Research Project 2 Fatherhood

How actively are fathers participating in the births of their children these days? Find out by carrying out an interview project suggested in a child development text by Neil Salkind (Salkind, N. [1990]. Child Development. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart. & Winston).

Invite two first-time, expectant fathers and two fathers of children under the age of two. Interview these men using the following sets of questions:

Expectant fathers:

1. What are your feelings about becoming a father?

2. How have you been involved in your wife's pregnancy?

3. What part will you play in your child's birth? What part would you like to play?

4. What do you think being a "good father" means?

5. How will having a child change your life?

Fathers:

1. What part did you play in the birth(s) of your child (children)? What were your feelings about this experience?

2. What are the three biggest challenges you face as a father?

3. What do you think a "good father" is?

4. How has having a child changed your life?

5. What advice would you give a new father?

Write a brief report indicating what you were trying to find out, describe your sample and how you interviewed the fathers and soon-to-be fathers, and then summarize similarities and differences between the two pairs of men. Relate what you learn to material on fathers' participation in childbirth that is in the text.

Chapter 5

Research Project 1 Cross Motor Activity

This project provides an observational exercise for examining the gross motor activity of children. Pair up with another student in the class and go to a local playground. Observe two children, one about four years old and the other about eight years old. For each child, describe five gross motor behaviors the child performs while you are observing. These can include running, climbing, skipping, jumping, hopping, walking, throwing, catching, etc. Describe the same five behaviors for each child, noting differences in the way they perform the behaviors. Use the data sheet below for recording your observations. Then answer the questions that follow.

Child 1 Child 2

Sex____Age____ Sex____Age____

Behavior 1 ( Behavior 1 (

Behavior 2 ( Behavior 2 (

Behavior 3 ( Behavior 3 (

Behavior 4 ( Behavior 4 (

Behavior 5 ( Behavior 5 (

Questions

1. What were the five behaviors you observed?

2. In general how can these behaviors be characterized or described for the four-year-old? For the eight-year-old?

3. How did the children differ in the way they performed the behaviors?

4. From your observations of the two children and five behaviors, what do you see as the course of development of gross motor behavior between four and eight years? How do your specific findings compare with the general descriptions reported in the text?

Research Project 2