Part 3: Analysis and Results
- 3.1 Analysis
- 3.2 Phase 1 findings
- 3.3 Phase 2 findings
- 3.4 Perceptions of fatherhood and fathering
- 3.5 Barriers to successful service provision
- 3.6 Effective strategies for recruiting fathers
- 3.7 Good practice in program delivery
- 3.8 Benefits of father involvement in child and family services
3.1 Analysis
Individual items on the father engagement survey were analysed to provide a description of the proportion of fathers participating in SFCS programs, the types of activities that fathers were involved in, and the types of strategies services used to engage fathers in their service.
Thematic analysis enabled the researchers to use the interview and focus group data to lead the process of analysis (Ezzy 2002). Program manager, facilitator and focus group transcripts were first organised by a process of open coding, which involved identifying patterns, themes and categories within the texts. These codes were then refined through axial coding, leading to the refinement of themes and categories and the emergence of subcategories (Willis 2006). To enhance methodological rigour and inter-coder reliability, two researchers coded data.
3.2 Phase 1 findings
Father participation in SFCS child and family services
Two items were included in the father engagement survey, which asked about the proportion of parents/carers currently involved in the service who were fathers, and the proportion of parents/carers involved in the service over the past 12 months who were fathers. The findings from these items are presented in Table 2. The data suggest considerable variation in father participation across all types of programs, with perhaps the lowest participation in services targeting new parents and indigenous parents. Only a small proportion of fathers were involved in services targeting single parents; however, this is likely to reflect the relatively low proportion of single males who are 'primary' parents. It should be noted, however, that the raw number of fathers involved across all programs is quite low, which can distort the results.
| Client code | Min–max (current participation) |
Min–max (over the last year) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous parents | 10–30% | (n=3) | 10–30% | (n=3) |
| CALD parents | 0–20% | (n=6) | 5–20% | (n=5) |
| Parents—general | 6–40% | (n=13) | 6–50% | (n=13) |
| New parents | 1–47% | (n=3) | 10–47% | (n=2) |
| Fathers | 21–100% | (n=9) | 21–100% | (n=10) |
| Young parents | 1–86% | (n=9) | 10–27% | (n=8) |
| High-need parents | 2–86% | (n=13) | 1–50% | (n=12) |
| Grandparents (social fathers) | 40% | (n=1) | 40% | (n=1) |
| Single parents | 0% | (n=0) | 13% | (n=1) |
| Parents with children with challenging behaviours | 50% | (n=1) | 50% | (n=1) |
The survey instrument was also designed to gather descriptive data about the types of activities fathers were involved in and what strategies services were using to enhance father engagement. Responses were again organised in terms of client population, and are presented in Table 3. These data suggest father involvement in a wide variety of activities, ranging from the more 'fun' activities such as festivals, cooking classes, dance groups and family outings to family-focused interventions including outreach services, as well as parent-child focused services such as playgroups and parent-child activities at school. Fathers also took part in parent education sessions and workshops and had individual counselling in relation to personal issues such as anger management.
It also appeared that the various activities were used regardless of the client population, although as one might expect, there was an emphasis on more intensive, case-management style services for young parents, more play-based style programs aimed at children with challenging behaviours, and outreach and whole-of-family focused programs catering to the particular needs of Indigenous families with children.
| Client code | Main activities in which fathers have participated |
|---|---|
| Indigenous parents | Whole-of-family approach to promoting the health of young indigenous children, outreach work with families experiencing domestic violence, familiy outings and cooking workshops. |
| CaLD parents | Parenting courses, fathers’ groups, multicultural playgroups, parents’ support groups, educational support for young parents and support for parents to assist them in supporting their children’s learning and education. |
| Parents-general | New parent groups, peer support groups, playgroups and antenatal and postnatal parenting education programs and seminars. |
| New parents | New parent groups, peer support groups, playgroups and antenatal and postnatal parenting education programs and seminars. |
| Fathers | Discussion groups, ‘Pit Stop Fathers Education’ programs, fathers’ groups, ‘Dads and Kids’ playgroups, antenatal and postnatal classes, anger management courses, counselling, dads in schools programs, transition to parenthood courses, workplace-based parenting programs, the fatherhood festival, home visiting programs, support groups, parenting programs and cooking programs. |
| Young parents | Individual support and case management, antenatal classes, support groups, parenting classes, supported playgroups, family outings and community events and counselling. |
| High-need parents | Fathers’ support groups, parenting courses, anger management courses, supported playgroups, family outings, counselling, parent and child activities at schools, support for parents to assist them in supporting their children’s learning and education, mentoring, life skill development (that is, employment, budgeting, household management), relationship strengthening activities, support and information and community development. |
| Grandparents | Support groups, carer–child activities and case management. |
| Single parents | Fathers’ program and playgroups. |
| Parents with children with challenging behaviours | Supported playgroups, early intervention and indigenous programs. |
Program managers also reported on the types of strategies used to engage fathers in the relevant programs and activities. Table 4 illustrates the 11 strategies managers documented and the frequency of services using the approach. It appears that scheduling services outside normal business hours was the primary approach adopted to engage fathers. Employing male workers and facilitators and developing father-specific services and programs were the other two main approaches for connecting with fathers. It was also significant that 19 per cent of services did not employ any strategy to include fathers.
