer was really to become a Governor at my children's' school; I've now been one for around six years. One knotty issue this debate doesn't seem to have covered is that of the parents who are teachers. My father was a teacher for around 20 years - certainly all of my secondary school years. For this very reason, we avoided any helping with homework for obvious reasons. At the end of the day, the teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in school are the ones trained to do this. Any responsible parent already knows from the teacher where their child(ren) need further help, from either parent!
Steve Brereton, York, UK

I'm going to be a father in a couple of months. Both my wife and I are very keen to read to him from a young age, and I am hoping that we will have taught him to read and write by the time he starts school. My wife is more likely to help him with his schoolwork as she's more academically inclined than I am, but I shall be the one going to the park at an ungodly hour of the morning to play football with him. We'll both try and go to parents' evenings at school, but I didn't resent my father for not going, and I doubt my son will resent me if I can't make it. He'll know we both love and care about him equally, and if we do it in different ways, I don't see the problem - it wasn't one for me.
Jamie, London, UK

I just don't care. I am sick of the government prioritising issues involving children. So what if they're our future, it's adults who are the present, and it's the present that matters more than anything. Without the health and security of adults, children have nothing. Families should sort themselves out, and the government should get back to what it's there for, not for ridiculous attempts at social engineering.
Patricia, Henley, UK

Would these be the same fathers that every other arm of the government is trying to discriminate against? By constantly degrading the status of marriage and turning parenthood into a lifestyle choice for women, but little more than a financial obligation for many men, this government has alienated a huge number of men from the processes of responsible child rearing. The results are now plain to see, and, surprise, surprise, now they want to undo the consequences of their own folly.
Nigel, Glos

Society shouldn't make fathers feel guilty Meena, Liverpool, England

I agree that fathers should be involved in their children's education. However, society shouldn't make fathers feel guilty, if they don't have sufficient time or energy to be involved in their children's lives. As a child, I always resented the fact that my dad couldn't spend enough time with me. However as an adult, I can see that though he couldn't spend a lot of time he has always stood by me and supported me during the lowest points of my life.
Meena, Liverpool, England

I have never heard such a lot of nonsense in my life. Children respond to love and time spent with them, as well as being interested in what they do and talking to them. Gender is totally irrelevant.
Jane Phillips, Marske by Sea, North Yorks

My dad took me to watch Burnley on a Saturday afternoon - that was his job, and he did it very well Philip, Great Wakering, Essex

Neither of my parents interfered with my education, thank goodness. In common with 90% of the population, they knew absolutely nothing whatsoever about it. At all levels, from junior school to university, I was encouraged and guided by excellent and knowledgeable teachers. The idea of my Dad helping with Latin translation, or quadratic equations, is just unthinkable. He took me to Turf Moor, to watch Burnley, on a Saturday afternoon - that was his job, and he did it very well.
Philip, Great Wakering, Essex

I've spoken several times to my son's head teacher about hiring male teachers (my son will spend the first seven vital years of education solely under female tutelage!!). The comment came back: "It will discriminate against women if the school asks for male teachers." What a farce - boys failing at school just because there can't be more 'father-figures' and male modes of teaching in JMI schools. Acting in the best interests of the child are we, Tony?? When I was at school, half the teachers were men and boys, strangely enough, outperformed girls.
Martina, London

I already do all of this, and much more besides. So do all my male friends with children in school. Any father who is not actively involved in every facet of their children's education should be asking themselves a few questions about commitment.
John, England

Of course fathers should play a role in their children's education Lis, Leeds, UK

Of course fathers should play a role in their children's education - that is a well known fact. Most fathers and stepfathers recognise that fact and do just that. I am surprised that an expensive report is commissioned to tell us what we already know. Perhaps a report should have been commissioned to show exactly how state schools are failing our children rather then looking to put the blame elsewhere!
Lis, Leeds, UK

Tony of Welling has it right. My daughter had maths homework which she could not do. She tried to explain the method to be used but it did not work. I had been taught a quite different method at school and showed her. She did all the examples and got the right answers but was ridiculed by the teacher and given no marks. She never wanted help again.
Ed Smith, Nottingham UK

My Dad taught my A level maths because the school timetable didn't allow maths, physics and German at the same time. When I was younger we'd talked about maths a lot and it was fun. When there was an exam involved it was too stressful - fortunately I got an A, but there were times when we were both terrified I wouldn't.
Emma, London, UK

If this is one way which helps the child, then why not? Idan, UK

There are, of course, many alternatives if a father cannot get involved with their child's education. But if this is one way which helps the child, then why not?
Idan, UK

Despite seeing my son every weekend and expressing a desire to have a greater involvement with my son during the week, and hence a greater involvement in his education, I have been consistently denied this 'privilege'. Primarily by his mother who denies me access as and when and secondly by the state who refuse to enforce court imposed access rights. Ironic then that myself and other fathers in my position should then be criticised by the state for non involvement
Francis, South Wales

Of course, parents of either sex should show an interest in the education of their children; that seems self-evident. However, a more fundamental parental contribution would be to take to school a well-behaved, socialised and attentive child, in the first place.
Philip, Essex, U.K.

