The Good Father: African American Fathers Who Positively Influence the Educational Outcomes of Their Children

African American men are not commonly thought of favorably as fathers, especially in regard to their children’s education. Using an adapted qualitative version of the quantitative fathering involvement scale, which is based on engagement, accessibility, and responsibility, this study investigates how 9 African American men attempt to be good fathers as well as what they do to help their children in school. The findings suggest that African American men can indeed be good fathers and positively influence their children’s educational outcomes. The interviewed African American fathers’ parental strategies included the following: 1) continuing the fathering role into and after college, 2) conspicuous use of communication, and 3) concentrating on being a good role model. The implications for researchers is that the fathering involvement scale may be a viable lens to support objective perspectives of fathers.