Does father involvement increase children's educational attainment at primary school?
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Leeds University Business School (LUBS)
Abstract
Fathers spend more time on childcare than ever before (e.g. Fatherhood Institute 2017) but the implications of this on children are unclear. Fathers' childcare involvement should have a positive effect on children's cognitive and educational outcomes (Lamb 2010) but there is little direct evidence to support this. Our study proposes to conduct the first longitudinal analysis in England that explores the relationship between fathers' childcare involvement and their children's attainment at primary school.
Primary education is a pivotal stage of child development because it is the point at which children first make the transition from the home environment to school. Achievements at this early stage can shape educational pathways and thus future employment prospects and opportunities. Previous research with mothers or 'parents' more generally suggests that early parental involvement is critical for child development (e.g. Hsin and Felfe 2014) but we do not know whether fathers impact their children's education differently to mothers, or whether paternal care is particularly important for boys, girls or at certain stages in the child's life regardless of gender. There is an urgent need to explore the potential effect of paternal childcare involvement given the Department for Education (2018) now report that over a quarter of children in England are not primary 'school-ready' because they fall below the expected level for communication and literacy, whilst UNICEF (2018) ranks the UK in the bottom third of 41 of the world's richest countries for inequalities in primary school education. We propose that paternal pre- or school age care could help to support progression in particular academic subjects, close gender gaps in attainment and even moderate the detrimental effects of poverty.
Using household data from the Millennium Cohort Survey (MCS) linked with official educational records of children from the National Pupil Database (NPD) in England, we will explore whether, how and at what stage fathers' childcare involvement affects children's attainment at primary school. The MCS collects data at four relevant life stages: pre-school (9 months and 3 years), school entry (age 5), in the middle (age 7) and at the end (age 11) of school. Our analysis will track longer, more comprehensive primary school educational trajectories than has been previously possible (e.g. Cano et al. 2019), focussing on how pre-school and school-age paternal childcare involvement affects children's attainment in core (e.g. Maths, English, Science) and non-core (e.g. Art, ICT) subjects at the three key stages of primary school (ages 5, 7 and 11).
The research questions are:
1. Does paternal involvement increase primary school attainment for children? And specifically:
(a) How important is fathers' pre-school involvement?
(b) Does the sex of the child moderate the effect of paternal involvement on educational attainment?
(c) Does father involvement moderate the known negative effects of poverty?
2. Which kinds of paternal-childcare activities have the strongest effect on a child's primary school attainment, and at what stage of the child's life is this most important?
The project will make an original contribution to the literature, and contribute to scholarly and policy debates, by being the first UK-based study identifying the ways in which fathers may narrow attainment gaps and/or moderate the known effects of gender and socio-economic status. The findings will be relevant to a range of stakeholders including policymakers, practitioners, teachers and families. Our impact strategy has been developed with the Head of Communications at the Fatherhood Institute (project Co-I) who will draw on existing contacts within the school, early years and health sectors to involve them in a method of coproduction that steers the analysis and turns the results into relevant and impactful resources that are tailored to their specific needs.
Primary education is a pivotal stage of child development because it is the point at which children first make the transition from the home environment to school. Achievements at this early stage can shape educational pathways and thus future employment prospects and opportunities. Previous research with mothers or 'parents' more generally suggests that early parental involvement is critical for child development (e.g. Hsin and Felfe 2014) but we do not know whether fathers impact their children's education differently to mothers, or whether paternal care is particularly important for boys, girls or at certain stages in the child's life regardless of gender. There is an urgent need to explore the potential effect of paternal childcare involvement given the Department for Education (2018) now report that over a quarter of children in England are not primary 'school-ready' because they fall below the expected level for communication and literacy, whilst UNICEF (2018) ranks the UK in the bottom third of 41 of the world's richest countries for inequalities in primary school education. We propose that paternal pre- or school age care could help to support progression in particular academic subjects, close gender gaps in attainment and even moderate the detrimental effects of poverty.
Using household data from the Millennium Cohort Survey (MCS) linked with official educational records of children from the National Pupil Database (NPD) in England, we will explore whether, how and at what stage fathers' childcare involvement affects children's attainment at primary school. The MCS collects data at four relevant life stages: pre-school (9 months and 3 years), school entry (age 5), in the middle (age 7) and at the end (age 11) of school. Our analysis will track longer, more comprehensive primary school educational trajectories than has been previously possible (e.g. Cano et al. 2019), focussing on how pre-school and school-age paternal childcare involvement affects children's attainment in core (e.g. Maths, English, Science) and non-core (e.g. Art, ICT) subjects at the three key stages of primary school (ages 5, 7 and 11).
