1. Background Literature In my research I learned many different problems that arise from kids not having their fathers in their lives. America is a country with the greatest divorce rate out of all countries. Also a study done in 1994 shows that 24 percent of homes in America are mother only homes. This goes to show the huge amount of kids in America without father figures. From growing up in a household with both parents, I realize how blessed I was having both of them for my entire childhood. In my research I found a report that says children who grow up without fathers are five times as likely to be poor and ten more times likely to be extremely poor. Another striking statistic that I found is that children with incarcerated fathers are 7 times more likely to go to prison in there lifetime. I feel that the main reason for this is the unlearned ability to differentiate from wrong and right. Also when children hear of their father doing crimes they may began to propose questions such as, “If my dad does bad things why does it matter if I do to.” These type of thoughts is a gateway to criminal behavior and is a huge problem. Without a father figure, children miss out on loads of knowledge that is helpful for ones life. In a child's life their most influential people are their teachers and then their parents. So if a third of that equation is missing because of a missing father. Many beneficial traits will be excluded from that childs life. Landon Pothast University of Cincinnati, (Middle Childhood Education) pothaslr@mail.uc.edu Introduction The purpose of this study is to investigate the social, emotional, and cognitive developmental issues of students growing up in a home without a father or a male figure in their household. I drew interest in this topic after observations at a local school. This school had many students that have fatherless homes. There are many issues with that have risen in these students that I believe have strong correlation with not having a father in their household. Methods For my observations I volunteered in the UC mentors for kid program. This program is designed to help under privileged students by giving them a college mentor to hang out with them. US mentors meet with our buddies once a week during each a semester. We do different activities with them each week. These activities are strongly focused to get kids to think about college and other opportunities that are out their after primary schooling. Also many of these students don’t have parents that went to college so visiting a college campus is a totally new experience for the students. Some of the activities that are included in the visits are presentations by different organization like the Army ROTC or college sports teams. These presentations are great for these kids because it gives them a chance to dream and imagine what they might want to do after high school. Research Question What are some of the limitations that arise in young boys that do not have fathers to grow up with them in their lives? Professional Implications This investigation of the topic has introduced me to many challenges of the American Education System. The American society is such a diverse culture that spreads from many different cultures and ethnic groups. It is truly a melting pot of people with all types of backgrounds. Also it introduces me to different social problems that arise in children. Everyone is different and everyone grows up in different types of settings that change the way people think, act, and learn in school. This causes huge difficulties for teachers in schools. Adjusting their teaching techniques to help everyone in the class is truly difficult. This research project gave me insight how this one problem of absent father during a childs early life can cause severe problems for them in their future. References Wilford, J. (1994, May 17). Study paints bleak picture for kids without fathers. Los Angelas Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/293058529/abstract?accountid =2909 http://search.proquest.com/docview/293058529/abstract?accountid =2909 Mary Margaret Thomes Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Feb., 1968), pp. 89-96 Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/350226 Balcom, D.A. (2010 August 6) Absent Fathers: Effects on Abandoned Sons. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222607805 http://search.proquest.com/docview/222607805 Anonymous (2013, June 9) Father’s Day Without Father Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1398593810http://search.proquest.com/docview/1398593810 Why I Chose This Topic I drew interest in this topic after observations at a local school. This school had many students that have fatherless homes. There are many issues with that have risen in these students that I believe have strong correlation with not having a father in their household. Many reasons that I things that they don’t have fathers in their life is there actions toward others. Many of them didn’t know how to treat girls in the classroom. Also many of them had a lot of aggression. Which in my research shows is very common in boys without fathers. Also I wanted to learn about how the future of students without fathers would pan out on average. I was curious about how there careers would go and there economic status would be.