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Forgotten Fathers, Mapping the Educational and Training Trajectories of Young Fathers

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Diving into the often-overlooked experiences of young fathers through an inspiring research project, Forgotten Fathers, Mapping the Educational and Training Trajectories of Young Fathers, Nicki Pierce is part of the Following Young Fathers Further UKRI Project led by Professor Anna Tarrant, this groundbreaking study sheds light on the challenges and barriers young fathers face, while also challenging societal misconceptions.

An interview with Nicki Pierce, Researcher and Associate Lecturer, University of Lincoln.

1. What inspired you to focus on young fathers, and what key misconceptions about them does your research aim to challenge?

Initially my research focus was on the gender gap in educational attainment and the effectiveness of the strategies and policies that had been put in place to combat this gap. What I found was that these strategies which are based on fairly hetro-normative ideas of masculinity just haven’t worked, and I began to investigate why. This led me to look at the intersections of the boys’ lives, focusing on who they were and how they experience life, and how this may differ for each person when you take into account the interconnections of gender, sexuality, race and class.  These combined factors have more of an effect on attainment than that of gender alone.  How can we support boys in education in a bespoke way, rather than focusing on them as a homogenous group.

During this time, I was working with Professor Anna Tarrant on the Following Young Fathers Further Project which focuses on the life trajectories of young fathers under 25 and how they navigate fatherhood. This project challenged my prejudices about young fathers as being reckless and irresponsible and I began to recognise that young fathers want to be involved in their children’s lives, but there are so many systemic and societal barriers in their way.

Whilst I was analysing data generated from interviews, I began to notice that the young fathers talked about how their education was disrupted and, in some cases, ended because they became fathers. Whether it was due to school, family or societal pressure a common theme emerged from the interviews.

These young men were being “encouraged” out of education to get work to support their new family. This struck me as being a short-sighted way of supporting the young father and their new child. Existing educational research shows that if parents have better educational attainment this improves their life chances and that of their children. So, we need to implement a system that supports young fathers to remain in education or training as this will improve outcomes for everyone.

2. The “Following Young Fathers Further” project takes a deep look into the experiences of young fathers. What has been one of the most surprising findings from the research so far?

The research has revealed many different things, but I think the most surprising findings for me are that young fathers appear to be invisible in the health, social care and education system. Professional practitioners tend to ignore the father and speak straight to the mother, so they are excluded from receiving support or advice about becoming a parent.

Also, I think that we underestimate the psychological impact of fatherhood on young men. They often need mental health support during the perinatal period, and this is overlooked by many services, who focus solely on the mother.

3. Many initiatives focus on young mothers—how do you think the experiences and support needs of young fathers differ, especially in the context of social equity?

Both young parents experience social stigma about becoming parents at a young age. However, the narratives differ. Young fathers are often seen as irresponsible and reckless, who don’t need support and don’t want to be involved in their children’s lives.

This, I think is why young father support is lacking, society views them in a deficit way and support is orientated towards the mother.

When a father appears to be absent, services step in to support the mother, assuming the dad does not want to be involved, but many services do not take the time to find out if the father wants to be there or why they are not there. There may be many reasons why a father is not at an appointment, work commitments, or not being told by the mother there is an appointment for example.  Young fathers are also often viewed as a risk to their child and the mother, so young fathers are surveilled and sidelined because of this stigma.

There is not equity of provision for mothers and fathers based on our concepts of gender and how parenting is viewed as a female occupation. This does not just limit the father’s opportunities to parent, but it limits the mother’s opportunities to access their career and other pursuits.

4. The FYFF research emphasises the importance of young fathers in shaping policies that affect them. What changes would you like to see in the education system based on young fathers’ feedback?

Initial findings suggest that young fathers want to support their child and mother, but also continue with their education and training trajectories. They recognise that being able to continue in education or training will help them support themselves and their children in the future.

However, there are systematic and societal barriers that prevent them from continuing these pathways.