The research questions are:
1. Does paternal involvement increase primary school attainment for children? And specifically:
(a) How important is fathers' pre-school involvement?
(b) Does the sex of the child moderate the effect of paternal involvement on educational attainment?
(c) Does father involvement moderate the known negative effects of poverty?
2. Which kinds of paternal-childcare activities have the strongest effect on a child's primary school attainment, and at what stage of the child's life is this most important?
The project will make an original contribution to the literature, and contribute to scholarly and policy debates, by being the first UK-based study identifying the ways in which fathers may narrow attainment gaps and/or moderate the known effects of gender and socio-economic status. The findings will be relevant to a range of stakeholders including policymakers, practitioners, teachers and families. Our impact strategy has been developed with the Head of Communications at the Fatherhood Institute (project Co-I) who will draw on existing contacts within the school, early years and health sectors to involve them in a method of coproduction that steers the analysis and turns the results into relevant and impactful resources that are tailored to their specific needs.
Publications
Norman, H
(2023)
What a difference a dad makes: A guide for families
Norman, H
(2023)
Why dads matter for children's education
| Description | This project has: 1) Generated new knowledge about the relationship between fathers and mothers' childcare involvement and their children's educational attainment in the first year of primary school. Our analysis shows that in two-parent households, paternal engagement in childcare activities (such as reading, playing games, drawing and painting) has a positive association with a child's overall attainment at primary school at age five, which is over and above the effect from the mothers' childcare engagement. Maternal engagement is still important but affects the child in different ways by, for example, having a positive association with a child's emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and pro-social behaviour. Paternal engagement at age five also has a positive, longitudinal effect on a child's later attainment, when the child is aged seven. These findings highlight the differential effects that fathers and mothers have on a child's educational and cognitive development. This may suggest that fathers' involvement provides an educational advantage to their children, which seems to operate in a different way to that of the mothers' involvement. 2) Generated new knowledge about the relationship between poverty and fathers and mothers' involvement. Although fathers' involvement had a positive effect on a child's educational attainment, regardless of poverty status, it made little difference to the impact of poverty, which had a strong negative association with a child's educational attainment and cognitive behaviour. In contrast, mothers' involvement had some impact. Although mothers' involvement did not moderate the relationship between poverty and educational attainment, it was associated with a reduction in problematic emotional behaviour for children living in poorer households at age five. We already know that children in poverty are more susceptible to wellbeing and emotional problems, and these problems tend to increase as children get older, but our findings suggest that mothers' involvement may help to alleviate some of this for children (in two-parent households) (although we in no means advocate that this is a solution!). 3) Generated new knowledge about the relationship between fathers and mothers' childcare involvement and children's educational attainment at age seven, which has opened up new research questions. Our analysis shows that in two-parent households, both fathers' and mothers' engagement in childcare at age seven has a negative association with a child's educational attainment at that age. Through further analyses, we found evidence that suggests parents increase their involvement in childcare at this stage in their child's life when the child is doing poorly at school. In other words, at age seven, a child's educational attainment affects the level of parental involvement rather than the other way round. 4) Built new research networks and collaborations with key parent-teacher associations and organisations through our research dissemination and knowledge exchange and impact activity. For example, Parentkind (formerly the National Association of Parent Teacher Associations with over 12,000 PTA members) participated in our consultation forums then collaborated with us on a blog that draws on the research (https://www.parentkind.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/blog/what-a-difference-a-dad-makes-engaging-with-fathers-as-well-as-mothers). Learning with Parents (a charity that runs a 'parental engagement' online platform supporting over 1,000 primary school teachers across the UK) dedicated their latest parental engagement forum to the project. Helen presented the project findings and the team led discussion with an audience of education and policy stakeholders. |
| Exploitation Route | There are four main constituencies for the research: i) Government bodies and policymakers: Our results inform social and policy concerns about widening gaps in attainment at school (e.g. see UK Parliament 2021; Department for Education (DfE) 2018). The project also responds to the House of Commons Education Committee (2019) 'Life Chances' inquiry recommendation for research into how parental involvement helps to facilitate child development. The PI has already liaised with Patrick Spencer at the DfE - senior advisor to the Secretary of State for Education - who has expressed an interest in this work and has been invited to open the end of project event in June 2023. ii) Parent-teacher associations and organisations that support the school-home relationship such as the Fair Education Alliance, Parentkind, Learning with Parents, Peeple and School Home Support. We have already established links with these organisations - for example through our consultation forums and/or collaboration on articles about fathers' engagement. iii) Teachers and early years' practitioners. Understanding how fathers' impact on children's educational development will help a range of professionals to address attainment gaps including primary school teachers, their heads and governors and early years' practitioners. The project has generated new knowledge that helps to develop father-inclusive ways of supporting children's learning. iv) Fathers and families - who will be provided with evidence-based tips and strategies on how to maximise paternal involvement and impact. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://www.piecestudy.org |
