Supporting the Vulnerable Child: Engaging Fathers in the Home–School Dimension of Pastoral Care

Drawing on findings from a recent study of pastoral care within a primary school, this article highlights the role of fathers as a key factor in a range of successful interventions. While gains can be made in work with vulnerable children, the home–school dimension of pastoral care deserves far greater attention by schools, educationalists and researchers than it has so far received. The English government has a strategy to promote a closer relationship between parents and primary schools: much depends upon the resources available to schools and the commitment of staff.     

‘It’s the most important thing – I mean,the schooling’: father involvement in the education of children with autism

Father involvement in education has been shown to result in a range of positive outcomes for typically developing children. However, the nature of paternal involvement in the education of children with disabilities and especially autism has been under-researched and is little understood. This study aimed to explore the nature of the involvement of 25 UK fathers in the education and their children with autism, aged up to 19 years through the use of semistructured interviews. Findings showed that fathers were highly engaged both directly and indirectly across several dimensions of their children’s education and schooling. Key areas of indirect engagement were involvement in administrative processes necessary for securing an appropriate educational placement; facilitating daily access to school and general support of children’s progress through attendance at school-based meetings and events. Direct support for learning occurred through homework assistance and working on school-related goal. Findings are discussed in relation to diversity and generative models of fatherhood. Implications for greater father inclusion in the education of children with autism are explored with reference to a gender-differentiated approach.     

Helpful Resources for Childbirth Educators and Parents

In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of current media resources (books, DVDs, booklets, and teaching aids) that address pregnancy and birth.     

Effects of social persuasion from parents and teachers on Chinese students’ self-efficacy: an exploratory study

This study compared the effects of social persuasion from parents and teachers on students’ self-efficacy in reading comprehension in English as a foreign language. Ninety-nine Grade 8 Chinese students in a secondary school in Hong Kong completed a questionnaire with six scenarios which tapped their self-efficacy after receiving positive and negative feedback that were described as coming from their teacher, mother and father. Students decreased their self-efficacy after receiving negative feedback and the source of feedback did not make a statistically significant difference. Conversely, positive feedback led to an increase in self-efficacy with the mother’s positive feedback leading to a higher increase in self-efficacy than feedback from the teacher and the father. No statistically significant difference was noted in the change in self-efficacy after receiving feedback from the father and the teacher. Parents and teachers should increase the use of positive feedback and decrease that of negative feedback. Implications for collaboration between teachers and parents in providing positive feedback on students’ academic performance were discussed.     

新时代家庭德育的现实困境与变革理路

变革家庭德育,需要重视科技跃升与物质积淀、地缘与人口结构变迁、生活方式与社交模式转型、社会分化与阶层固化加深以及特殊家庭现象日益习见等因素。现阶段家庭德育中诸如家庭智慧与安全感缺位、德育者育德能力和化人水平欠缺、父亲德育角色缺位、犯罪预防与“德育爱”背反等困境比较突出。基于此,强化家长实质性德育参与,凝聚家校共育合力,培养和提升家长的德育胜任力,统摄各方面德育影响,优化多育并举,形成以能力发展与使命自觉为基础的家庭德育内生动力,是家庭德育质量提升的内在诉求;重构社会环境与家庭的“符号互动”及“结构功能”关系,变革社会之“道”以引领个体之“德”,强化“互联网+”信息社会之家庭责任担当,完善社会工作嵌入融入,优化基础设施和公共产品配置,打造社区家庭“共建共治共享”协同育德机制等措施,是家庭德育外围生态变革的关键理路。     

语言变异与读者的期待视域

语言变异无时无刻都在我们的生活中起着重要的作用.如何认识,如何运用以及如何理解等都涉及到交际的成功与否和读者能否正确理解作家的创作意图.要达此目的,就要从表层到深层探讨语言的各种变异情况,调整变异与读者的期待视域之间的关系,融合二者之间的矛盾冲突.     

Supporting fathering through infant massage

Fathers may feel dissatisfied with their ability to form a close attachment with their infants in the early postpartum period, which, in turn, may increase their parent-related stress. Our study sought to determine if an infant massage intervention assisted fathers with decreasing stress and increasing bonding with their infants during this time. To address the complex father-infant relationship, we conducted a pilot study using a mixed methodology approach. Twelve infant-father dyads participated in the intervention, and 12 infant-father dyads populated a wait-list control group. Paternal stress was measured using the Parenting Stress Index at baseline and at postintervention. We found infant massage instruction significantly decreased paternal stress. Our findings were also supported by the qualitative data and suggest fathers may benefit from applied postnatal education.     

Fathers online: learning about fatherhood through the internet

In the transition to fatherhood, men face numerous challenges. Opportunities to learn new practices and gain support are limited, although the provisions of father-specific spaces such as fathers' antenatal classes or "responsible fathering" programs are important advances. This article explores how men use the social space of a father-specific Internet chat room to learn about fathering. Messages to an Australian-hosted, father-specific chat room (for fathers of infants or young children) were examined, and three overlapping themes illustrated men's perceptions of their transition to fatherhood. The themes concerned recognition of and response to a lack of social space, services, and support for new fathers. The implications for fathers' perinatal education are discussed.     

Effective Antenatal Education: Strategies Recommended by Expectant and New Parents

Antenatal education is a crucial component of antenatal care, yet practice and research demonstrate that women and men now seek far more than the traditional approach of a birth and parenting program attended in the final weeks of pregnancy. Indeed, women and men participating in this study recommended a range of strategies to be provided during the childbearing year, comparable to a “menu in a restaurant.” Their strategies included three program types: “Hearing Detail and Asking Questions,” “Learning and Discussing,” and “Sharing and Supporting Each Other.” The characteristics of each type of program are identified in this article. The actual learning methods the study participants recommended to be incorporated into the programs were “Time to Catch Up and Focus,” “Seeing and Hearing the Real Experience,” “Practicing,” and “Discovering.”