THE FATHER EFFECT: THE IMPACT OF FATHERS IN THE HOUSEHOLD ON THE HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, SELF-EFFICACY, AND COLLEGE READINESS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES

Abstract

The past several decades have seen an increase in the number of children being raised in households without fathers, with a rise in the number of households that identify as single parent as the head of household in the United States. Within these single parent households, a majority are led by a mother. According to Pew Research Center, nearly one out of every four children in America live in households with only one parent. The issue has been particularly evident in the African American community. Studies have found that young adults’ ratings of paternal nurturance and paternal involvement were directly correlated with their positive psychosocial functioning. Paternal acceptance was also found to be a significant predictor of positive self-reported psychological adjustment. In general, research on the impact of the father has shown that parental involvement and presence has an impact on key outcomes, behaviorally, educationally, and beyond. The primary purpose of this research study was to examine whether differences exist in self-efficacy, college/career readiness, and academic achievement between African American male high school students with a father present in the home and those without. To address this, archival data from the National Center of Education Statistics High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, which followed a cohort of over 20,000 ninth graders from 2009 until 2016 via surveys and postsecondary transcripts, was used in this study. A total of 1,107 comprised the sample in the current study. To address the research questions, t-test, Chi-Square, and Mann Whitney U-test analyses were utilized. The results included several statistically significant relationships and/or differences the between students who had biological fathers in the household and those who did not. In addition to students with a biological father in the home demonstrating significantly higher academic performance in all areas, these students also exhibited higher ratings of self-efficacy in some areas. Further, there was a relationship between having a biological father in the home and goals for post-secondary education, plans to enroll in college, and actual enrollment following high school. African American male students who had biological fathers in the household also had more favorable expectations of how far they could go in college and their family ability to afford college. The current findings suggest that there are many positive outcomes that fathers in the household effects. This presents an opportunity for institutions, programs, and policies to raise awareness on the vitalness of fathers for student educational development. A renewed emphasis on paternal involvement from school districts can increase the awareness to aid in child long-term development. The implication can be that students from households without fathers are less likely to perform academically, collegiately, and motivationally as high as students with fathers in the household.

Keywords: African American Males, Father Effect, Self-Efficacy, Academic Achievement, College Readiness