| Description | The project findings are starting to have societal impact in four ways: (1) Through our engagement work with third-sector organisations, parent-teacher associations and parental engagement networks who have not considered a direct focus on fathers before in their work. We have engaged extensively with 'Parentkind' (formerly the National Association of Parent Teacher Associations and are of the largest UK national charities comprising over 12,000 PTA members) throughout the project and some of the outputs of this engagement include a joint article, which underlines the importance of engaging fathers published on their website (https://www.parentkind.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/blog/what-a-difference-a-dad-makes-engaging-with-fathers-as-well-as-mothers), and an article written for their 'PTAextra' magazine, disseminated to over 30,000 of their PTA members. We have also worked with 'Learning with Parents' (LWP) who deliver a 'parental engagement' online platform that supports over 1,000 primary school teachers across the UK. We ran LWP's quarterly parental engagement forum in January 2023, which involved leading a discussion with the audience of policy and educational practitioners on how to engage fathers and disseminate these findings. Both stakeholders participated in project report launch event, which was hosted by Leeds University Business School and opened by Andrew Gwynne MP (the then Shadow Public Health Minister and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood) on 20 September 2023. The event brought together other key sector stakeholders and representatives from fathering groups and included a panel discussion with 'Peeple' as well as two father-group representatives ('Dope Black Dads' and 'theDadLab'). The panellists discussed the project findings and reflected on why including fathers in parental engagement outreach work is critical. 2) The academic and non-academic/stakeholder partnership between Norman and the Fatherhood Institute (FI) on the PIECE study is already generating societal impact by informing the FI's ongoing work to support fathers. For example, the FI won funding in 2023 to deliver a four-year Fathers Reading Everyday (FRED) programme in London and they have confirmed that they will draw on the PIECE findings in their training and delivery of this. One of the Fatherhood Institute's key policy areas was confirmed as 'fathers and education', on their new website launched in 2023 (https://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/fathers-and-education) with a section dedicated specifically to the project. 3) Media engagement. The Guardian newspaper ran an exclusive on the project findings to time with the project launch event on 20 September 2023. This generated significant media and policy attention. The University of Leeds Press Office calculated that the media story was covered in over 300 news, across 20 countries with over 20 languages used in the coverage with an estimated a reach of over 1 billion people (https://releasd.com/pages/J0m3zQMxBQf9PuGKpGziVTlAi1G6JhH3KlR0jT85r3Y). 4) Through our policy engagement. Following extensive coverage in the media, the project team were invited to present the research to the Department for Education's Longitudinal Studies team and the Department for Business and Trade. Engaging with the DfE and DBT have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of public services and policy given one of the remits for the DBT is to make recommendations on parental policy reform to better support fathers (and mothers) (and previously cited Norman's (earlier) research multiple times in their Shared Parental Leave evaluation report to the government published in June 2023 - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/649d54be45b6a2000c3d4539/shared-parental-leave-evaluation-report-2023.pdf). Indeed, the project findings, which reported the importance of fathers' involvement for children's development, were cited in House of Lords in a debate on a motion about pupil mental health, wellbeing and development on 22 February 2024, and the DfE confirmed that the PIECE project report was now stored in their Research Evidence Directory. In November 2023, the DBT invited Helen to join their academic steering group (to be established in 2024) to help them summarise the strength of the existing evidence and identify where gaps exist on specific paternity/parental leave topics. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (now Department for Business and Trade) Advisory board (evaluating and reforming Shared Parental Leave; supporting fathers' caregiver roles) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The Government published their response to the DBT evaluation report in June 2023. Although they did not commit to any reform of Shared Parental Leave (SPL), they committed to improve the flexibility of Paternity Leave take up to support fathers. The Government introduced an online tool to help employed parents work out if they are eligible for SPL in response to our (and others) feedback and evidence submitted to their 2019 consultation, in which we argued that SPL was too complex a policy. Helen was subsequently invited to present her latest research to the DBT in January 2024 - see 'engagement activities' entry for details) |
| URL | https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/649d54be45b6a2000c3d4539/shared-parental-leave-evalua... |
| Description | Transition to Parenthood in UK SMEs |
