FATHER’S ROLE IN SONS’ AND DAUGHTERS’ UPBRINGING

Year 2016, Volume: 5 , 390 - 415, 01.09.2016

Natela Doghonadze Ramazan Goctu

Abstract

Traditionally
mothers’ role has been emphasized in child care, upbringing and his / her adult
life. However, although fathers may really spend less time with their children,
they have a crucial role in both sons’ and daughters’ mental, emotional, and
social development. When father’s role in the family and child’s life is
underestimated, or when father is simply present in the family, but withdrawn
from children’s upbringing, this can bring about very negative consequences.
The goal of the paper is, on the one hand, to find out what people from various
countries think about the role that father has had in their lives, and, on the
other hand, to suggest the ways to reach a better father involvement in
upbringing his children. Definition of fatherhood will be given. A
questionnaire survey was held in Georgia and Turkey with people of different
age categories (teenagers, young adults, middle-aged and old respondents)
finding out the degree of importance of father in a person’s life, his
contribution to the child’s knowledge, skills, motivation to learn and work,
choice of profession, interests, self-confidence, gender images and
orientation, feeling secure, etc. A cross-gender and cross-cultural comparison
of answers will be offered. Both the literature review and the analysis of the
questionnaire will expectedly reveal the great importance of fathers in child’s
formation and further life. The research has not only sociological, but also
pedagogical value. Recommendations to parents and teachers working with parents
will be offered, concerning fathers’ behavior
with his son(s) and daughter(s), his communication / parenting style, ways to
stimulate the child’s development, raise his / her self-confidence as a person
and as a representative of their gender, etc. The importance of fathers’
involvement in school-family relationships will be defined. 

Keywords

Fatherhood, mental, emotional, and social development, parents-to-school cooperation

References

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