News

Groundbreaking Research Book from Quebec

Monday Mar 23, 2009

ProsPère, Canada's longest-standing father involvement research group has published a new book, La paternité au XXIe siècle, which chronicles the knowledge derived from 15 years of research, analysis and program implementation in the province of Quebec.

ProsPère is part of GRAVE-ARDEC, a group of researchers and other professionals working in the field of supporting child development and child abuse prevention. In 1993, ProsPère's research associates began work on a project designed to assess father involvement as a protective factor with respect to child abuse. The team implemented interventions aimed at promoting father involvement in two vulnerable Quebec communities : Pointe-Calumet and Rosemont. Subsequently, ProsPère members and other Quebec-based researchers initiated a number of other research, program and knowledge transfer activities related to father involvement.

La paternité au XXIe siècle (Fatherhood in the 21st Century) is partly a summary of knowledge from ProsPère's work. The book also serves as an account of the researchers' evolution in their collective understanding of father involvement: what it means, how it contributes to child development and how father involvement can be promoted. ProsPère hopes that La paternité au XXIe siècle will help to spark greater analytical discussion of father involvement issues in North America. Certainly it is a very significant work because it presents knowledge derived from an important body of father involvement work that is not well-known outside of the francophone world.

La paternité au XXIe siècle is divided into four sections:
  • General knowledge on fatherhood: concept of father involvement, determining factors, impact of fathers on child development, co-parenting
  • Promotion of father involvement: description of participatory action research conducted in Rosemont and Pointe-Calumet, research on best practices with fathers.
  • Socially excluded fathers: vulnerable young fathers, incarcerated fathers, and fathers dealing with the impact of immigration and settlement on family and fathering role
  • Knowledge transfer: putting research to work through knowledge dissemination, innovative use of research results and the implementation of research-based programs.

The volume has thirteen chapter in total, written by well-known researchers at Quebec universities and organizations . The authors include FIRA's Annie Devault, and Gilles Forget, along with Dominic Bizot, Diane Dubeau, Daniel Paquette and Geneviève Turcotte. Four researchers from France, who have been studying father involvement for many years, will provide critical analysis. At present La paternité au XXIe siècle is available only in French but an adapted English version is planned.

La paternité au XXIe siècle, Les Presses de l'Université Laval, 2009.
Edited by Diane Dubeau, Annie Devault and Gilles Forget. Available in selected bookstores in Quebec $42.95.