Fathers’ Importance in Adolescents’ Academic Achievement

Abstract

Many studies have investigated mothers' impact on students' achievement, yet little is known about how various father types impact students' school performance. This study examines 6 mutually exclusive categories of father type: resident biological fathers, resident stepfathers, resident adoptive fathers, nonresident biological fathers, unknown biological fathers, and deceased fathers. Adolescents' school performance from seventh through twelfth grade is examined using data from 3 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative United States secondary data source. Findings indicate different types of fathers have distinct and independent positive associations with adolescents' school achievement, after controlling for mother involvement. Adolescents with resident biological fathers had higher school performance than adolescents with nonresident fathers. Adolescents with stepfathers had higher rates of school failure than their peers living with their biological parents. The lowest achievement and the highest risk of school failure and course failure were experienced by those adolescents who did not have a resident father figure and didn't know the identity of their fathers. Implications include the need to model for the unique influence of father involvement and father type on academic achievement, and the inclusion of unique family contexts in efforts to increase adolescents' school involvement and integration.

A PISA Data 2018 Analysis: Do Parents’ Education and Students’ Learning Supports Affect Learning Achievement?

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Academic performance of secondary education students in socio-familial risk contexts

“…The empirical evidence has been consistent in supporting the effect caused by both socio-familial (Gordon, 2016;Whitney et al, 2017) and non-cognitive variables (Froiland & Worrel, 2016;Rocchino et al, 2017) on the academic performance of secondary school students. However, research regarding determinants of academic performance has largely been focused on the identification of individual determinants, while the interaction of these factors has been less investigated (De Clercq et al, 2013).…”

Parental Involvement in Education and Academic Achievement in Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

“…Although most research on PIE has focused on mothers, limited existing research indicates that fathers’ PIE is also important (Jeynes, 2015; Kim & Hill, 2015; Whitney et al, 2018). Whereas mothers tend to be more frequently involved in all aspects of their children’s educational activities (i.e., homework help and school activities) and tend to be warmer and more supportive than fathers (Rogers et al, 2009), fathers are more likely to expose their children to the outside world and to use challenging and cognitively stimulating strategies (Paquette, 2004).…”