Dr. Andrew Gibson
Prior to the 1970s, parent education programs consisted of:
  • An "expert," usually in the area of child development, imparting information to audiences of parents about issues such as, children's growth in areas like walking, talking, and getting along with others.
  • Suggestions for productive and healthy ways to rear and help their children. Lists of recommended readings by well-known child or parent authorities .
  • "One shot", informational presentations sponsored by schools, child guidance clinics, or parent groups.
In the 1970's, the focus of parent education programs changed from information dissemination to parenting skill-building. These "how to" programs provided parents with:
  • A clearly enunciated parenting philosophy.
  • A set of skills and strategies for dealing with a variety of normal/typical childrearing challenges and problems.
  • A sequenced series of training sessions, usually 1 - 8 weeks in length.
  • Guidebooks, "in-class" exercises, and application-based homework assignments.
  • A facilitator "trained" to use a specific curriculum, e.g. Systematic Training for Effective Parenting STEP), Parenting Effectiveness Training (PET), Confident Parenting: Survival Training Skills.
After the 1970s, most parent education and training programs combined these approaches into audience-specific curricular approaches for groups such as:
  • African-American and Latino parents.
  • "High Risk" parents, e.g. teen parents, divorcing parents, abusive and/or neglecting parents.
  • Parents of children with exceptionalities, i.e., ADHD, mental retardation, conduct disorders.
Beginning in the late 1980s - early 1990s, parent educators engaged in these traditional community-based programs of parent education began to see parent participants who:
  • Were "mandated" to attend classes by courts of law and/or state departments of protection.
  • Were reporting atypical and pathological child behaviors.
  • Were living in unstable and toxic home environments with "out of control" children.
  • Were clearly not being served by any of the traditional approaches to parent education.
At the same time, reports by the media and numerous governmental agencies documented:
  • The dramatic changes in American family life -- high rates of divorce and remarriage, families with both parents in the workforce, high number of teen pregnancies, increases in juvenile delinquency, crime, violence and gang-related activities.
  • The prevalence of chronic developmental, learning, behavioral and mental health disorders in childhood and adolescence.
  • The growing need of many parents for special training and support in order to survive and to stabilize their families.
These reports with their recommendations and funding for "specialized" parent training and family supports resulted in the development of a new form of parenting education where the orientation shifted from:
  • Prevention to intervention.
  • A 'parent-child' focus to a 'family systems' focus.
  • A 'single service/single expert' education delivery system to a 'multi-service/multi-disciplinary team' therapeutic delivery system.
As a result, multi-systemic therapies emerged in order to address the needs of families with children at risk. These were family-centered interventions that were often focused on a home-based format. Common themes of these programs included:
  • Program success based on prevention of placing children outside the home.
  • Therapeutic services delivered to all members of the family.
  • Combination of in-home services and intensive case management involving linking families to community resources.
  • Philosophical roots in systems theories, ecological theories and social learning theories.
For many families, the therapies and interventions described above have been successful. To be sure, many parents are grateful to such programs for helping to bring their children under control and bringing health and peace to their homes.




© 2010 Andrew Gibson
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