| Amount | £486,390 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/W01002X/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Working Families academic advisory board |
| Organisation | Working Families |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Helen was appointed to the Working Families (WF) academic advisory board in 2021 to provide advice on UK policy challenges and steer on the direction of WF research, lobbying and policy work |
| Collaborator Contribution | Working Families provide opportunities to update its board on current research and are able to support research dissemination. They also provide updates on relevant government consultations, opportunities for research collaboration and they are able to provide steer on the direction of research as well as relevant research resources. |
| Impact | Collaboration with Working Families on an ESRC grant application exploring the Transition to Parenthood in SMEs led by Middlesex Business School, which was awarded from the "Investigate changes in working lives and power in the workplace" call. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | 'PIECE Talks' - Educators consultation, May 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The project team ran an 'educators consultation' in May 2022 - a focus group with 8 participants who were early years practitioners or from third sector organisations, parental engagement networks or fathering groups (e.g. Parentkind, Parental Engagement Network, School Home Support and Dads Matter). The discussion focused on how to engage fathers as well as the challenges around this. This helped us to build our stakeholder networks and has led to further collaborations. For example, we have developed a good relationship with Parentkind (formerly the National Association of Parent Teacher Associations) who are one of the largest national charities in the UK comprising over 12,000 PTA members. We co-authored a blog with them (published on their website), Parentkind then attended a January consultation we ran with Learning with Parents and they also invited Helen to join the Foundation for Education Development steering group. Parentkind have agreed to participate in the panel discussion at the end of project event scheduled for June 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/blog/join-the-piece-talks-to-have-your-say-about-fathers-childrens-learning-a... |
| Description | 'PIECE Talks' - Fathers consultation forum, May 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project team held a 'fathers consultation' event in May 2022 , which was a focus group with 8 fathers who responded to an advert. The aim of the discussion was to better understand how fathers support their children's learning, what support the fathers would like and any challenges in relation to this. This helped us build a small group of interested fathers to add to our networks. One of the participants later invited Helen to deliver a presentation about the project to his work colleagues at the UKRI (which took place in September 2022). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/blog/join-the-piece-talks-to-have-your-say-about-fathers-childrens-learning-a... |
| Description | 9th International Community, Work and Family conference, 15-17 June 2023 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered a presentation on 'Does fathers' involvement in childcare affect children's educational attainment at primary school (in England)?' to an international audience of approximately 15 academics and postdoctoral students - from the UK, US, Canada and South America. The presentation sparked questions and discussion from the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/how-does-fathers-involvement-in-childcare-affect-childrens-educ... |
| Description | Announcement of project "PIECE Talks" (consultation events) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A blog announced our consultation events (PIECE Talks) was published on the project website and promoted by the Fatherhood Institute. It announces the dates for our consultation events with parents and education practitioners, which will focus on understanding how fathers support their children's learning, the help fathers want and receive, and any challenges. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/blog/join-the-piece-talks-to-have-your-say-about-fathers-childrens-learning-a... |
| Description | Article for Parentkind's PTA Spring 2024 magazine: 'Dads and PTAs - why involvement matters', launched in December 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Helen was invited to write an article on 'Dads and PTAs' for the Parentkind 'PTAextra' termly magazine that is sent out to their PTA members in both print and digital form. The printed version goes to approx. 12,500 members and the digital version is sent to 17,000 members and on to their schools list, which is approx. 25,000. The content of the magazine helps PTAs fundraise for their school, run the day to day of their PTA and shares inspiration from their peers. The edition the article was printed in is the Spring edition, which was launched in December 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.parentkind.org.uk/your-pta-expert/ptaextra-magazine |
| Description | BBC Radio 4 interview - Why do we assume women care, 14 Nov 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen provides commentary to Professor Tina Miller on a BBC Radio 4 programme about why women care, which aired on 14 November 2022. Helen spoke about the impact of fathers being involved with their children in the first year of life. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001f53p |
| Description | BBC Sunday Morning Live - interview with Helen Norman |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen Norman was contacted by the BBC for a TV interview about the findings from her research. She was interviewed by Kate Bottley on BBC Sunday Morning live about how fathers' roles had changed over the last fifty years. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/blog/ |
