Understanding the structural withdrawal of fathers from early childhood education: A PRISMA-inspired systematic review and ecological framework

This critical integrative review examines structural and institutional constraints on paternal involvement in early childhood education (ECE), drawing on literature published between 2016 and 2026, identified through database, citation, and official-source searches, and on earlier foundational sources. Structural withdrawal is used as an analytical term for recurrent restrictions on, or uneven allocation of, fathers’ engagement, accessibility, and responsibility; it does not imply a measured decline over time. Ecological systems, social role, and work–family perspectives are used to interpret relationships among employment conditions, school practices, household care arrangements, and caregiving expectations. International findings are distinguished from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) evidence. The synthesis identifies five themes: working time and leave, the gendered division of care, cultural constructions of fatherhood, school communication practices, and Gulf household and residence arrangements. UAE workplace studies describe both organizational support and practical constraints, while Emirati shared-reading reports document educational engagement among participating fathers; together, these findings qualify assumptions of uniform flexibility, stigma, or disengagement. Paid domestic care is treated as one household configuration whose implications depend on task allocation and family resources. The resulting UAE-focused ecological framework proposes three pathways, through usable caregiving time, access to educational information, and the allocation of recurring responsibility, each conditioned by citizenship, residence, occupation, and household resources. Policy implications prioritize access to existing leave and workplace support and locally evaluated school measures. The evidence does not establish national prevalence or causal effects.