| Strategy | n (%)(a) | |
|---|---|---|
| Undertook activities outside business hours or at time convenient to father participants | 26 | (44%) |
| Employed male worker/s or male workshop presenters | 20 | (34%) |
| Developed father-specific services and programs | 16 | (27%) |
| Displayed positive images of fathers and fatherhood at facilities and activities | 11 | (19%) |
| No strategies | 11 | (19%) |
| Used father inclusive language and images in promotional activities and/or branding of program/service | 10 | (17%) |
| Provided staff development/training on father inclusion | 8 | (14%) |
| Used advertising, pamphlets or other reading materials targeted at fathers | 6 | (10%) |
| Issued invitations to activities and events addressed to, or inclusive of, fathers | 5 | (8%) |
| Organised father and child activities | 4 | (7%) |
| Used male volunteers as role models/mentors | 2 | (4%) |
(a) Figures allow for multiple responses on strategies employed to engage fathers.
back to top3.3 Phase 2 findings
Presentation of findings
The interview and focus group transcripts were coded so that it was possible to cross-reference the service site with manager, facilitator and father participant transcripts. Whether an interview was conducted over the telephone or face-to-face is indicated by the appearance of (t) or (f) in the coding label. A table outlining the coding of all interviews and focus groups is included as Appendix L.
The analysis of interview material gathered from service managers, facilitators and father participants generated a range of perspectives on five major themes: perceptions of fatherhood and fathering; barriers to successful engagement of fathers; effective strategies for recruiting fathers; good practice in program implementation; and the benefits of father involvement in child and family services.
3.4 Perceptions of fatherhood and fathering
'Not enough fathers get involved with their kids ... [Children] need to see their fathers be a part of their lives, rather than sit back, go out and earn a living and do nothing else.'
Father participant
As discussed in the introduction, much of the literature on contemporary fathering and fatherhood argues for the transformation of fatherhood in recent times, specifically citing the emergence of the caring or involved father ideal (Bjornberg 1992). From the roles fathers play even before their child is born, right through to their relationships with their partners, there appears to be a new emphasis not only on what men can do for their family but what men should be doing. The data gathered in this study certainly aligned with the idea that fathers should be actively involved in child rearing and family life.
The changing face of fathering
Program managers, facilitators and fathers all articulated that fathers today should be engaged in child rearing. All challenged traditional notions of fatherhood. The following comment was typical of professionals' views:
'... the traditional roles of men working and earning the bread and coming home and having minimal contact with children-life's changed. It's very different these days. I think men want to engage. Parenting is very different now to even when I grew up. Fathers do engage much more ...'
Service manager interview 4 (t): Site 4
Comments from fathers also supported the idea that the roles of men and women in society had altered:
'... back then they thought women should stay in the home and cook food. Well, that's just rubbish. They've got just as much rights as we do. They come out into the workforce and stuff like that; why can't we go into what they were doing?'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
'Not enough fathers get involved with their kids, [they] go back to the old viewpoint, me man, me tough, me go out and do work, that's it ... they [children] need to see their fathers be a part of their lives, rather than sit back, go out and earn a living and do nothing else.'
Father participant focus group 5: Site 6
Perceived benefits of father involvement
The importance of involved fathers from a child development perspective was vigorously asserted among all types of respondents:
'... when fathers are more engaged [children are] academically better, there's less child abuse ... they're financially better off, they're psychologically better off. If you look through the teenage years, fathers who are more actively involved in their children's lives are less likely to appear in court, are less likely to have misdemeanours.'
Service manager interview 3 (t): Site 3
'... it [father involvement] has such a profound effect on children. Every positive effect that is imaginable ... children get so much benefit out of spending time with their dad in a really positive way. It's not hard.'
Service manager interview 2 (t): Site 2
'I also think it [father involvement] helps the kids mentally, like my dad is there for me, he comes and helps me ...'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
There was also a sense that the efforts of some fathers to be positively involved in child rearing stem from their own negative childhood experiences:
'I had a shitty upbringing, so I didn't have much to work with for starters, all I knew was I wasn't going to be like my dad.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
Another father in this group expressed a similar sentiment:
'My mum and dad split up when I was 12 and he was pretty abusive and a drunk, so I just over the years tried not to do what he did. Sometimes I fail, but I try. Try not to make those mistakes. I always try and make sure I've got time for the girls and stuff ... we find ways of spending time together-even doing the dishes.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
Perceptions of fathers' needs
There was certainly a perception among service providers that fathers benefit from support and encouragement to come to terms with their role as father and to actively and positively engage in child rearing. Professionals spoke of fathers' needs in terms of the specific population they served, as well as the type of community in which their programs operated. One program manager commented that fathers can have multiple personal and other issues that affect their capacity to be positively involved in child rearing:
'They have all of the possible things you could imagine-financial barriers, housing, stable housing, affordable housing, health issues, mental health, family disconnection and breakdown, everything. You name it, they've had it.'
