Fathering and the Canadian BSW Curriculum

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Who we are A research team of

Canadian and UK scholars:

Leslie Brown MarilynCallahan Lena Dominelli Susan Strega & Christopher

Walmsley

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Based at the University of Victoria,Victoria, B.C.

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The research study Multiple Data Sources and Methods Policy review Literature review Study of case files (N= 282)quantitative and

qualitative data Survey of BSW syllabi (Canadian social work

undergraduate courses) Qualitative interviews with fathers(11 to date) Focus group interviews with practitioners

Canadian BSW Curriculum 59 course outlines collected in 2006, 2007 Subject Areas: Child welfare, family

practice/family therapy, human development/human behaviour, Aboriginal studies, and child and youth social work courses

22 BSW Programs responded 2/3 sample of Canadian BSW programs

Results 1 Explicit fathering content formed a part

of one class in only 3 one-semester courses (13-15 weeks in length)

At 3 schools of social work

2 Francophone, one Anglophone

Results 2: Fathering Content in Required Textbookso Human Behaviour Texts o Five out of seven texts discuss the father as

a playmate of the child:o “Fathers spend less time with the baby than

mothers do, but when they do spend time that usually involves playing more than caregiving. Fathers are more physical and rough with their babies” (Ashford, Lecroy and Lortie, 2001, 228).

Father as Attachment Figure “Dads who get involved with the day-to-day

care of their babies, seem to develop stronger attachment relationships with their babies” (Bee, Boyd, & Johnson, 2003, 133).

“When a child has an insecure attachment with a mother a secure attachment with a father can take on a compensatory protective function” (Davies, 2004, 19).

Family Practice Texts Carter, E. & McGoldrick M. (1999) The expanded family

life cycle: Individual, family, and social perspectives (3rd ed.) and Walsh, F. (2003) Normal family processes (3rd ed.) discuss fathers and fathering extensively.

Provide an analysis of the changing balance between wage economy work, household work and gender roles in the family.

discuss the US family’s evolution from pre-industrial to post-industrial times under the complex influences of industrialization, urbanization and the social construction of gender and privilege adapted to the industrial economy of the 20th century.

Results 3 Only one Canadian child welfare text

mentions fathers: Swift, K. (1995). Manufacturing bad

mothers Most other family practice, child welfare,

Aboriginal studies, and child and youth social work texts make no reference to fathers

Commentary Virtually all the fathering content Canadian

social work students receive is derived from US textbooks and research (e.g. human development/human behaviour and family practice/family therapy texts)

Canadian literature on fathers and fathering exists, but not in the social work curriculum..

Accreditation Standards Canadian Association for Social Work

Education (CASWE) has 132 standards for BSW programs

No standard explicitly mentions “mothers” or “fathers”

35 standards refer specifically to curriculum Nearest related standard:SB 5.10.2.

Knowledge base related to human development and behaviour in the social environment

7 Learning Outcomes for the BSW Curriculum Learning outcomes are.... Behavioural statements that summarize

what a BSW student should know and/or be able to do about gender/fathers/mothers at the end of a BSW education

Use verbs such as: describe, summarize, list

1. Describe how Canadians ‘do gender’ ‘Doing gender means creating differences

between girls and boys and women and men’ that are not natural, essential or biological ﾓ (West and Zimmerman, 2008, 98).

Not all social situations are clearly sex categorized

But ‘any social encounter can be pressed into service in the interests of doing gender’ (West and Zimmerman, 2008, 99).

2. Identify mothering and fathering practices in Canada that reflect differences in ‘race’/culture, gender, sexual orientation and class.

The dominant hetero-normative discourse of mothering-fathering in Canada is similar to the United States: ‘Mom’s responsible, Dad helps out’, but this does not give voice to the many intricate ways in which the work of childcare is undertaken today.

Students need to develop an awareness of many of these ways through reading, reflection, discussion.

3. Describe key moments and processes of father disengagement.

Shift work, commuting (suburbanites), work travel (truckers, pilots)

Leaving the family to find work (new immigrants, resource industry workers)

Fathers’ incarceration, hospitalization or institutionalization

Marital separation/divorce Some fathers maintain meaningful relationships

with their children ‘at a distance’ whereas others do not. Research is needed to understand why.

4. Describe support fathers need to become actively involved with their children’s care.

Active fathering is learned. Who is the teacher: the mother? other fathers? the father’s mother?

Sometimes its a ‘trial and error’ process learned ‘on the job’( Steinberg et al., 2000). e.g. following a separation/divorce

involves practical and relational skills Father specific educational resources are

needed

5. Describe how social workers ‘do gender’ in the workplace. Most first-line child protection practitioners are

women Most managers are men Men’s potential violence becomes a reason for

female social workers to avoid men in child protection practice (Buckley, 2003)

The feminization of the workplace becomes a reason for men to express reluctance in seeking help as they see these services as either designed for women (Devault et al, 2005), or mother-centric (Ball & George, 2006).

6. Describe what social workers need to know and be able to do to engage well with fathers in child protection practice.

Recognize multiple oppressions construct fathers’ worlds (poverty, racism, classism)

Hold violent fathers accountable for their behaviour

Train social workers to face the lack of trust, hostility and control many men present

7. Describe when increased father involvement should not be encouraged or supported.

“men who are withdrawing from their family, who have already caused substantial harm to their children, and who are actively avoiding services that challenge their behavior” (Scott and Crooks, 2004, 107).

Conclusion Child welfare courses need explicit content on the

relationship between ‘father absence and mother blame’.

Students need instruction in methods to be inclusive of and work effectively with men/fathers at all stages of child welfare practice.

Schools should consider a course on ‘masculinities’ to explore gender relations, patriarchy, domination and violence in capitalist societies, and examine how boys become men and men become fathers across classes, cultures and sexual orientations.