Parenting Education
Looking To The Future
There are challenges related to parenting education. For example, no established standards exist for parent educators. Groups from the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) and U.S. Cooperative Extension are grappling with issues of certification and professional standards. In some models of certification, a bachelor's degree in a related subject is required. Some argue that such a requirement unnecessarily eliminates people who could be effective in working with parents. According to criteria of progress toward professional status (Czaplewski and Jorgensen 1993), parenting education has a long way to go to become fully professionalized.
Other problems in parenting education include the wide range of approaches and orientations, including some programs that are not in harmony with research; it is difficult for parenting education to be sensitive to differences in cultures and values; it is also increasingly difficult to motivate parents to participate in group meetings. There is still much to be learned about how to change parent behavior.
Nonetheless, parenting education continues to play a vital role in preparing people for parenting. In the challenging tasks of parenting, most parents welcome the help that it offers. As research continues, both the content and process of parenting education can be expected to improve, resulting in better family relationships and healthier, more balanced children.
See also: ADOLESCENT PARENTHOOD; ATTACHMENT: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS; CHILDHOOD; CONDUCT DISORDER; CONFLICT: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS; COPARENTING; DISCIPLINE; DIVORCE: EFFECTS ON CHILDREN; FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION; FAMILY LITERACY; FAMILY MINISTRY; FATHERHOOD; MOTHERHOOD; PARENTING STYLES; SEXUAL COMMUNICATION: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS; SPANKING; THERAPY: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS; TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD
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Other Resources
America's Promise. Available from http://www.americaspromise.org.
Asset-Based Community Development Institute. Available from http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd.html.
Children, Youth, and Families Education and Resource Network. Available from http://cyfernet.org.
Communities that Care. Available from http://www. preventionscience.com.
National Extension Parent Education Model. Available from http://www.cyfernet.org/parenting_practices/preface.html.
Search Institute. Available from http://www. search-institute.org.
H. WALLACE GODDARD
STEVEN A. DENNIS
Additional topics
Marriage and Family EncyclopediaPregnancy & ParenthoodParenting Education - Content Of Parenting Education, Behavior-management Approaches, Relationship-enhancement Approaches, The National Model Of Parenting Education