A Cross-Cultural Study of American, Chinese, Japanese and Swedish Early Childhood In-service and Pre-Service Teachers' Perspectives of Fathering

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences in perspectives of fathering among American, Chinese, Japanese and Swedish in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers. The participants in the quantitative survey consisted of 67 American in-service and 277 preservice teachers, 118 Chinese in-service and 163 pre-service teachers, 325 Japanese in-service and 350 pre-service teachers, and 105 Swedish in-service and 182 pre-service teachers. Randomly selected participants from these nations also participated in focus-group interviews. The results of this study revealed that fathers' involvement was related to hours of care for both Chinese and Japanese inservice teachers as well as for all four countries' pre-service teachers. Chinese, Japanese and Swedish teachers' perceptions of fathers' involvement were associated with gender equality. The more American, Chinese and Japanese pre-service teachers valued sensitivity of care, the more they considered fathers' involvement to be important. Qualitative data analysis found that the majority of participants valued fathers' involvement and that their cultures clearly influenced their concepts of fathering.

A comparative study of fathers' thoughts about fatherhood in the USA and Japan

“…Pleck (2010) also explains that some men's fatherhood is related to his masculinity. Likewise, Ito and Izumi-Taylor (2013) have found that culture shapes people's views of fathering. Conversely, Japanese fathers were more likely to balance their childrearing practices with their wives by supporting the mothers' work.…”

“…The first author created the question that resulted from research into the relations about how early childhood teachers view fathering and childrearing in Japan, Sweden and the USA (Ito & Izumi-Taylor, 2013). The first author collected the Japanese data by asking four leaders of parent support groups to participate in this study.…”

“…Although there are many differences in social, political and educational systems between Japan and the USA, these countries' early childhood educators value the role of fathers as important in children's lives (Ito & Izumi-Taylor, 2013). In this regard, examining the perceptions of father involvement by fathers can contribute to the field of early childhood education.…”

“…People's views of childcare are related to their cultures (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008;Izumi-Taylor, Lee, & Fanceschini, 2011), and cultural values might influence their perceptions of fathering. Culture determines one's values, beliefs and attitudes towards fathering (Fagan & Palm, 2004;Ito & Izumi-Taylor, 2013), and the study of these two countries would enhance understanding of how to support father involvement.…”