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Father Support Program (FSP)
The father plays as important a role as the mother in a child’s development.
Today, it has become a widely accepted fact that the environment of the child is of crucial importance in his or her development. Consequently, mothers as caregivers in this environment have a significant impact on their child's development. However, recent research indicates that the father’s role in his child’s development is also extremely important.
Research studies have also shown that fathers can positively affect their children's development if they take an active role in his/her life and are involved in contributing to his/her development. Parent support programs to date have largely targeted mothers but it is clear that fathers are also in need of such support. However, this is still a relatively new area of inquiry and intervention and there are still very few parent education support programs specifically designed for fathers. The Father Support Program aims to fill this gap in Turkey.
What is FSP?
FSP is a scientifically developed program designed to support fathers in taking a more positive and an active role in their child's development, increasing their knowledge of child development characteristics and issues, gaining interpersonal and communication skills and as a result; maintaining more democratic attitudes both in their familial and other relationships.
How was FSP developed?
FSP was developed in 1996 by Prof. Sevda Bekman, Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Kağıtçıbaşı and AÇEV staff to support fathers in developing their fathering roles. The program was developed over a two year period with several pilot implementations and extensive evaluations, revisions and feedback sessions from the field. FSP was first implemented in 1997 and has continued to evolve under the supervision of academics and needs arising from participants.
Why is FSP important?
Our studies and observations have shown that the Father Support Program not only better informs the father about his child's development and educational needs but also enables him to utilize this information to form a better relationship with his child. At the same time, the program helps to develop more effective and positive communication patterns between the father and his child, spouse and close environment. The program can also be seen as a first step towards preventing gender-based inequalities in child development and achieving a more democratic family environment.
Who does FSP serve?
FSP targets all literate fathers of 3-9 year old children. Efforts are made to concentrate implementations in low socio-economic communities.
How is FSP implemented?
FSP is a fifteen session group intervention program. Each session lasts around three hours and is led by a trained group facilitator. Group facilitators, who are all professional experts, participate in training seminars conducted by AÇEV and undergo a series of observation, supervision and feedback sessions during implementations.
The sessions are participatory, designed to facilitate the fathers to share experiences with the group and to arrive at common decisions and solutions. For this reason, the number of participants is restricted to 15. A Facilitators Handbook extensively detailing each session and the role of the facilitator has been prepared, in addition to several educational materials and handouts for participants.
Since 1997 FSP has been implemented in various settings with different socio-economic groups in Istanbul. These have included groups initiated by parent teacher associations of private and public schools, private industry, local NGOs and trade union bodies. In 1999, AÇEV embarked on a training of trainers model for FSP to further disseminate the program through trade unions and educational institutions by training facilitators within specific organizations.
What is the content of FSP?
The sessions of FSP include topics on: the role and importance of the father and effect on the child, attitudes and behavioral patterns in the family, accepting the child's behavior and effective listening, "I" language, positive discipline methods, characteristics of the child's social, physical, cognitive and emotional development, the importance of reading to children, importance of play and time spent with the child, conflicts and conflict-resolution strategies.
How to apply to FSP?
The Father Support Program is open to all literate fathers of 3-9 year olds. For further information, all interested parties are asked to apply directly to AÇEV. |
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