Service manager interview 2 (t): Site 2
Other comments from providers highlighted the specific needs of fathers with children with disabilities and of young fathers:
'The particular needs for our clients ... include having more knowledge of their children's disability and how they can work with it.'
Service manager interview 1 (t): Site 1
'Sometimes when they [young men] find their partner pregnant that can be an issue because [of] ... problems between the father and the pregnant partner in his role as becoming a dad.'
Service manager interview 5 (t): Site 5
In the eyes of another project manager, access to time alone with children to develop confidence in their role as a parent can be an issue:
'... to spend time alone with their children. That would be something that they find daunting and at the same time really satisfying ... Societal expectations quite often are that the dad is still the protector/provider and under the protector/provider banner there's often not a lot of room for being the protector, provider and nurturer.'
Service manager interview 3 (t): Site 3
Fathers living in disadvantaged communities were also likely to experience issues of social isolation. Involvement in a program or service provided them with opportunities for positive community connections:
'... living particularly where I live, it's not the greatest community in the world, there are a lot of family breakdowns going on and the police were doing the block around our couple of streets for most of last night ... so coming here allows you to interact with parents and kids that want to get out of that environment, or not necessarily be a part of it.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
Another father in this group commented:
'if nothing more, you get to get out of the house. I know for a long time before we started coming here it would be just so monotonous, sitting in on top of each other every day and what have you with three kids ... So it's something you look forward to each week, or at least I do.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
back to top3.5 Barriers to successful service provision
'... culturally I think it's quite difficult for an Australian male to accept that he might need some teaching around the fathering bit.'
Program facilitator
Despite the many needs of fathers, service providers face real challenges in connecting men to services from which they are likely to benefit. A number of individual and societal factors were cited as barriers to the full engagement of fathers.
Gender stereotyped attitudes and values
Service providers realise that they must overcome entrenched beliefs and perceptions relating to social constructions of gender roles held by both men and women:
'... I found in working with these groups is that it's kind of okay for mums to be out and about during the day with their children. That's a legitimate activity for a female. But often dads, especially if they're unemployed or whatever, don't like to be visible. It's like you're on show to the world. Especially in situations like the neighbourhood house or whatever where there's heaps of women ... Here I am at the neighbourhood house when all the other men are off working.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
One father also felt that there was a social perception that men are not natural nurturers:
'I mean that's a very big generalisation but it just seems like there is a fear of, I don't know what to do with the baby. What if it cries? I'm not going to know what to do. It's not going to be pacified by me because it only wants milk or only wants its mother. There are all these perceptions, which are not true.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
The extent to which men's identities are tied to their role as a father was also raised in the context of barriers to father engagement:
'Other things affect them more-unemployment or increasing their skills or training, financial burdens are going to be more of a priority for them and then they've got the cultural barriers where it's not considered their role, it's not valued as a role.'
Service manager interview 2 (t): Site 2
Traditional views about masculinity and help-seeking
Both providers and fathers perceived unwillingness among males generally to acknowledge their support needs and seek professional help:
'Because it is just not part of the Australian male psyche to ask for help and support. It is still a huge stigma and a sense of failure, that I have failed, that it is not part of what we do as blokes.'
Project facilitator interview 6 (f): Site 8
'... [Australian] men don't want to be whingers ... you talk about something everyone thinks you're a whinger. You don't want to be a whinger and you don't want to be weak and you don't want to be emotional.'
Project facilitator interview 3 (f): Site 3
Comments from one of the fathers echoed this facilitator's perception:
'I thought it was gay, to be honest with you. I thought it was not on-a bunch of blokes getting together and having a whinge ... it is just girlish. You see men who do cry and you are just like "No; not right". Yes I guess, for me personally, I would not go to a men's group because I would have to go there and be the centre of attention and talk. And a part of the stigma of being in a poofy man's group ...'
Father participant focus group 7: Site 8
Another father spoke about how men could move beyond hegemonic constructions of masculinity and accept support:
'A man's got pride. He's supposed to carry all the burdens and that's their mindset. It's not right but that's their mindset that the men should be the breadwinner and the tough person and all that. Until we get past that stigma and realise you're just normal, you're just human, you've got to be there for your kids ...'
Father participant focus group 6: Site 7
Mother-oriented service culture
There were many aspects to the 'traditional' culture of child and family service provision, which were thought to be alienating to men. These included assumptions that women are the primary carers and service users:
'... many times dads feel threatened by any community service or activity. It's run by women. Women set it up in a way that's comfortable to them.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
'... they're not ... father friendly ... if you go into a community hall or a community room you will often see pictures of mothers and babies. You will rarely see pictures of fathers and babies so they're not father-friendly. A lot of the workers there, they're brilliant workers and I have nothing wrong to say about them, but they've been brought up in an era, quite often where fathers were not traditionally involved and so they find it difficult to change their thinking around that ...'
