Poster #102 - Learning from Parents' Perceptions to Improve Parenting Education Programs

• In Event: Poster Session 14

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Postmodernism argues that knowledge must be contextualized and understood within the world today and within different contexts such as gender, race, and socioeconomic status (Bloland, 1995; Creswell, 2016). For example, an upper-class parent of two might value different aspects of an educational program than a lower-class parent of five. Researchers have previously acknowledged the importance and usefulness of understanding participants’ perceptions in building and revising program curricula, specifically in the context of parenting education (Stanley, et al., 2017). Using this lens, we argue that it is important to understand what aspects of a parenting education course parents perceive to be important and what they perceive they have learned the most from. It is valuable for researchers and practitioners alike to recognize these activities, improve and build upon them, as well as to be able to examine whether such activities are quantitatively impacting families in the ways that parents perceive them to be doing so.
METHODS: Parents completed an online questionnaire after a free, trauma-informed, 12-week program for caregivers and children (ages 0-17) at a family support center located in the Mountain West. The program aimed at improving parent-child relationships, teaching parenting strategies, and helping caregivers deal with stress and understand child development. Families participated together in activities as well as in their own age-appropriate support groups. Although both parents participated in the course (when the household was a two-parent household), only the primary caregiver from each family was asked to complete the questionnaire. Eighty parents completed the questionnaire from the beginning of 2021 to the fall of 2022. At the end of the questionnaire, which parents completed at post-test, 3 months and 12 months after the end of the course, parents were asked several open-ended questions. Questions used in these analyses are: What activities and information do you remember from this course? What were your favorite activities from the course? What specifically did you learn in the course?
RESULTS: First, more than other things, parents remember learning about how to encourage their children’s development at different stages, and specific calming techniques to help both themselves and their children calm their emotions. Second, parents reported that the tie-dye, melting ice, and big and small brain activities were the most enjoyable, memorable, and helpful. These three activities were mentioned between eighteen and thirty times each with the next most mentioned activity being mentioned twelve times. Lastly, parents described how they learned to improve their parenting, the value of family time, and how promote and encourage family growth. Details of activities and descriptions of how parents perceive what they learned from those activities will be provided.
DISCUSSION: It is important for researchers and practitioners who are building programs and curricula to remember what families perceive as being valuable. This represents a valuable access point to parents that can be leveraged to teach important parenting ideas and information, especially as trauma-informed care becomes increasingly valued and utilized within family support programs (Cutuli, et al., 2019; Lindstrom Johnson, et al., 2018).

Authors

• Kristin Murphy, Utah State University

• Vonda Jump Norman, Utah State University

• Tasha Olson, The Family Place Utah
  Presenting Author

• Sheryl Goodey, the fami

• Katie Griffiths