The present empirical study explored and described the views of mothers elicited through in-depth interviews. This research followed an explorative, interpretive and descriptive qualitative design by using purposive voluntary sampling. Mothers were selected by their lived experience and knowledge of the father absence problem, leadership, prominence in society, and involvement in their community. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, and field notes were taken. The data was analysed through open coding. The results of the empirical research in which mothers were involved indicated that the Christian father as mentor is deemed crucial and relevant within current families. Mentoring by the father is vital in the lives of children and should be implemented and emphasised within the family context. As mentor, the father should nurture the children spiritually and shape their character, thus helping them become complete, whole and, by the grace of God, holy ‘before God’ (
The present study focused on mothers’ views of the fundamental role the Christian father plays as mentor within a nuclear family environment. This study forms part of a previous article about the way adolescents respond to the indispensable role of the Christian father as mentor within the family (Freeks
For this article, mothers expressed their views on crucial matters such as the absenteeism or presence of fathers, their responsibility, involvement and the respect they attain. This includes fathers’ role modelling, importance in the family set-up as well as guidance in sexual matters. The participants also focused on the importance of God, the godly role of the father, politics, government and the fact that men lost their way regarding family life.
Globally, dysfunctional family life is a major issue with the father’s absence and fatherlessness forming the core of the problem (cf. Carstens
Currently in South Africa, it is estimated that 2.13 million children are growing up without a father (Dube
Fathers should not only provide financial aid. Their value within the family should thus not be measured by material provision. It should rather be assessed by the
Based on the discussion above, there is evidently a dilemma regarding the effects of the ‘absent’ father. In most cases the father is present, but is experienced as unavailable, unsupportive and uninvolved in the family set-up. Relationships with others become a challenge, as it may be broken. A sound relationship involves attributes such as motivation, encouragement, nurturing and teaching (Johnson & Ridley
The objective of the present research was to explore and describe the views that mothers hold about the fundamental role the Christian father plays as mentor within a nuclear family environment.
This article followed an exploratory, interpretive and descriptive qualitative research design (Thorne
The phenomenon that was explored, described and interpreted is the Christian father as mentor within a nuclear family environment (cf. Freeks
The method of research employed for data gathering was in-depth interviews with mothers who live in a nuclear family environment (Botma et al.
Permission to conduct in-depth interviews with mothers was granted by the Research Committee of the Faculty of Theology and the Ethics Committee of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus (cf. Freeks
The article utilised purposive voluntary sampling. In the case of purposive sampling, the choice of the mothers was made based on their knowledge of and experience of the phenomenon. They also represented the characteristics or attributes needed for the study (cf. Babbie & Mouton
They should be mothers within a nuclear family environment.
In a nuclear family environment, these mothers must have children.
They should be confessed Christians and be involved in church activities such as parent programmes, woman groups or women outreach.
They must provide informed consent to participate in the study.
They must be able to express themselves verbally in English or Afrikaans.
They must give consent for the interviews to be voice recorded.
As was explained previously, the population for the research consisted of a group of mothers
The researcher identified the mothers in their community. These candidates were contacted by telephone to arrange an appointment for individual, in-depth interviews. Aspects such as confidentiality, privacy, risks, withdrawal and even possible termination of participation were discussed (Botma et al.
Only four open-ended questions were formulated to ensure similar exploration of the participants’ responses (Botma et al.
An audio-tape recording was used to ensure the information was captured well. The voice recorder was placed where it did not cause distractions during the interview. The goal of this research was to
The following questions to the participants formed part of the inclusive criteria:
Tell me about your experience of having been mentored as a child or young person, either by your father or a father figure.
Tell me how would you like to see the role of the Christian father as mentor in the family environment?
Tell me about your views of how you would like your husband, as the father of the family, to function as a mentor in the home.
Anything else you would like to add to our discussion?
After each interview, field notes were taken that describe the ‘what?’, ‘where?’, ‘who?’ or ‘how?’ of the interview. This included written accounts of what the researcher felt, heard, saw, thought and experienced during the interview and were used for verification (Botma et al.