| Description | Blog on 'Supporting fathers to get more involved at school', 25 May 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A blog co-authored by Helen Norman, Rose Smith (Research Fellow) and Jeremy Davies (Co-Investigator) was published on 'Supporting fathers to get more involved at school', on the PIECE project and Leeds University Business School website. This was promoted across multiple social media platforms such as LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) and by Leeds University Business School. This was one of various outputs from the project that led to requests for further information and participation in, for example, media interviews and engagement with other organisations - such as Parentkind who asked Helen to contribute an article about dads and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to to their quarterly PTA magazine in November 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-blog/2173/supporting-fathers-to-get-more-involved-a... |
| Description | Blog to launch the Fathers and Children's Learning survey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen Norman and Jeremy Davies published a blog to launch the project's 'Fathers and Children's Learning' survey, which aims to build a better understanding of how fathers get involved in supporting their children's learning, and how schools, nurseries and other family services can help. This was published on the project website and promoted by the Fatherhood Institute. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/blog/ |
| Description | Blog to launch the Paternal Involvement and its Effects on Children's Education (PIECE) project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In this blog post, Helen Norman and Jeremy Davies reflect on what we already know about the relationship between parents' involvement and children's educational development, why fathers might be important and what the PIECE project will address. This was published and promoted by the Fatherhood Institute |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/2021/revealing-fathers-impact-on-their-childrens-learning-and-dev... |
| Description | British Sociological Association conference, 12-14 April 2023 (University of Manchester, UK) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered a presentation on 'Fathers' engagement in low-income households and the effects on children's attainment at primary school' to an audience of academics and doctoral students at the British Sociological Association conference in Manchester. There were around 50 people in the audience and the presentation sparked questions and discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/fathers-engagement-in-low-income-households-and-the-effects-on-... |
| Description | British Sociological Association presentation, 21 April 2022 (online) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Helen presented early findings from the project to a small audience (approx 8) international and UK researchers (academics and postgraduate students), which sparked questions and discussion about the findings and next steps. The abstract was picked up by the media (the I newspaper) who ran an article on the project, following the presentation. The newspaper article was then picked up and reported in multiple national and international news outlets including HR news, MSN, Verified News Explorer Network and Tebigeek - a news website in Spain. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/british-sociological-association-conference/ |
| Description | Centre for Research on Families, Life Course and Generations (FLaG) - Work in Progress workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Helen presented the project plans to the Centre for Research on Families, Life Course and Generations (FLaG) work in progress workshop at the University of Leeds. This was chaired by Professor Sarah Irwin (one of the project's advisory board members). Questions around the mechanisms behind fathers' parenting as well as accounting for cultural factors and school context in our analysis were issues that were discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/events/ |
| Description | Conversations on Care: Fathers and Care - influences and implications, WISE lecture, 8 Dec 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered a lecture on 8th Dec 2022 to a group of about 15-20 senior academics, PhD students and researchers at the WiSE Centre for Economic Justice as part of their 'Conversations on Care' lecture series at Glasgow Caledonian University. Her talk drew on the project research to discuss the gendered division of care, the barriers to father's childcare involvement and the implications that this has on children's development. Questions and discussion about the project took place afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/conversations-on-care-fathers-and-care-influences-and-implicati... |
| Description | Department for Business and Trade (invited) presentation - 17 January 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Helen was invited by the Department for Business and Trade (as a result of her engagement on their academic advisory board - see entry in 'influence on policy') to present details about her latest research projects to a group of policymakers (civil servants). She presented information about the Paternal Involvement and its Effects on Children's Education (PIECE) study and the Transition to Parenthood in SMEs project. She has been subsequently invited to join a smaller academic steering group with the DBT, which will set up during 2024, to advise on key topics in relation to supporting parents/fathers and collaborate together to draft a short paper. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Department for Education presentation 'What a difference a dads makes - Paternal Involvement & its Effects on Children's Education (PIECE)', 29 November 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Helen and Jeremy were invited to present the main findings from the study to an online audience of policymakers (civil servants) at the Department for Education on 29 November 2023. The presentation sparked questions and discussion from the audience. The DfE confirmed that the PIECE report had been added to the DfE's 'Research Evidence Directory' for future reference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | European Sociological Association RN13 Newsletter article, Dec 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen wrote an article about the project, which was published in the European Sociological Association (ESA) 'winter 2022' RN13- Sociology of Families and Intimate Lives network newsletter (in December 2022). This was distributed to the network members and published on the ESA website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.europeansociology.org/media/2ca86dd8-2662-4b8f-ab00-030619a426f8 |