Service manager interview 3 (t): Site 3
Professionals also told anecdotes about men who had attended groups but felt uncomfortable:
'He [client] tried to go to normal playgroups. He's a young, really approachable guy, but he said, "I just couldn't find my place. They made me uncomfortable." He found himself sitting outside the circle because that's where they put him.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
Cultural appropriateness
Providers serving fathers from CALD backgrounds also commented on the lack of culturally appropriate services:
'... sometimes there are services that sound really good for mainstream people but for different people-from a different background-it might not be suitable for them. Also language barriers ... I had the feedback, I remember from some of the fathers, like when we were talking about things in the class they said that when we do it in our own language it seems very easy. When we go to English classes and we talk about something very simple, but we don't get it ...'
Project facilitator interview 2 (f): Site 2
Lack of knowledge about services
Fathers also suggested that information about services was not reaching those who were not proactively seeking help:
'... because just getting the information that these sorts of things are out there isn't that widely available, unless you know where to look a lot of the time you'd really miss them. So those that are in the know take advantage of them [programs and activities], but there are still a lot of people that don't know that all this stuff is out there.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
'But what is there for men is hard to access because it's not publicised enough. The things that are there for men should be more publicised.'
Father participant focus group 6: Site 7
Work as a barrier
Fathers also reported that there might be a difficulty in fathers accessing services for work-related reasons:
'The biggest problem we have is that a lot of fathers work, so that makes it hard because it's held through the working week.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
'It's a hard one because a lot of males that I know of anyway are working most of the time so they can't go.'
Father participant interview 1 (t): Site 5
Transport barriers
In several local areas, professionals and fathers talked about how lack of transport and commuting times were a barrier to men's access:
'Location wise, because some young dads I know, just in general some young parents that I know don't have cars and sometimes it's just too far away, you just can't get there-you can't catch a lift with someone or something.'
Father participant interview 2 (t): Site 5
'Yeah well if it was further away I would have to think about whether I could get there or not.'
Father participant focus group 7: Site 8
back to top3.6 Effective strategies for recruiting fathers
'... you need to be smart about how you connect with dads.'
Program manager
Interviews with providers and fathers highlighted a number of strategies likely to be successful in overcoming barriers to recruiting fathers to relevant programs and services.
Utilising key community-based services and organisations
A number of providers mentioned the importance of tapping into the networks of other local service providers and community groups to disseminate information about services:
'The [ethnic group] would be making direct approaches to people and service providers who might want to refer [ethnic group] families so all the case workers know when the next program is going to be running and they might refer in and promote it to the people they're seeing ... Some key service providers are also given the information but the [ethnic group] community often promote it at church groups and community gatherings.'
Service manager interview 2 (t): Site 2
'For one of the [programs] we had a link-in with Centrelink who knew via their records which dads were on a sole parents benefit and so on. Centrelink was willing to send out letters on our behalf; they would include our publicity with their letters. It's great when you can do that, but it usually requires a hell of a lot of negotiation to be able to get to that point.'
Service manager interview 7 (t): Site 8
Services were also able to successfully recruit fathers to new programs by nesting their service within an already existing service:
'[The program] wasn't an additional event. It was built into something that already existed ... I think if we were trying to build something new we wouldn't have got the dads to come along. But because it was already a structure, and already dads were there ...'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
'... they have a six week antenatal class where the mums and dads go to on a Wednesday night and then we pull the dads out, they self-select or volunteer to come to a dads only program.'
Project facilitator interview 3 (f): Site 3
In line with the views of providers, fathers certainly reported that they found out about services through contact with another community-based agency:
'I was down at [service] ... and the lady over the counter said "oh, there's also the father's course, do you want to join in on that too?" So I read the brochure and it sounded really good.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
Passing of information from one father to another
Word-of-mouth from the participants themselves emerged as one of the most effective recruitment vehicles:
'A lot of it is that word-of-mouth thing. You have to be seen in the community, they have to get to know you, trust you, and that took a lot of time to build up that rapport. Once you've got a couple involved the rest comes a bit more easily. Just that first one, once you've got one, so you can say to the next one "oh, we've already got a dad coming along." Then of course for the first few sessions they just pal up and talk to each other then gradually you get more dads and more dads.'
Service manager interview 6 (t): Site 6
'Men respond much better to some other fellow saying "Hey, you should go along to this, these people are good." if that happens then they'll go ...'
Service manager interview 7 (t): Site 8
The value of engaging fathers through word-of-mouth resonated with the fathers themselves:
'I guess the things that appealed to me was more about hearing it [service] from other dads.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
Utilising children and children's services
Using children to encourage fathers to participate in different activities was also not an uncommon strategy:
'... the example of using the kindies [kindergarten] to link in that way is good. And I guess we use a bit of a- I wouldn't say guilt-but the way we do it is we actually make it like the invitation's coming from the child. So we print out the invitation and we get the child to draw a picture on there and-put this on the fridge to remind you about this day coming up. Then there's a tear-off slip-you know, I will be coming with so-and-so to kindy on this day for the dads' session.'
Service manager/facilitator interview 1 (f): Site 7
Promoting services in workplaces and other 'male spaces'
Some services suggested placing advertisements in male spaces such as workplaces, pubs and hardware stores:
'... we also have some advertising in places where men go, you know for example, we have little coasters in pubs, that sort of thing.'