The voice recordings were transcribed verbatim (Botma et al.
Trustworthiness was maintained during this research. The researcher ensured credibility and accuracy by comparing the research detail to the data obtained. Data of interviews were thoroughly written down. They were also recorded and reproduced correctly. The present study used the model of Lincoln and Guba (as cited by Krefting
The views of mothers about the way mentoring emerges in the role of the father was crucial for this research. The participants identified core aspects such as responsibility, involvement and the affectionate role of the father towards his children as fundamental to the mentoring process. Furthermore, mothers suggested that it should be a priority for fathers to spend time with children, because it promotes healthy relationships and strengthens the bond between them (cf. Freeks
Over the past few years there has been an increase in focus on mentorship. This took place in the field of education, the business sphere, health field, e-mentoring, Practical Theology, pastoral narratives as well as in the family dimension (Fourie & Van den Berg
To link and fit such a present-day concept as
Tucker (
De Long, Gabarro and Lees (
Steytler (
Mentoring should not be limited to a specific age as Steytler proposed. Instead other elements should be initiating factors such as the skills or experience of the mentor over the mentee (Steytler
In light of the discussion above, proper mentoring with a longer duration may even go beyond the basic definitions. This action may lead to a mature friendship and reciprocal guidance as the researcher has experienced in his field of study.
Furthermore, it became clear that the above-mentioned aspects of mentoring may be applied to the Christian father as mentor within the family. For example, fathers may help their children to learn the basics of ‘walking with Christ’ (disciple). They may assist their children to mature in their Christian life (spiritual guide). Fathers may also help children to function independently, for example to apply and get admission to a university. They can provide assistance to their children with studies (coach). A further way is to give sound advice that will help the children navigate difficult situations and challenges in life (counsellor). The father should also inculcate the essential ideas and help children find perspective in life to make appropriate and quality decisions for their own lives. Thus, the father (mentor) should be a guide who helps the child (mentee) to find the right direction in life (teacher) (cf. Freeks
The present study followed the prescribed ethical considerations. Firstly, the mothers were approached and their involvement and participation explained to them (cf. Freeks
The results obtained from the participants are discussed below. Richness is provided by verbatim quotes and a literature control to validate the findings. The purpose of literature control is to compare the findings of the study with existing literature and draw relevant conclusions (cf. Botma et al.
During the data analysis, 13 themes emerged from the participants’ responses. These themes are expounded below.
The participants indicated that the absent father is a disadvantage in households. They expressed their feelings as follows: ‘If there is no father figure it has a negative influence on the children’; ‘The absent father is a disadvantage’.
These findings are supported by Palkovitz (
For the participants it was important that fathers should be present in the lives of their family. They emphasised that fathers introduced certainty and knowledge in the home, and would ensure that household processes run smoothly. The participants elaborated: ‘The father must be present in the home’; ‘Most of the things in the house should be done by the father’; ‘When he is there, we could pull some strength from him’.
These responses above are in accordance with findings from Steytler (
The participants also emphasised that fathers should take more responsibility for their family. This is evident from responses such as: ‘Fathers should interact more with their children because interaction is very important in the household’; ‘Fathers need to have expectations with regard to his family’.
These findings find support in Coakley (
The participants emphasised that the father should be more involved as husband in the home environment. This need was expressed as follows: ‘A dad should be more involved, especially with boys positively, and not destructively but in a joyous but strict manner’.
This finding is in accordance with that from Krampe and Newton (
The participants also mentioned that the impact of the father as a teacher introduces a natural authority into the home environment. This perspective was verbalised as follows: ‘The father as teacher prevent[s] disrespect in the home’; ‘He needs to teach how to handle issues’.