| Description | European Sociological Association presentation (Fathers involvement from birth to 11 years) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen presented a paper to the European Sociological Association conference that shows how 'paternal childcare engagement' is measured, and how these measures have and will be used in previous and ongoing work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/events/ |
| Description | International Women's Day Podcast - in conversation with Professor Jenny Tomlinson, Leeds University Business School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Jennifer Tomlinson (University of Leeds) spoke to Helen in a recorded podcast about her research on what enables or hinders fathers' childcare involvement, and how ways of working and caring in a child's pre-school years sets up a pattern of caregiving that persists as the child grows older. Helen reflected on her earlier research project on fathers and introduced her current project on father involvement and children's education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool/gender-inequalities-in-work-and-care |
| Description | Leeds University Business School Impact workshop presentation 'Generating Impact from the PIECE study', 28 March 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen was invited to present the research project and impact strategy to an internal Leeds University Business School (LUBS) workshop consisting of other academic researchers and the impact and engagement support team at LUBS. The presentation sparked questions afterwards as well as discussion about how to maximise impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Leeds University Business School Research Conference, 13 June 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered an update on the project to a group of about 20 academic colleagues from Leeds University Business School as part of their one-day research conference where the purpose was to showcase the work of colleagues across the school. The research was presented and questions were fielded from the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/paternal-involvement-and-its-effects-on-childrens-education-pie... |
| Description | Leeds University Business School Research International Advisory Board Meeting - presentation on PIECE project impact strategy, 23 May 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Helen was invited to present the project and its impact strategy to the Leeds University Business School 'Research International Advisory Board (RIAB)', which provides external guidance and support for Leeds University Business School's research initiatives. The board includes leading business figures from a range of industry sectors, international markets and functional disciplines who provided feedback and steer on the impact strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-innovation/doc/research-international-advisory-board |
| Description | Natcen 'Inequality and Education' conference, 27 June 2022 - City, University of London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered a presentation to the National Centre for Social Research 'Inequality and Education: taking stock and finding solutions' conference, 27 June 2022 at City, University of London to an audience to approximately 35-40 academics, practitioners and third sector organisations. The presentation was followed by questions and discussion from the audience. The conference was recorded and is available at the URL link below (with Helen's talk starting at 2.02). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhiwHlM2-8Q |
| Description | PIECE project launch event - University of Leeds (Ideas in Practice event) - 20 September 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | We held a (postponed) end-of-project online event in September 2023 to launch the PIECE project report (which was published in June 2023). This was hosted by the University of Leeds and included (i) an introduction from Andrew Gwynne MP (Shadow Public Health Minister and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood); (ii) Helen delivering a keynote presentation about the project and the main findings; (iii) Jeremy Davies (Fatherhood Institute and Co-Investigator) delivering a talk on policy implications, and (iv) a guest from the Fatherhood Institute to deliver a presentation about their Fathers Reading Every Day programme. We also hosted a panel discussion with three key stakeholders who had participated to previous project consultation events or forums (Parentkind, Learning with Parents and Peeple) plus two fathers from father-parenting networks (The DadLab and Dope Black Dads). The panellists discussed the project findings and reflected on the implications for policy and practice. The event also included questions and discussion from the audience. Helen received multiple requests for further participation following the event such as requests to do further presentations to third sector and government organisations and stakeholders, media interviews and collaboration on industry articles/blogs. The research was later cited in the House of Lords in February 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/events/piece-study-final-report-launch/ |
