“Dad, read us a story!” : an ecological systems approach to understanding fathers’ perceptions on shared storybook reading in Jordan

Abstract: Fathers’ involvement (FI) in the education and development of their young children is a growing phenomenon. Research has shown that children with parents involved in shared reading exhibit stronger cognitive, social, and problem-solving skills (Betawi et al., 2014). Unfortunately, FI is still lacking in shared reading, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region. We Love Reading (WLR) trains adults on how to read with children. Highlighting the importance of FI in shared reading, the current research employs Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of development to understand WLR father ambassadors’ perceptions on and their involvement in reading with their young children in Jordan and also how their involvement in reading affected other aspects within their homes, extended families, neighborhoods and communities. Field research was conducted in Jordan through semi-structured interviews in Arabic. Findings showed that a majority of participants felt reading was the mothers’ responsibility and were not involved prior to their WLR training. After the training, all participants continue to read with their children, many read to children other than their own and encourage others in their communities and families to read with children, creating a ripple effect starting within homes and extending to other aspects of participants’ surroundings.