A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’ A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’ A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’ A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’ A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’ A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’ A road less travelled: working with men as fathers' in Family based services’

Description

The nature and shape of Australian families has changed significantly in recent decades (Smit 2005; Berlyn et al., 2008). Even with these changes, there have been many contested understandings about what constitutes fatherhood (Fletcher et al., 2008; BBC, 2000). There has been an emerging trend internationally to understand fatherhood (Scourfield, 2006; Milner, 1993; O’Hagan, 1997; Featherstone, 2003; 2006; Daniel et al., 2005). Despite this interest, there is still more need for research to be undertaken in Australia about the attitudes of professionals towards fathers, male input into family life and, in particular, the experiences of fathers who are described as being absent from family based services. This will result in a greater understanding and application of ‘father inclusive practice’ (Berlyn et al., 2008; King, 2009).