I. Why examine parenting education?
A. We already know a lot about best practice (DAP) in ECE
1. Much of the work to be done is to disseminate that information widely and put into practice what we know
B. Less is understood about best practice in parenting and parent education
1. Parents have become a focus of many policy conversations
a. Welfare reform policy and the implications for familie
b. Parent involvement in children’s education
c. Parent training in court-ordered situations
d. Parental influence on children’s devel. (i.e., brain research)
e. Work/family policy debate; issues re: mothers in work force
2. We need to know what parent education programs are out there, what works, what doesn’t work and why
3. We need to establish a framework of best practice as it relates to child-rearing and family relationships
4. Such a framework will have implications for policies and setting realistic goals for parenting and family support programs
II. Lecture format
A. Review family support principles (as distinct from parenting education)
B. Compare/contrast predominant approaches to parenting education in terms of theoretical frameworks, tools employed, and major contributions
1. Analyze the goals, structure, and methods of these approaches to parenting education from a family support perspective
C. Propose guidelines for parent education program that reflect family support principles
III. Parent education in the U.S. has been around in various forms since 1600’s
A. History has been characterized by shifts in focus, content, and methods'
1. Reflects changing social concerns and evolving attitudes
a. Moral education
b. Information sharing, skill-building
c. Social support
d. Changing attitudes about child abuse, discipline, childhood
B. Parenting education programs reflect
1. Different goals, methodologies, philosophies, and assumptions…
a. About children, the role of parents, the goal and nature of parent-child relationships, and behavioral change
2. If we don’t recognize this, we can’t look critically at the content and methods, in terms of whether a program is advancing our intended ideas, values, and goals
C. When we speak of parenting education, what do we mean?
1. Parent-child conflict (managing it and minimizing it)
2. Family communication (encouraging it and sustaining it)
3. Decision-making (bedtime, meals, homework, chores, leisure)
4. Widespread difficulties (sibling rivalry, discipline, school performance and academic achievement, tantrums/belligerence/acting out)
5. Training parents as advocates (the weakest element; well-intentioned but not much "how to"): empowerment/policy focus
6. Parenting education programs need to be evaluated accordingly
IV. Family Support Principles
A. Work with the family as a whole
1. Respect the integrity of the family unit, rather than providing services to one member of a family
B. Create opportunitites for families to feel empowered to act on their own behalf
1. By focusing on family strengths rather than deficits
2. By building self-esteem and self-confidence
3. Promote the development of life-management skills and assist families in attaining greater control of their life situation
C. Recognize the importance of peer support
1. Provide settings where families can support & learn from each other
D. Be community-based and sensitive to the cultural, ethnic, and religious characteristics of communities
E. Link families with needed resources through strong collaboration with community agencies and services
F. Recognize the need to work with families over a substantial period of time
G. Anticipate, foster, and nurture family ownership of the program
V. Family Focus Principles
A. Parenthood is a stage of adult development
B. Each parent’s sense of confidence and competence influences their capacity to raise children
C. The most effective approach to families emanates from a perspective of health and well-being
D. Child-rearing techniques and values are influenced by cultural and community values and mores
E. To function well, families require social support
F. Parents need info and insights about child development and parenting
G. Families receiving support are empowered to advocate on their own behalf
H. The most effective programs for parents involve them in making decisions about their own lives
VI. Predominant approaches to parenting education
A. Behavioral (social learning theory)
B. Client-centered (Rogers) – Parent Effectiveness Training
C. Adlerian (as implemented by Dreikurs) – STEP
VII. Behavioral Parent Training (most widespread in families/schools)
A. Theoretical framework
1. Children learn behavior through an interaction of reinforcement processes and modeling from others
2. Parents inadvertently reinforce non-compliant behavior
3. Goal is to teach particular, systematic procedures intended to increase children’s appropriate behavior and decrease inappropriate behavior
4. Not as much an overall approach to family life; widely applied to discrete behaviors (eating disorders, sleep problems, bed-wetting)
B. Tools
1. Contingent positive attention (praise, rewards, affection)
2. Punishment (withdrawal of rewards, spanking, time-out)
3. Extinction (withholding attention)
4. Differential reinforcement of other behavior (ignore negative behavior and reward positive behavior)
C. Contributions
1. Lends itself well to empirical evaluations (parents keep records of compliant behavior; set and measure behavioral objectives)
2. Could be useful in training parents in particular skills (increasing responsiveness; reading/talking/playing with children)
D. Weaknesses (in terms of family support principles)
1. No attention paid to social context, neighborhood, racism/classism
2. Unidirectional (parentà child)
3. No focus on parents’ strengths, struggles, needs as developing person
VIII. Client-centered parenting education (PET; Gordon)
A. Theoretical framework
1. Children are master’s of their own destiny
2. Parents’ role: provide facilitating environment that encourages development
3. Goal is not behavior modification
4. Goal is to enhance parent-child relationships, improve communication, develop mutual respect
B. Tools
1. Opposes all forms of punishment: shouldn’t be necessary to rely on fear as an incentive in raising children
2. Active, nonjudgmental listening
3. I-messages
4. Win-win conflict resolution (focus on mutually satisfying solutions)
C. Contributions
1. Recognizes and accepts that parents are imperfect
a. Brings the role of parents in parenting education into clearer focus (family relationships are interactive, reciprocal)
2. Recognizes the link between parents’ states of mind and their fluctuating ability to handle children
3. More equitable assignment of responsibility for the difficulties in parent-child relationships
a. Parents and children are capable of flexible and rigid behavior
b. Doesn’t assume that any bothersome child behavior is changeable or rightfully changed
c. Encourages parents to monitor and modify their own behavior and attitudes as well
D. Weaknesses (in terms of family support principles)
1. Doesn’t provide tools or theory to address parents’ varying capacities
2. Doesn’t take full context into account (policies, oppression)
3. Focuses on conflict resolution; no focus on proactive parenting (trust-building, encouraging closeness in good, unconflicted times)
IX. Adlerian parenting education (Children: The Challenge /Dreikurs; STEP/Dinkmeyer)
A. Theoretical framework
1. Children misbehave when feeling inadequate or discouraged
2. Parents interpret misbehavior and act to increase child’s sense of belonging so he can choose to behave with more social interest
3. Goal is not behavior modification; firm rejection of punishment
4. Deep commitment to democracy in family relationships/functioning
B. Tools
1. Diagnosis and remediation: diagnose child’s goal in misbehaving (attention-getting; power and control) and determine how to interrupt the parent-child interaction that sustains it
2. Natural and logical consequences: requires no parental intervention; doesn’t rely on power play
3. Family Council: replaces parents as source of family authority
a. Least implemented concept; arguably the most revolutionary
C. Contributions
1. Useful to parents of older children
a. Minimizes power struggles that parents and teens engage in
2. Highlights the relevance and usefulness of parenting education throughout the life course of a family
3. More an approach to family life; less a method for handling conflict
D. Weaknesses (in terms of family support principles)
1. Least evaluated approach; least implemented in pure form
2. Child’s behavior is still treated as intentional and rational and focus is on treating the behavior, rather than the roots of the misbehavior
3. Little emphasis on the impact of social context
X. Parent education programs should reflect what we know about parent support principles in order to enhance effectiveness
A. "Leading Parent Groups"
1. Ground Rules for Group Process
2. Structuring A Parent Meeting