The most fundamental one is access to financial and welfare benefit support. We need to support these young men to complete their educational trajectories by giving them access to benefits, suitable housing and tailored education support. Young fathers say that they feel compelled to leave school, college or training to get a job to support their new family, however, this is difficult as they leave education with few, if any qualifications and so they enter the gig economy, that does not provide financial stability.

I think we can also learn a lot from how young mothers are supported in education. This will enable us to add and improve support for these new families. For example, in terms of educational support, give young fathers the same rights as young mothers when it comes to exam support, e.g. special consideration during the pregnancy and time off to attend ante-natal appointments. My aim would be to have family support units instead of just mother and baby units, these can provide formal education and parenting support and advice for both parents in a safe place for the whole family, ensuring both parents are able to bond with the baby.

We also need a change to the benefit system so that both parents can claim the care to learn grant. This means that a young father can commit to looking after their child and have access to childcare on the days they are in education and training. At the moment only the main carer of the child is able to claim.

5. How do systemic barriers—like poverty, lack of support, or educational inequalities—impact young fathers’ ability to engage in their children’s lives?

Findings from the wider FYFF study indicate that there are many systemic barriers to young fathers being able to engage in their children’s lives. There are so many systematic barriers to young fathers being able to engage in their children’s lives, this stems from seeing young fathers as a social problem rather than young men who may need support. Young fathers are not visible in the system, no data is collected about how many young fathers there are, so they are hidden and not considered in the same way as young mothers are. This is manifest in particular in access to suitable housing. Many young fathers who need housing support are placed in hostels that are not suitable for children, so a young father cannot live and care for their child in these places.

Public health care and social policy also sidelines young fathers, by focusing solely on the mother and the young father must fight to gain any legitimacy as a parent in these settings.

Young parenthood is also seen in a deficit way as a failing on the part of the young father, their low expectations and lack of educational attainment. The systems that are there to support them such as education and healthcare marginalise and stigmatise them.

6. In your view, how can schools and educational practitioners play a role in better supporting young fathers, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds?

First and foremost, they need to find out who is a father. Ask boys in their schools if they are fathers. This must be done in a safe and caring way with no judgement.

Schools and educational practitioners need to be more proactive in supporting young fathers from any background, however, some evidence suggests that young fathers that come from disadvantaged backgrounds are already disengaged with the education system.

This is where we need to be the most pro-active, we must talk to these young men and find out how they are feeling and what they are thinking, what expectations do they have for themselves and their children. We need to understand their lives and their aspirations so we can put in individual, bespoke support so they continue their educational trajectories.

7. What role do perceptions of modern masculinity play in shaping the way young fathers see themselves and their role in family life?

There are so many narratives about masculinity and how boys should or should not behave. From working on the FYFF project I have seen how breadwinner ideology still pervades society and how this affects young fathers and their parenting.

The adage that a man must provide financially for their child, or they are not a ‘real’ man still holds true for many people. This links into the idea that men are not as caring as women (which is not true) and so men should not be fulltime carers of their children, which in turn feeds into the idea men are potentially a risk to their children and should be surveilled and monitored at all times when they are providing care for children.

These notions are slowly changing and there are some really great men’s groups (NEYDL, Fatherhood Solutions, Future Men) who are trying to change this. Young fathers are being supported by these groups to enable them to develop caring masculinities, and demonstrate and advocate that men can love and care for their children as women do – if given the space and support that they need. These changes can be achieved if we are brave enough to make changes to policy on parental leave, housing and benefit systems.

8. If you could give one key takeaway from your research to educators working with boys from disadvantaged backgrounds, what would it be?

I started off by saying lots of don’t do this, don’t do that, but for me it is important not to start in the deficit so my best advice would be:

Listen to each individual boy, what are they telling you. Talk to them about their lives and what would help them and what is important to them. Support them, care about them and respect them. Education is not about being a dictator, it is about nurturing the individual, not imposing your world view on someone. Allow each boy to become the person they want to be.

No one has a poverty of aspiration, every child dreams about how amazing their future could be, but many people don’t have the resources or support to achieve their goals, we as educators need to be that resource and support.

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