Fatherlessness & Education Outcomes

Unsurprisingly, those without a father in the home fare far worse in educational achievement than their two-parent counterparts. Some data shows that if fathers are not engaged, children are twice as likely to drop out of school than children with both parents at home (National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse). In a 2008 speech, President Barack Obama stated that the number could even be much higher, declaring that children who grow up without a father are nine times more likely to drop out of school (Politico Staff, 2008). Additional data has shown that 71% of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes (U.S. DOJ Office of Justice programs, 1998).

Children with an actively engaged father perform much better in school. Some data shows that they are 33% less likely to repeat a class and 43% more likely to get A’s in school (Nord & West, 2001). A study by the National Center for Education Statistics concluded that “ten percent of students living with both their parents have ever repeated a grade compared to 20% living in stepfather families, 17% in stepmother families, 18% in mother-only families, 16% in father-only families, and 21% living with neither parent.” (Nord & West, 2001). Likewise, youth who are faced with an opportunity gap but have a mentor are 55% more likely to enroll in college than those without a mentor in their life activities (Bruce, Bridgeland, 2014).