I think it would be more helpful if both the parents were educated to start with before assuming they have the ability to help educate their children.
Sylvie, Lincoln, UK

A lot of work needs to be done on parental access laws, particularly fathers' rights Dan, Yateley, UK

Having seen one of my friends driven to emotional and financial breaking point just to gain the legal "right" to see his kids, my view is that a lot of work needs to be done on parental access laws, particularly fathers' rights, before suggestions such as this can be implemented by many fathers. He played next to no role at all in the first two years of his youngest child's development because his ex was allowed to repeatedly flout contact orders and change arrangements.
Dan, Yateley, UK

Surely any positive parental involvement can only help ? Doesn't that seem obvious ? Do we need a Government report to tell us that ?
Jane, London, UK

It does open up a new road for future thinking though. Fathers will presumably need to have a fair amount of time off work to visit the schools and assist with education. Maybe now we'll have maternity/paternity leave, education leave and so on. Are we going to see new legislation to force employers to give fathers time off? If you've got kids, do your best for them and don't wait for some obvious advice from some taxpayers sponsored institution to tell you.
Trevor, Colchester, UK

Perhaps the courts can be shown this. Many fathers do not even have access to their children because of disagreements with former partners, so how exactly are they supposed to help with their children's education?
Stephen, Cardiff

It would be great if fathers had the time to become more involved Trevor, London, UK

It would be great if fathers had the time to become more involved. Like many I work long hours away from home, often many hours travel away, so it's rare to get a chance to visit my daughter's school. This idea seems to be another rod being cut to punish men for what society expects us to do, ie work hard and pay for everything. The chattering classes have expended their spite on working mothers of late, now it seems to be fathers' turn.
Trevor, London, UK

Being involved in their pupil's education does not involve the father going into school other than for parents' evenings. It involves talking to their children about what they have learnt, reading books, helping with homework and answering questions. It is the responsibility of both parents to be doing these things anyway. It's called good parenting.
Liz, UK

I have two daughters, aged 14 and 9 and I have always taken a keen interest in what they do at school. Whether this has had a positive effect on them or not, I cannot say, as they are both very bright children and it would not be right for me to take any credit for their achievements. However, they always discuss school matters with me and seek my advice or help whenever it is required.
Etienne Hoffland, Chafford Hundred, Essex

I can't believe some of the responses here. Of course fathers should help kids with school work, regardless of whether you have been at work all day. Don't blame the government for moving goalposts. It's a kids general education that improves from a fathers input, not simply trying to get them through an exam.
Allan, Reading

It would help if we had more male teachers to offset the domination of women in children's education Peter Evans, Bristol, United Kingdom

Perhaps it would help if we had more male teachers to offset the domination of women in children's education. Too many men give in to the feminist plan to make them redundant.
Peter Evans, Bristol, United Kingdom

I think all children need a male role model in their lives. Fathers, step fathers and other male family members can make a huge difference, by actively participating in a child's education.
Natasha Mcpherson, Saltash, Cornwall

I'm not their father but I am there to help my partner's children if they need it. As are most responsible 'parents'. This is nothing new! Ironically, at the secondary school the children attend, support study sessions, provided during the GCSE years, are the complete opposite. Little teacher guidance and the children are encouraged to relax; including listening to their mp3 players, etc. So, the education system should get its own act in order before putting yet more pressure on the parents, especially the father.
Ian C, Midlands

This report just hides a wider problem for this country and that is the appalling divorce rate Michael, Guildford, UK

This report just hides a wider problem for this country and that is the appalling divorce rate. In the vast majority of cases, study after study shows children brought up in a stable home with married parents will do better than those from broken homes at school, they will find and keep better jobs and remain healthier and less likely to commit a crime. Wake up Britain, we cannot afford to keep going like this. (I'm sure if you print this, there will be people who say "But I come from a broken home and now I am a doctor/lawyer/banker or whatever - but individual cases do not invalidate the research)
Michael, Guildford, UK

Fathers should be more involved in their children's education. It not only improves one's education but also strengthen the father-child relationship. The father will get to know more about his child's strengths and weaknesses. It should not be seen singly as either a father's or mother's responsibility but as both the parents' job itself.
Kishen Raj, Singapore

