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An undisputed aspect of changing family life is that fathers are increasingly involved in their children's lives. How far does this involvement extend beyond the 'traditional' father domains of the football pitch and the computer and into the playground, homework and family learning programmes?
This major report takes the most comprehensive look to date at UK fathers' involvement in their school-aged children's learning and education. It poses a range of questions pertinent to educators and policy makers:

• To what extent are fathers involved in both mainstream education, and family learning programmes? Do they play a distinctive role? What about black and minority ethnic fathers?
• Why is fathers' involvement in their children's learning and education so important? What is the relationship to the children's educational outcomes?
• What approaches are schools and family learning programmes using to involve fathers and overcome barriers?
• What are the implications for policy and education practice?

We should recognise the vital role played by fathers as well as mothers"
Every Child Matters (HM Treasury/DfES, 2003)
Fathers' Involvement in their Children's Education includes a guide to effective practice for schools and family learning providers. It presents thirteen 'good practice' in-depth case studies of schools and family learning providers which successfully engage fathers. Examples are as diverse as a cookery skills course in Suffolk for fathers and children, and a Hampshire teenage 'Dads and Lads' book club.
The wider report pulls together the findings and evidence from many existing studies on the subject, providing the most comprehensive evidence and literature review to date. The fathers covered by the report include, resident and non-resident fathers, and father figures such as step-fathers, foster fathers and other male carers. Policy recommendations made include:

• the production of training modules for schools
• the adjustment of gender-neutral terms ("parents and carers") in official guidance to refer to fathers / male carers and mothers / female carers.
• funding for LEAs to recruit fathers workers and other home-school liaison practitioners.

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Research as context

3. Why Involve Fathers?
4. Beliefs, attitudes and barriers to involvement
5. Effective practice in engaging fathers in schools and family learning programmes
6. The Case Studies
7. Conclusions and policy recommendations
References
Appendices

About the author
Rebecca Goldman is a social policy and educational researcher . She has been advising policy makers, and commissioning and managing research for several years in central government departments. She is currently based at the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) where her focus is on extended schools, parental involvement, childcare and early years intervention.