Service manager interview 3 (t): Site 3
'... it's to go where the men are and to advertise in men locations, like [a hardware store] for example.'
Project facilitator interview 4 (t): Site 4
'... you can try and connect in through work places ... when we did the [activity] we actually sent a letter to all businesses within [local area] and asked them whether they would consider allowing fathers to start a little bit later or make up some time, or have an rDo [rostered day off] ...'
Service manager/facilitator interview 1 (f): Site 7
Effective marketing strategies
The way the program is branded and the language used to market the program were thought to impact on father engagement:
'I guess when you're badged with a particular agency ... as an example, with [agency], often the perception in the community is that we're there to help the less fortunate in the community. So they [fathers] might sort of ... [think] okay, I'm not going to go along.'
Service manager/facilitator interview 1 (f): Site 7
'I think that men traditionally-and are still to a large extent-leery of coming along to-especially group activities-and are very leery of talking about feelings and especially if it might have a therapy feel to it. So, we try to avoid words like that. In fact [the naming of the project] ... was quite deliberate, to try and right-straight off with the name of the project-to attract men by that very word.'
Service manager interview 4 (t): Site 4
Highlighting program benefits
Men were regarded by professionals to be outcome focused, so by clearly and concretely highlighting the benefits that men will get out of the program, services feel they were better able to attract fathers:
'... when we put out the fliers, we make it very clear exactly what the workshop will be on and what we hope people will gain by coming to the workshop. So the dads have some sense that it's not a nebulous thing, they're not just coming along to get support. We don't use the word support. But they're going to actually learn strategies on a, b, c, d.'
Service manager interview 6 (t): Site 6
Fathers also highlighted the important role that wives and partners have in prompting their engagement in services.
'For me my wife found out for me when she was thinking about which antenatal class to go to. They gave us some information and she said I think you should go to this and I said "I think I should".'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
'We had a woman come up, probably three years ago, and she said "We've just moved to [area]. I've heard about the [service]. My husband sits at home all day and has nothing to do." Since the first day-he came three years ago-he has not missed a day.'
Father participant focus group 6: Site 7
back to top3.7 Good practice in program delivery
'I have been having people chase me down from state to state trying to get me to listen otherwise they are taking my kids. It was just the honesty and the openness of [worker] and the other blokes that just made me realise I was not alone.'
Father
A number of aspects of program delivery were highlighted as important to sustain the engagement of fathers and to ensure positive service outcomes. These included rapport building, catering to men's learning styles, specific attributes of the program facilitators, qualities of the program venue, and hours of operation.
Rapport building through sharing experiences
Relationship building (the development of trust between fathers and workers and among the father participants themselves) appeared to be the cornerstone to successful engagement of fathers. From both a provider and father perspective, the most powerful way of doing this was for the facilitator to speak about his own experiences:
'They [facilitators] need to be able to share from their own personal experience. Because one of the greatest ways to alienate men is to be the expert and to not share from your own life situation ... From our point of view, and particularly from my personal point of view, it is the way you build trust with men. You have got to be prepared to disclose certain aspects of your own life so they go "Wow you have been through it too mate".'
Project facilitator interview 6 (f): Site 8
One father powerfully expressed the importance of facilitators engaging with fathers at their own level, and being able to share their own experiences and empathise with the experiences of fathers:
'You guys, you are here [because] you have got the problem. But we all have problems, including the facilitator. It is the honesty, and the willingness to open up and they have been through the same shit. They are just as human ... our [agency] worker had never had a kid, she was 23. No kids. I have got five. So the experiences, they are willing to share themselves. That is what stopped me.'
Father participant focus group 7: Site 8
Other fathers shared similar sentiments:
'Workers ... they all share their own experience with me, which makes it comfortable for me. No matter what I tell them, how bad it is what I have done; there is no quick facial expression. You are not made to feel like oh yeah you prick ... the reality is that they honestly do not judge you at all. They honestly believe that there but for the grace of God go I.'
Father participant focus group 7: Site 8
Strengths-based approach
There was certainly a perspective among providers that a strengths-based approach is best when working with men.
'So it is always ensuring that the men-they are the experts in their lives and I am not-ensuring that they are empowered to be proactive and respectful and to stay engaged with their families, their children and themselves; their lives ... Even when a man's behaviour needs to be challenged, to have them do that in a respectful manner.'
Project facilitator interview 6 (f): Site 8
In their own words, fathers also acknowledged the importance of strengths-based practice approach:
'Because of the socioeconomic group that come along or take advantage of these sort of groups, they are sort of in the lower income groups, probably not as well educated as a lot of the population, so if you start pointing out all the negatives all the time, like this is an anger management group, this one is for depression, basically listing every single problem you've got in life ... you just wind up getting really annoyed and really angry about it ... just being social gives you that bit of more self-esteem and you might be able to go and get some help yourself.'
