Abstract:

Increased research on the role of father in the families who have children with profound intellectual disability is becoming more and more visible both in Poland and worldwide. So far research on parenting focused on mothers as the study group. There are multiple reasons for that, such as the fact that men take over the matters related to financial security of the family which entails prolonged staying away from home and chronic physical and mental fatigue. They also frequently leave their families. This results in the lack of research on the role of fathers in the process of education and rehabilitation of the children with profound intellectual disability. It should also be pointed out that, compared to other degrees of disability, profound disability is the least researched and discussed topic in scientific literature both in Poland and worldwide. The main purpose of the research conducted in Poland in 2018 and 2019 was theoretical, empirical and practical analysis of various aspects of fatherhood in the families raising children with profound intellectual disability. This paper is presenting the activity of fathers in the process of education and therapy of the children with profound intellectual disability based on their own subjective experience and reports. The information obtained during deepened interviews with the fathers served as the basis for a description and analysis of the following: commitment, behaviour, activity, interaction focused on education and therapy, requirements and strategies of coping with challenging situations. The study involved 15 fathers raising children with profound intellectual disability. The interviewees were from 55 to 74 years old. The men came from different regions of Poland. Each interviewee signed a written consent to participate in the study. The analysis concerned their various experiences over the years and their impact on their role as fathers through the key question: What is it like to be father? The interviews lasted from 120 to 240 minutes and were recorded on a voice recorder. We used a narrative interview which is similar to in-depth, free conversations. Through follow-up questions, we were trying to encourage the interviewees to tell a story of their experience of social exclusion. We analysed the information shared during the participant interviews using analytical methods that align with a grounded theory because it involves building a theory on the basis of systematically obtained data that directly relate to the observed aspect of social reality. Our analysis of the transcribed interviews was guided by GT principles, which include limiting the researcher’s pre-conceptualisation and focusing on theoretical sampling. We divided the data into smaller units, called incidents, which we then conceptualised and related to other incidents. Our general analytical procedure was to constantly and iteratively compare incidents. The research has shown that the problems largely stemmed from the stereotypes about the lack of activity of the fathers in the course of education of the child with disability still prevailing in Poland. The qualitative aspect of research enabled to show the involvement of fathers, the requirements faced by them in the process of education of their children with profound intellectual disability, their activity for effective education and the ways in which they have coped with challenging situations over the years.

Keywords:

Father, education, profound intellectual disability.