Father’s Contribution to Language Development in Children
Study A, Article 1:
Pancsofar, N., & Vernon-Feagans, L. (2010). Fathers’ early contributions to
children's language development in families from low-income rural communities. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(4), 450-463. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.02.001
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to answer the research question, “What are the contributions of fathers via education and vocabulary during infancy to children’s early communication development at 15 months and expressive language development at 36 months in families from low-income communities?” (Pancsofar, p. 453). In other words, the researchers wanted to find out the affects father’s language and vocabulary can have on the language development of their children ages 15 months to 36 months.
Methodology
The participants in this study consisted of a large group of two-parent families from low income rural communities. The data was collected during 2.5-hour home visits during the time the children were 6 months, 15 months, and 36 months old. Only one home visit was conducted for those at 15 months of age, but two separate visits were made two weeks apart for those children that were 6 months and 36 months. Throughout this process, there were questionnaires, interviews, child-based questions and parent-child interactions used by the researcher to observe the interactions happening in the household between the parents and the children. Each parent/caregiver was given the K-FAST literacy screener which measures basic literary skills used for daily living.
Results
The results of this study study suggest that father education was positively associated with child expressive language development. (Pancsofar, p. 459). This study also suggests that when fathers use a more differentiated vocabulary while talking or playing with their infants, the children had more advanced communication skills at 15 months of age and more advanced expressive language at 36 months of age. There was a positive correlation between the more highly educated fathers and children’s expressive language development at 36 months of age.
Discussion
While this study was focused on father involvement in children’s language development, the researchers observed both mother and father contributions to language development. They were surprised to find out that there weren’t any noticeable effects of maternal vocabulary on children’s communicative skills or language development. While other studies conducted on mother and father language involvement, the researchers also found similarities in the vocabulary used by parents in book interactions with their infants. Although mother language did not predict children’s language, and father language did. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that in the families observed, the experiences and characteristics of fathers is significantly associated with children’s language and communication development.
Study B, Article 2:
Leech, K. A., Salo, V. C., Rowe, M. L., & Cabrera, N. J. (2013). Father input and child
vocabulary development: The importance of wh questions and clarification requests. Seminars In Speech And Language, 34(4), 249-259. doi:10.1055/s-0033-1353445
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to determine the relationship between parent input in their children’s language development, while focusing on low-income families and differences or similarities between mother and father speech (Leech et. al, 2013).
Methodology
The participants in this study were 41 African American fathers and their children 24 months of age. There were 22 girls and 19 boys. Participants were from a bigger previous study of low-income families. Fathers were around the age of 29 years old on average, but the ages ranged from 18-52. During this study, fathers and their children were video recorded in their home during a 10-minute observation. They were instructed to play with the contents in 3 different bags. A children’s book in was in the first bag, a toy pizza and phone in the second bag, and a toy farm with animals and a farmer in the third bag. They were asked to play as they normally would. They also participated in an interview, where the demographic information was collected with the McArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. This provides the child’s vocabulary skills.
Results
It was seen that there was variability in the vocabulary and speech that fathers may have used while communicating with their children. The variability in children’s speech was also observed. Fathers asked between 6 and 110 questions, in which yes or no questions occurred more often.
Discussion
This article shows previous findings on this topic and that two types of speech have been important in fathers input in their children’s language development: wh questions and clarification requests. These two questions relate to 24 month old children’s vocabulary skills. The predictions were based on previous research, which was leaning more toward the fact that fathers are more complicated to communicate with than mothers are, and they use more wh questions and clarification requests.
Study C, Article 3:
Salo, V. C., Rowe, M. L., Leech, K. A., & Cabrera, N. J. (2016). Low-income fathers’ speech to toddlers during book reading versus toy play. Journal Of Child Language, 43(6), 1385- 1399. doi:10.1017/S0305000915000550
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to test the difference between father’s speech with their toddlers during book reading vs. toy play. This study was performed to see which of these activities contributes to toddler’s language development more.
Methodology
The participants in this study were gathered from the Early Head Start Research Evaluation Project (EHSREP), a randomized controlled evaluation. Fathers were recruited from 12 of the 17 EHSREP sites. The final participants after eliminations due to lack of joint attention during book reading came to 69 father-child pairs. The average age of the fathers was 28 years old, and they had completed high school, in which 38 fathers were African American and 31 were Latino. 39 of the children were female, and the rest male with an average age of 2-4 years old. These fathers and their children were recorded on video during a 10-minute interaction in their home. They were each asked to open three different bags in order: the first bag contained a picture book, the second bag contained a toy pizza and a telephone, and the final bag had a toy barnyard with animals. Each interaction was transcribed. For children, the researchers focused on different word types and mean length of utterances (MLU). For fathers, they examined the total number of words used, requests and the use of “wh” questions.
Results
The results of this study showed that on average, African American fathers used more clarification requests than Latino fathers, but Latino fathers used more “wh” words than African Americans. There was no difference in any father speech between father-child pairs who only spoke English and those who spoke all Spanish. It was found that African American children and those who only spoke English produced more MLU’s and word variability than those who only spoke Spanish or spoke a mix of the two languages.