In this regard, McGraw (
The participants emphasised that their husbands should be role models within their community. However, they also mentioned that fathers are afraid to fulfil that role due to the added responsibility. The following excerpts from responses elaborate on this matter: ‘Our husbands are principals of schools’; ‘They are great role models to the teachers and children’; ‘He applauded, encouraged, and motivated them in their studies’; ‘Fathers are rather standing backwards because they are afraid of failure of being a role model in the household’; ‘The world and the media represent the role of the father as distorted’.
In literature, these findings find support from Blackthorn (
Regarding education, Ellis, Cogan and Howey (
It was important for the participants that every child has a father figure, especially the young boys and girls. They emphasised that the presence of the father is crucial and children should understand the importance and indispensability of such a figure. The participants explained as follows: ‘Children need their fathers for social support’; ‘Boys want to be like their fathers’; ‘Boys want to follow in their fathers’ footsteps’; ‘The father should be there to show how to handle tragedies in life’; ‘Children should not be raised independently, they need the love of the father’.
These findings find support from various researchers. Williams (
Barker (
The participants felt strongly during the interviews that not only mothers should discuss matters of sexuality with their children; fathers should also. The father should especially translate the matter to young boys, as certain aspects relate closer to fathers than to mothers. The participants expressed their feelings and views as follows: ‘The father needs to talk about the sexuality aspect with his son’; ‘They need to know how to treat girls’; ‘Boys are not supposed to sleep with girls until they made a commitment so that no children are born out of wedlock’.
These findings are in line with those of Bergh (
The importance of God within the family set-up was deemed crucial for the participants. They asserted that God is the first priority within a family. This is attested to by the following excerpts: ‘God is priority and comes first in everything’; ‘Families are important in the eyes of God’; ‘Fathers should know that God comes first in everything because families with a strong religious background result from the position of the father figure’.
Dickie et al. (
According to certain participants, the father has a godly role within the family. Thus, fathers should practise their way of living based on a biblical perspective and apply it practically within in the family environment. The participants verbalised this dimension as follows: ‘It is important for children to see the godly role of the father’; ‘Fathers should first have love for God and then they will have love for their family’; ‘He [
These findings resonate with those of Scalise (
The participants mentioned that politics are introduced into the family environment. This creates severe challenges for fathers, especially when having to deal with the rights of children. The participants explained: ‘Freedom is granted to children who misused and misunderstood it’; ‘Rights go with responsibilities, especially in the context of the home’; ‘Women are now playing a bigger role, especially in politics’.
The findings above are in line with those from Steytler (
Taken to the extreme, certain feminists believe that men can be considered a
Certain participants felt that the Government is dictating values to families. As a result, certain important aspects of family life are taken away from households. They explained their views: ‘Families have to adhere to Government’; ‘Families should not allow Government to dictate certain things because it is not Government’s function to dictate how to treat somebody else’; ‘The function belongs to the home and church’.
In literature, these findings find support from Carl and De Klerk (
Bergh (
The participants felt that men have lost their way and currently are unsure due to the effect of feminism. Some of them stated: ‘Our men lost their way’; ‘Men are feeling inferior towards women because women are earning more salary than their husbands’; ‘Some men lost their certainty in the family’; ‘Men lost their knowledge about their role as father’.
These findings link to those of Bergh (
The findings mainly suggest that the Christian father should be present throughout, as he has an important role to fulfil within the family environment. Fathers should not only be present, but also involved in and responsible for the lives of the children. Furthermore, fathers should act as role models to other people besides their own family. A further finding was the importance of God within the family and the godly role the father should play within this context. The inference can be drawn that fathers should first love God and then have love for their family. Other essential findings were the obstacles in the way of the fathering role. These impediments included politics, the Government and the changed role of the mother in the family. Such obstacles may cause that the role of the father within the family set-up is disrespected.
The overall view of the participants was that the father should be more involved in family matters. As figurehead, fathers should be more responsible in their role, tasks and obligations within a nuclear family environment. With the help and support of the mother, the father’s role will be more functional and appreciated in the family. Fathers’ children will look up to them as their ideal role model and mentor in life.
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
When referring to this group of mothers, the term