PERCEPTION OF FATHERS’ INVOLVEMENT IN EARLY CHILDCARE BY MALE UNDERGRADUATES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA
Keywords:
Perception of father’s involvement, Early childcare, Male undergraduatesAbstract
Fathers’ indifference to early childcare has been a solemn practice in most homes with little understanding of the benefits of their involvement to the development of the child. This research investigated male undergraduates on fathers’ involvement in early childcare in FUNAAB, Ogun State. The study utilized descriptive survey design with 400 respondents which were randomly selected from the ten colleges in the University. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit responses from respondents. The questionnaire had Cronbach’s reliability Alpha of 0.75. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The perceived importance of fathers’ involvement in early childcare by the respondent is that fathers should make rules for children and ensure compliance (mean = 4.19). The perceived constraints associated with fathers’ involvement in early childcare are tediousness and location of fathers’ work (mean = 4.11). Findings indicated that the perceived effects of negligence of fathers’ involvement in early childcare are emotional insensitivity to other people’s feelings (mean = 3.37) ad child’s unwillingness to learn (mean = 3.33). The result of the test of hypothesis showed that there was positive significant relationship between perceived effect of fathers’ negligence (r = 0.137) and fathers’ involvement. The findings concluded that tediousness and location of fathers’ work were major constraints associated with fathers’ involvement in early childcare. It is recommended that families should prepare male children for the legal, financial, and emotional responsibilities of fatherhood.
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