Discussion
Being that this study adds to the previous literature by Salo et. al, it is showing that low income fathers speech toward their child is different between book reading and toy play and that there are different speech qualities used throughout each interaction that contributes to children’s language skills. The researcher also concluded that there was more talking and more diverse vocabulary used with their toddlers during book reading rather than toy play. Limitations of this study include the fact that each father-child pair began with the book reading, so it could have tired out the child which could have affected the vocabulary used within the toy play activity. However, the different characteristics of father language with their toddlers during toy play may also improve children’s language development.
Study D, Article 4:
Schwab, J. F., Rowe, M. L., Cabrera, N., & Lew-Williams, C. (2018). Fathers’ repetition of words is coupled with children’s vocabularies. Journal Of Experimental Child Psychology, 166437-450. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2017.09.012
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the repetition used in father’s language is positively or negatively related to the outcome of their child’s vocabulary. The researchers predicted that there would not be a correlation in later development. This study is an extension of research on the research study “Low-income fathers’ speech to toddlers during book reading versus toy play” by Salo, V. et. al.
Methodology
The participants in this study included fathers and their 24 month old children from low-income families. The study consisted of 22 female children and 19 male children. The age of the fathers ranged from 18 to 52 years, however they varied in their educational achievement. Each father-child pair was recorded on video in their home for 10 minutes while each father was asked to play with their child using the 3 different objects they were given. These objects were a book, a toy pizza and telephone, and a toy barnyard with animals. They were asked to play with these objects in that order. Each 10-minute session was transcribed using the CLAN (computerized language analysis) program which can calculate the number of words used by the fathers, repetition and utterances.
Results
There was a variability in the measures of father input. The total number of words spoken by fathers ranged from 163-1202 words per 10 minutes. As a result, it was concluded that the repetition in low income father’s speech is directly related to children’s language, which means that programs should look into including fathers as an important piece of parenting. Although repetition may be beneficial over time for children’s language development, the current study suggests repetition in father’s language does not broadly promote children’s language learning during the third year of life.
Discussion
This study is one study that predicted there would not be a relationship between father’s repetition and their children’s language development in later years. Their hypothesis was correct, however, because this study did not suggest that there was a relationship between father’s repetition and children’s language development in their third year. This study expands on other literature in which their hypothesis was that father’s language and repetition would have a positive relationship with their children’s language development. However, in this study, their sample used children that were 24 months of age, as opposed to infants.
Study E, Article 5:
Pancsofar, N., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Odom, E. C. (2013). Work characteristics and
fathers' vocabulary to infants in African American families. Journal Of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34(2), 73-81. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2012.11.005
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between father’s work characteristics and vocabulary among a group of employed African American fathers with 6-month old infants in low-income communities.
Methodology
There are 3 different job characteristics this study examined: job hours, non-standard shiftwork and job flexibility. These characteristics were kept into factor while interviewing these families. Of the African American fathers whom participated in this study, 90 were employed when their child was 6 months of age. The work characteristics included job flexibility, job hours, and non-standard shiftwork. Of those 90 families, the researchers were able to receive full interaction data of 77 families. Missing language data was due to recording/sound problems or uncooperative children. Data was collected during 2 different 2 ½ hour home visits within 2 weeks of each other, when their children were 6 months old. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted through the computer, and all caregivers were given the KFAST literacy screener. Each father was asked to read a book to their child as they normally would. The book was just a picture book with no words, and each page had a different picture of a baby’s face and a different expression on it. These fathers were recorded while reading.
Results
This study found that African American fathers who worked non- standard shifts during their child's infancy used a more diverse vocabulary in interactions with their child, and the fathers who had more work flexibility used more diverse language with their child.
Discussion
This study suggests that within these African American families, father’s work characteristics are an important factor in their children’s language development. A limitation in this study included the fact that biological fathers residing in the household were more likely to regularly interact with their children, unlike fathers who are not residing in the household. Like previous studies on father-children relationships, these findings suggest that non-standard shiftwork could be associated with positive father child interactions. It was also found that job flexibility was associated with more diverse father vocabulary.
Father’s influences on children’s language and vocabulary development is a well researched topic. Father’s influences on their children’s language is an important research study because it gives caregivers the insight on the influences they might have on improving their child’s language and vocabulary growth. It is predicted that there is a positive relationship between father’s vocabulary and language input and their children’s language development in their early language learning years. There are several previous studies conducted on this topic, and there are multiple different themes that have been found throughout the process of gathering information on these various research studies.
