Men and fathers face numerous challenges and experience issues with their physical health, mental health, and well-being (Shafer & Bellamy, 2016). Thus, this study seeks to help social workers understand men's issues and challenges to better serve the population of men and fathers. This study is guided by two research questions: 1) what are the sociocultural factors that influence social work practice with men and fathers? 2) what curricula are being utilized across the United States that address the population of men and fathers? Articles revealed understanding help seeking behaviors among men, men's perceptions of their experiences with social service agencies, and social worker's perceptions and engagement of men are all factors that influence social work practice with men and fathers.

Using content analysis, this study analyzed eleven syllabi from courses across the United States that focus on men, masculinity, and fatherhood. The syllabi were analyzed for patterns to understand the common elements and these results were in turn incorporated into the development of a course that focuses on men and fathers at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). The course is entitled: The Role of Men and Fathers in Families and Civil Society. A needs assessment was also utilized to understand bachelor's student's perceptions of men and fathers, their ability to work with this population, and their desire for a course on this topic in the School of Social Work at CSULA. The results from this study revealed a positive response to the course as the majority of the respondents indicated that they feel they do not have the skills needed to work effectively with men and fathers and that the proposed course is needed at CSULA. This study adds to existing social work knowledge and expands the knowledge base related to social work education.