Estar Pendiente: Exploring the School Engagement of Involved Latino Fathers

Abstract

This study foregrounds the voices of fathers, challenges normative notions of paternal engagement, and contributes to an understanding of how and why Latino fathers of middle school students support their children's educational success. A subset of five Latino fathers from a larger study responded to interview questions probing their motivations and forms of parental involvement based on the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model. Fathers constructed their roles as parent or partnership focused, despite fathers' reports of overcoming obstacles such as lack of knowledge and skills, or time and energy. Their children's invitations, rather than teacher or school invitations, most powerfully predicted fathers' home-based involvement.