Father participant focus group 1: Site 5
'I felt like [worker] said it without saying it that life is never really going to be the same. You're going to have to work harder than you have as a man of the house, but he never actually used those words. But I feel like I was left with that impression the gentle way.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
Anti-expert approach
Facilitators felt it was important for fathers that professionals do not adopt the role of an expert. Rather, facilitators should aim to build relationships with fathers and make them feel comfortable:
'It's no good an expert going in because the message just won't get there. It's about developing that relationship so there's not some bigwig standing up in front of the dads sprouting something they're totally disinterested in because they don't know this person, they don't trust this person, they don't have a relationship with this person.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
'I'm not the expert, I'm just there to facilitate the session and they can learn from each other. So then when they walk out of these classes, it gives them an experience that they've actually got something from another man or another dad and you don't necessarily have to have a PhD in fatherhood or, whatever, to give advice, which is a big thing for me.'
Project facilitator interview 3 (f): Site 3
Catering to male interaction and learning styles
Several project facilitators indicated that men have definite preferences in terms of interaction styles:
'Men often prefer to stand side-by-side and talk or sit side-by-side rather than face-to-face.'
Service manager interview 7 (t): Site 8
'... what often works really well with men is to have conversations alongside them rather than face-to-face. The fathers in focus project that we ran, we included a lot of barbecues. So the men were cooking while they were talking. They were doing things with their children while they were talking.'
Project facilitator interview 4 (t): Site 4
A facilitation style that encourages peer learning was also highlighted:
'There was a lot of peer role-playing, and peer-to-peer learning in that experience. That was the most valuable thing that I learnt from it. Sure I can be there, but the experience was with the men learning from the men. Men learn differently.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
A 'hands-on' approach to learning was also reported to work well with men, where the knowledge gains are incidental and opportunistic:
'... we've found the dads enjoy the hands-on stuff much better ... So they like activities, they like things where they know what's expected of them, they liked to be asked to do things ... When you've got a group of mums they are quite happy to sit around informally and have a chat, whereas dads ... almost feel like they're wasting their time if they just sit and chat ...'
Service manager interview 6 (t): Site 6
'... the first session I turned up and said, "Right we're going to do an hour of lecture, then we're going to cook." By the end of that first session they said to me, "Sit down, we don't want this, this is crap. We just want to cook." From then on, I realised that as soon as we got there we would start cooking straight away. Within that cooking experience was when we started to raise some questions around healthy eating and lifestyle stuff. I'd raise the question, for example, "So what do you guys think about watching television and physical activity?" That would start them all talking.'
Project facilitator group interview (f): Site 6
'A lot of males-give them a piece of paper of information, they'll just put it in the bin. The best times we have up here is when we have a casual day where we just chat. Chat days, we can talk about depression, we can talk about parenting, we can talk about drugs, we can talk about alcohol, and by just having a chat between the groups, they all have their little bits to say. But if you get a facilitator to come in that they've never met before and do their thing on drugs or parenting and all of that, they sort of back off or they don't turn up.'
Father participant focus group 5: Site 6
Attributes of workers
A wide range of worker attributes were linked to successful engagement with fathers, including personal qualities, experience dealing with and working with men, the ability to relate through personal experience, expertise in the program content, relationship-building skills, group work skills and organisational skills:
'To be able to communicate well with males and have an understanding of their perspectives. Group work skills, general family work skills.'
Service manager interview 1 (t): Site 1
'They need to know and understand the communities they're working with and have good links with them and be respected by them. They need to speak the language.'
Service manager interview 2 (t): Site 2
'I think being empathetic and genuine are very crucial skills. And being respectful and non-judgemental ... across the board basically ...'
Service manager interview 5 (t): Site 5
'I know this sounds strange, but they actually [need to] like men. That's a really important thing that, you know, that they actually enjoy the company of men and like men.
Service manager interview 3 (t): Site 3
Some service providers also felt that it was important for workers and facilitators to be a father and/or male:
'I think they need to be fathers themselves. They need to be-to have that-I guess it's the old thing where-or hang on, how can you tell me about this 'cause you've never been in my situation, or you don't understand what it is to-you haven't got children yourself so how can you be-so I think that's one of the prerequisites for it.'
Service manager/facilitator interview 1 (f): Site 7
'There are a lot of guys that do prefer to talk to a male. For some who are having difficulties with women to then face a women's orientated looking centre and be met by another woman. They would really benefit from talking to men.'
Project facilitator interview 4 (t): Site 4
'Male friendly' spaces
To help overcome male preconceptions of services catering mainly to the needs of women, some services have made very conscious moves to create spaces where men feel comfortable:
'... pictures of dads and their children hanging on the wall. Colours that are neutral. Colours that are not ... for example, pastels and things like that have a particular gender feel so we try to go for neutral, neutral colours, actual pictures of dads.'
Service manager interview 3 (t): Site 3
While the type of program will dictate where it should ideally be delivered, there was also a strong sense that men prefer programs to be delivered in more male-orientated environments.
'... they prefer to be out in the park somewhere. So their idea of playgroup is to be not in a centre. Not around a table drinking coffee or playing with their child reading a book. So their idea of an activity or spending quality time with their child is in the park doing physical activities and maybe having a barbie [barbeque]. Not stereotyping here, but that's what our dads have suggested.'
