"Where are we going, Dad" : a multiple case study of Chinese fathers' parenting styles shown in the TV show

Abstract

The present study explored Chinese fathers’ parenting styles in early childhood education through a Chinese reality TV show, “where are we going, Dad”. This is a multiple case study to examine the five fathers’ parenting styles in the TV show, according to Baumrind’s three parenting typology. The five fathers are Zhiying Lin, Liang Zhang, Liang Tian, Yuelun Wang, and Tao Guo, Their parenting styles were examined using Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) by Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, and Hart (1995). Every case was observed for 12 times and altogether sixty evaluation forms were collected and analyzed. The results indicated that: (1) five of them were authoritative, (2) The fathers with older children tended to use authoritarian parenting style, whereas the fathers of younger children tended to be authoritative; (3) The fathers with girls tended to have less parental control, whereas the fathers with boys tended to have more parental control; and (4) the Taiwanese father, Lin, tended to be more liberal and authoritative, whereas the Mainland China father, Guo showed more authoritarian sides in parenting.