Both my parents helped me and my brother and we were surrounded by books and learning from day one. I do the same with my children. Kids do actually love to learn and that should always be encouraged. Yes it's tiring at times with endless questions but it's worth it to see their knowledge and understanding grow.
Rich, Coventry, UK

How very insulting for both parents! One the one hand they assume that the current batch of fathers with school-aged children are not already involved, yet on the other they make it clear that mother's involvement is somehow insufficient!
Joshua, Somerset

Just how patronising can this country get? Many, many fathers do just that, though some of us do not recognise what is taught anymore and are told that it must be in a certain format. We are looked upon as a lower level of society that the establishment has to put up with, witness the torture of parents evenings. The reality is that as I always told my children, when you leave school, I'll begin to educate you to make up for your woeful level of knowledge. I consider the vast majority of children who have been failed by the education system as ignorant.
Tony, Welling Kent

I think the best thing a parent could do, not only fathers, is to help their children in education and other matters 14-year-old, Bradford

I am currently doing my GCSE's, I am a gifted and talented student. I learnt how to read and write from the age of 3-4 with absolutely no help from my parents. My father did not attend school on a regular basis, he used to bunk off school and he is unemployed. My mother is illiterate. I have always been in the top sets with no help from my parents and I also had to teach my 6 younger sisters how to read and write. I think the best thing a parent could do, not only fathers, is to help their children in education and other matters. I am sure if my parents had just read a book with me I would have thought my parents cared about my education.
14-year-old, Bradford

I did try with my son, but sadly we were both let down by the government moving the goal posts.
Clive, Dartford, Kent

Children would definitely benefit from more involvement with fathers...and its not just the children of the individual who might benefit but also other children in the school who suffer generally from not having enough good male role models in their lives. Don't limit it only to schools though. We need to encourage greater and more consistent 'Dad' input in our children's lives across the board. The government should encourage far more men to also become teachers especially at primary level.
Ross, Edinburgh

So who's supposed to be doing all the work while everybody's having so much fun at school? All us lucky people without children of course.
Dave, Ramsgate, England

No! All a child needs is a strong parent, fathers are not always there, sometimes are better off not there. But for the fathers who are there and don't pay attention, of course a child will feel not loved and need more time with dad. My son's father is not there and my son is a straight A student. I am not saying it's easy but it's not the end of the world!
Alexandria, Toronto, Canada

Why this question now? It is a rhetorical question that answers itself. Parents should help fashion their kids' education (after all they have expectations from them) and not leave it to school teachers alone. Education begins from home and the father as the 'Minister' at the home-front has his child's education as his core responsibility; and should endeavour to be involved.
Chigbu Uchendu, Uturu, Nigeria

Unfortunately, I'm out working every day to pay for my son's schooling because our designated state school isn't good enough.
Paul Rowlands, United Kingdom

I'm shocked that it takes research from the DES to discover this fact Rob, Bath, UK

I'm shocked that it takes research from the DES to discover this fact. A father who has to be told to involve himself in his child's education should not be a father at all.
Rob, Bath, UK

It certainly benefited my education (and mine was an older parent so no football games with him) but this was 20 years ago before it was fashionable to pretend Dads were unnecessary to the upbringing of a child in almost all areas.
Ken, London, UK

I think that involving the father will improve their exam results and attendance because the child will realise that his/her father is really keen in seeing their child do well in school and will boost their confidence.
Steph, Liverpool

It is a sad fact that many parents just don't care enough about their children's schooling Frances Boardman, Hemel Hempstead, UK

Any parental involvement has to be good. It is a sad fact that many parents just don't care enough about their children's schooling and make teachers lives harder than they need to be. During two weeks observation as part of my PGCE a pupil's mobile phone rang in the middle of a lesson. The person who had rung the child was the girl's mother!
Frances Boardman, Hemel Hempstead, UK

In a word, YES. All parental input helps, mother or father. I participated as well as I could but working shifts didn't help, there needs to be some flexibility within the school to allow for shift patterns and the hours dads have to be away from the home travelling to and from work.
Terry, Epsom, Surrey, England

I thought they were all supposed to be out working during the school day. If not, they are pursued by all manner of government departments and quangos.
David, Manchester, UK

Surely if children see their fathers placing value on education, they will value it themselves.
L Jones, Manchester

Fathers should certainly be more involved in their children's schooling. Parental involvement is a contributing factor to a child's wellbeing and overall mental health. With both parents working in many families, children need the added assurances provided by fathers involved in their education.
Linda McCullough, Texas, USA