Synthesis of Research
While reviewing previous literature, it is concluded that there is a considerable amount of information already explored on this topic. There are continuously researchers expanding on previous studies conducted on father’s contribution to children’s language development, in which is shown above in the summarized articles. Each article was related to each other in similar and different ways, whether it be a common variable or expanding on the literature of each other’s articles. Within these related articles, there were several themes that occurred throughout each one. The biggest theme that was noticeably consistent was that all of the participants involved were from low-income families or communities. In studies A-E, this is an important factor in their research because it keeps the results of each article relevant to each other. In addition to this, there were some themes that appeared across some studies, but not across others. Studies C and D were both expanding on study B, in which study B was conducted in 2013, study C in 2016, and study D in 2018. Throughout all three of these studies, another theme was that the participants consisted of African American fathers and their children. In study B and D, (Leech, et. al, 2013 & Schwab, et. al, 2018) the participants were 41 African American fathers and their children that were 24 months of age. There were 22 girls and 19 boys in these two studies. On the other hand, study C although an expansion on study B, did not consist of the same participants. The participants in this study were 69 African American and Latino fathers and their children ages 2-4. Studies B and D recorded the same results, that father’s vocabulary input and various question asking was directly related to their children’s vocabulary and language development at 24-months of age (Leech, et. al, 2013 & Schwab, et. al, 2018). Study C was focused on the differences in African American father’s language and Latino father’s language, in which they concluded that African American fathers used more requests and questions with their child than Latino fathers did (Salo, et al, 2016).
Studies A and E (Pancsofar 2010 & 2013) were similar in which they both involved the same researcher and the same participants that were African American and from low-income communities. The procedures in these two studies were similar as well due to the fact that each father in the family received interviews, questionnaires, and the K-FAST literacy screener which measured their literacy skills used for daily living (Pancsofar, et. al, 2010; Pancsofar, et. al, 2013). Each study had their differences even if they had some similarities. No two articles were the same in every way, being that they were conducted by different researchers and were expanding on previous research. Although studies A and E were similar studies, they were researching different topics. Study A, “Father’s early contributions to children’s language development in families from low-income rural communities”, was just observing the effects of father involvement on language development of children, and there were no other variables involved. However, in study E, being that this is an expansion on study A, new variables like job characteristics were added in order to increase the knowledge on the topic and discover what are the different variables that contribute to vocabulary development in early language learning years. During study E, the researchers’ main focus was on the job characteristics of the fathers involved. These characteristics involved job flexibility, job hours, and non-standard shift work. It was found in this study that non-standard shift work was associated to positive father-child interactions. This means that fathers who worked outside of the typical “9-5” workday, contributed more to their child’s vocabulary and language development. In addition to this, job flexibility was shown to increase more diverse vocabulary used by fathers, in which employers are supportive and fathers time at work is flexible. In comparison to not only study A, but studies B-D, these researchers were focused on different variables in these families’ lives rather than just fathers and their interaction with their children.
Limitations
There were only two studies among the five discussed which talked about any kind of limitations involved. In study C, “Low-income fathers’ speech to toddlers during book reading versus toy play”, each father-child pair engaged in two activities; a short book reading and an activity in which they played with toys. The limitation in this study was that each father-child pair engaged in the book reading first, and in turn could have tired out the child and father, possibly leaving them with less use of vocabulary within the toy play activity. Study E, on the other hand involved a different limitation in regard to that specific study. The limitation in this study was that certain biological fathers were residing in the household with the child, and others were not residing in the household. Due to this, it was more likely that the fathers whom were residing in the household with the child interacted with the child more regularly. This most likely increased the chances of the child’s vocabulary and language improving while engaging with their fathers.
Among all five articles and the research on this topic, there were limitations with finding several studies on the topic of fathers input in language development specifically. While conducting this research and searching for articles on this topic, there were limited studies done on fathers by themselves. Most articles included both fathers’ and mothers’ involvement in their children’s language development. Certain articles were only focused on the mothers’ involvement, although the word “father” was input into the search engine. Another limitation throughout this process was that a lot of the articles were not only focused on vocabulary and language development, but cognitive development as well. This was a tough situation because my research was on language specifically, so the cognitive aspect would not be applicable. These were significant limitations throughout the research process as it is important to stick to the specific variables within the subject being researched.
As a reader, I would prefer to understand some more about fathers’ involvement in their children’s language development of different ethnicities and social class. In each of these studies, the participants consisted of African American fathers from low-income communities, and one (study C) consisted of Latino fathers as well. It would be more interesting to learn the differences in language development of children from, for example, those African American fathers from low-income communities versus Caucasian fathers from high-income communities or vice versa. It would be interesting to examine the changes that these sets of fathers may want to make in order to improve the way they are interacting with their children on a daily basis.
Applications
As a future educator and a future mother one day, this topic has given me great insight on the ways to implement father-child communication within the child’s everyday life. Initially, as a future educator, I will be able to inform the parents of my students how important it is for fathers to be involved in their children’s early language learning years. Parents tend to not think fathers have a big impact, and mothers have the most impact as seen in the research process when most of the articles found were on mothers and their children’s language development. However, as it is shown in these previous articles, father involvement impacts their children greatly. I will inform the parents that it is statistically shown to increase the vocabulary and language development in their children’s early years. In addition, as a future mother one day, I will make sure to encourage my husband to practice certain activities that were demonstrated such as the book reading activity, and toy play activity, etc.
Ultimately, Father’s influences on children’s language and vocabulary development is a well researched subject. This is an important subject to research in order to show caregivers ways to improve their child’s vocabulary and language development.