| Description | Parentkind blog - What a difference a dad makes: engaging with fathers as well as mothers, 20 Sept 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A blog co-authored with the Chief Executive and Head of partnerships at Parentkind (formerly the National Association of Parent Teacher Associations) and is one of the largest national charities in the UK comprising over 12,000 PTA members) was published on their website - and on our project website here : https://piecestudy.org/blog/what-a-difference-a-dad-makes-engaging-with-fathers-as-well-as-mothers/. This has led to further planned collaborations with Parentkind who have expressed an interest in supporting the project work through publishing other co-authored blogs and running an APPG dedicated to our research. The Head of Partnerships at Parentkind has been confirmed as one of the panel discussants at our project launch event in June 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.parentkind.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/blog/what-a-difference-a-dad-makes-engaging-wi... |
| Description | Press Release 'Young children do better at school if their dads read and play with them', University of Leeds - 20 September 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A press release reporting the project findings and announcing the project report launch was written by the University of Leeds Press Office and published on the University homepage and the Leeds University Business School website (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news/article/1076/dr-helen-norman-leads-research-on-paternal-involvement-and-its-effects-on-children-s-education). It was also distributed nationally and internationally and published via social posts on corporate channels. This led to various media follow -up and Helen was contacted by various organisations to discuss parental engagement including, for example, the Department for Education, Tower Hamlets Council, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Brighteye (education tech startup). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news-business-economy/news/article/5404/young-children-do-better-at-school-i... |
| Description | Project website (& project Twitter account) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Project website and Twitter account launched for the project, which provides details about the project and posts updates and outputs. Our Twitter account has over 160 followers and counting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.piecestudy.org |
| Description | Social Policy Association conference presentation, 6 July 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Rose Smith delivered a presentation about the project findings to an audience of approximately 15 academics working in social policy. This sparked questions and discussion from the audience during the Q&A session that followed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://social-policy.org.uk/what-we-do/conference-2/ |
| Description | Time with Dad - Fatherhood Institute online event, 7 Oct 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered a presentation as part of a panel for an online event organised by the Fatherhood Institute called "Time with Dad: Involving Fathers in the Home Learning Environment". There was an audience of about 60 practitioners, representatives from third sector organisations, lobbying groups and academics. There was questions and discussion and after, the panel discussed future collaborations such as joint research events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/time-with-dad-involving-fathers-in-the-home-learning-environmen... |
| Description | Timescapes 10 Festival - Fathers and Longitudinal Research Panel, 14 Sept 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We participated in on a "Fathers and Longitudinal Research Panel" for the Timescapes 10 Festival. We delivered a presentation to an audience of about 10 academic scholars - including established professors and researchers working in the field of fatherhood. There was discussion amongst the panel members and audience after the presentations, including exchanges of ideas for future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/using-longitudinal-data-to-explore-how-fathers-involvement-affe... |
| Description | UKRI Staff Parenting Network presentation, 13 September 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Helen was invited by the Head of Policy - Research Sustainability at the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (who participated in the 'fathers' consultation for the project) to deliver a presentation about the project to their Staff Parenting Network. The event was attended by about 50 people and the organiser said that additional staff members joined the Parenting Network following my talk. There were multiple questions and discussion from the audience in the Q&A session after my talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://piecestudy.org/dissemination/do-fathers-affect-childrens-progression-in-primary-school/ |
| Description | What difference does 'time with dad' make to children's learning? - Blog, 26 April 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The team wrote a blog summarising some of the initial findings from the project, which was published on the project website (https://piecestudy.org/blog/what-difference-does-time-with-dad-make-to-childrens-learning/), with a shorter version published by Leeds University Business School (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/dir-record/research-blog/1966/what-difference-does-time-with-dad-make-to-children-s-learning). This was disseminated to the media - the i newspaper wrote an article on the findings, which was picked up in multiple national and international news outlets including HR news, MSN, Verified News Explorer Network and Tebigeek - a news website in Spain. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/dir-record/research-blog/1966/what-difference-does-time-... |
| Description | Work and Family Researcher Network (WFRN) conference presentation, 25 June 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Helen delivered a presentation to a small audience (10-15 people) at the Work and Family Researcher Network (WFRN) conference (23-25 June 2022) in New York, USA . This sparked questions and discussion with the audience who were mainly from the US, Canada and the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://wfrn.org/wfrn-2022-conference/ |