Service manager interview 5 (t): Site 5
The importance of a male-friendly environment was also stressed by the fathers:
'We do a lot of great stuff working alongside with the mums' group at times, but they also need their space and we need our space ... a space where we can have a bit more macho stuff there, because a lot of the males don't come into the centre and they're scared to come in.'
Father participant focus group 5: Site 6
Relaxed and welcoming atmosphere
Fathers reported that an open, relaxed and friendly atmosphere was important to their connection with a service:
'The first session was very warm and I was quite impressed with just the warmth that was there and sense of welcome. I'm new to the area so I didn't know anybody and it was just nice to have a chat.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
'Very welcoming. I felt very welcome, I felt very appreciated, just for being there, for coming to give a bit of a help, give a bit of a hand.'
Father participant focus group 1: Site 1
Flexible hours of operation
Flexible hours of operation were also thought to have a significant effect on how accessible the program was to fathers. While services involving children as participants (for example, playgroups) were held during the day, father-oriented services were usually offered in the evenings or on weekends, or at different times throughout the year to cater to the differing needs of fathers across the community:
'... one of the things for us around this was make it accessible. So we hold the courses both in the daytime and in the evenings and on the weekends and ... we've repeated some of the workshops that we've done that have been highly successful and well attended, but we repeated them at different times to ensure that ... access is available to everybody.'
Service manager interview 4 (t): Site 4
Additional incentives to participation
Programs also provided additional incentives to encourage engagement, such as serving meals, and addressed barriers to attendance, such as child care, transport and financial issues:
'... we've had breakfast sessions where we've started 8 o'clock in the morning ... or we've done them in the early evening, 5:00 to 7:00 or 5:30 to 7:30 time. And they come along and have a shared tea and participate in the activities as well.'
Service manager/facilitator interview 1 (f): Site 7
'We made a point of having several things that support people to come. The sessions are free. There's normally always food involved, which is always a drawcard. There's child care. We encourage them to do things with the kids. And normally if we're going out and about there's transport provided. So there's really lots of enablers in terms of retention.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
Male-specific programs
There was certainly a shared view that male-specific programs are important in engaging men in child and family services:
'I think men deal with things in a different way and I think it's important for men to feel that they can go to male specific places to get support rather than turning up and they're the only bloke there, which does happen.'
Service manager interview 4 (t): Site 4
The specific father focus also appeared to be what engaged some fathers in services:
'it was quite unusual to hear of something that's supporting the father and I was very interested at the thought that there were some services for the father.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
Fathers also indicated a preference for talking with other fathers about their experiences and challenges:
'The [activity] is a prime example of where men feel at ease. They can talk about anything over there that they can't talk about to their doctors or their wives or anything, but over there they'll yap on about all their aches and worries.'
Father participant focus group 6: Site 7
Flexible approach
Both fathers and workers suggested the importance of a flexible approach to program delivery:
'You've got to be prepared to go with the flow. A willingness to compromise. Being adaptable.'
Project facilitator group interview 1 (f): Site 6
'We can't stay on track for more than five seconds. But that's the whole point. That's why I like it, we don't stay on topic.'
Father participant focus group 2: Site 6
back to top3.8 Benefits of father involvement in child and family services
'... now I'm more gentle with them [his children] and I understand their needs.'
Father
Service managers, facilitators and fathers were in total agreement that father participation in child and family services can produce positive outcomes for fathers, in terms of improvements in their knowledge, skills and confidence. Benefits were also regarded in terms of the couple relationship, the father-child relationship, and in relation to child wellbeing.
Increased parenting self-efficacy
Fathers and providers gave examples of how fathers had gained confidence since taking part in a program/service:
'In the [program], they gain a stronger confidence in their parenting role and their importance in the family unit as a father.'
Project facilitator interview 4 (t): Site 4
'I think it also helps you open up and ask another father or something like that. Well, I was-like [asked another father], I was looking after my son and this happened, you know, got any suggestions. I think it helps a lot with it.'
Father participant focus group 5: Site 6
Increased parenting skills and knowledge
Parenting knowledge, skills and development were put forward as a clear outcome from program participation, whether this was an objective of the service or occurring through peer contact:
'... you could see the effects. Next week they [fathers] would come and say "yeah, we knew a lot of things but we didn't know how to implement them on our children ..."'
Project facilitator interview 2 (f): Site 2
'It's the little things you find out. You know, about the good doctor who's just come into town or the thing that's happened over there or this new service that's available.'
Father participant focus group 1: Site 1
'It's heaps better at home. It's not so rough. Because ... now I understand more. And like I can communicate with them [children]. I can get them to do things without yelling ...'
Father participant focus group 1: Site 1
This father continued:
'...things at home are a lot better because I've got a lot better understanding of what he's [child] going through and what needs to be done. And I respect that and have a greater appreciation for it. And we've been shown tools or ways to actually work around and promote his wellbeing I suppose.'
Father participant focus group 1: Site 1
Increased involvement
Several participants suggested that fathers had increased their level of involvement in child rearing as a result of contact with services:
'A lot of dads are very-ignorant is not the right word ... unaware of how important they are to their children and how easy it is to just become involved in their activities, so that's probably the main thing.'
Service manager interview 6 (t): Site 6
'The relationship is getting stronger because you're spending more time with them [children]. We hardly ever
have the television on at home. Occasionally, it goes on for a movie, and most of the times we're playing games or outside, depending on the weather ... it's just strengthening relationships with them ... We get them involved in washing up, cooking ...'
Father participant focus group 5: Site 6
'Before I'd get home from work and put my lunch box away and see it [school information] sitting there and walk off. Now I stop, I look, I read it, I take an interest.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
More positive relationships with children
Improvements in father-child relationships were also regarded as an outcome of service provision:
'... it's [the program] about creating those opportunities to have positive memories in interaction with the child.'
Service manager/facilitator interview 1(f): Site 7
'We've found again and again lots of stories of dads reconnecting with their kids and building that trust again, because they've learnt to behave completely respectfully and caringly rather than abusive.'
Service manager interview 7 (t): Site 8
For many fathers, being involved with services and programs helped them understand their child better, in terms of their temperament, likes and dislikes, needs and development:
'To me it's so I can see my daughter do things that I wouldn't see at home, see how she reacts with other children, other people, other adults, how she plays, what she likes to eat.'
Father participant focus group 4: Site 6
More positive relationships with partners
Improvements in the couple's relationship were seen as both a direct and indirect benefit of fathers' engagement in child and family services. Indirect effects emanated from the female partner's increased satisfaction and a sense of cooperation and common purpose in parenting:
'So having them [fathers] there opens up a lot of room for the mother, a lot of cooperation, a lot more assistance ... it allows that coordinated approach to the child so the parents aren't in battle when they're dealing with their kids, so it helps take that factor out.'
Project facilitator interview 1 (f): Site 1
'With that stimulus of the fatherhood class I then talked with her later and then that's helped to bond our relationship more in terms of sorting things out and getting an idea of where we both stand on certain subjects whether its nappy folding or immunisation.'
Father participant focus group 3: Site 3
Direct benefits on the couple's relationships were thought to flow from the skills fathers developed through their participation:
'Just some of the skills that we have been taught here, where I was able to turn situations around which could have been really horrible arguments, able to defuse it with some of the skills I have learnt from the centre.'
Father participant focus group 7: Site 8
Support network
The benefits of being connected with other fathers came through very clearly, in terms of normalising parenting challenges and helping fathers work through particular problems and issues. The fathers had built friendships and looked forward to meetings to vent their frustrations, be with people they were comfortable with, and have a laugh:
'... he [friend and young father] said it's just good to find a group of guys that do have kids that he can just chat with you know. It makes it a bit easier.'
Father participant interview 1 (t): Site 5
'To normalise it, too, that is often the biggest thing the men get is a sense of they are not alone, that there are men that have similar stories.'
Service manager interview 7 (t): Site 8
'But coming to the groups and listening to other blokes talk about their stuff and just getting the "oh yeah, I have been through that, that was me last night." I did not feel so isolated in the problem. I thought I was the only one, so it opened my eyes a bit.'
Father participant focus group 7: Site 8
Benefits for children
Participants also highlighted the direct benefits for children of fathers' contact with services:
'So from kids point of view they're getting acknowledgement of their perspective, they're getting listened to in a way they have not seen before; they're getting respectful behaviour modelled and abusive behaviour clearly demonstrated as being inappropriate ...'
Service manager interview 7 (t): Site 8
'But also major spin-off of benefits for the children, because dad is suddenly doing things appropriately with me, communicating properly with me, playing with me, helping me with my tantrums. You know what I mean? The father's parenting skills have improved. So yes-major benefits to the children long-term.'
Project facilitator interview 4 (t): Site 4
Managing the process of acculturation
CALD fathers found the parenting program they attended helped them to reconcile parenting styles from their country-of-origin with the parenting styles they had encountered in Australia:
'... learnt from the program how to deal with children-in Australia we have to respect the children and also be with them in a good way and almost be like a friend with them as well.'
Father participant focus group 2: Site 2
'Also discuss Australian rule and law. Understanding the different ways that things work in Australia and then adapting that to parenting.'
Father participant focus group 2: Site 2
Building community connectedness
Fathers valued the ways in which attending a service or program could connect them to other people, give them a sense of community and a positive way of occupying time:
'... they've [fathers] really loved actually meeting other families from the area, in these courses which has then broken some of their isolation because they've been able then to see that same person down the street at the school that they saw in the course and actually have a familiar face that they could talk to. A few have built good friendships since the courses. So that's been a really helpful thing.'
Project facilitator interview 4 (t): Site 4
'... for people who have just moved up here or they haven't really got many people in the community that they know that they can actually go and talk to, these people ... you know they're really friends and giving and kind and you know they'll put you in the right direction ...'
Father participant interview 2 (t): Site 5
'I don't know if camaraderie is the right word, but people are obviously here for the reasons that you're here for. And you can relate.'
Father participant focus group 1: Site 1