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Chapter 12 - Adapting Programs for Diverse Settings
Questions/Problems for Discussion and Review
Class Discussion
Can parenting educators be effective if they have never had children themselves? Discuss your thinking about whether parenting education is a profession or a discipline within the profession of education. Should parent educators be required to have at least a baccalaureate degree in order to practice?
Research Problems/Activities
Where do the theories presented in this chapter (humanism, behaviorism, and so on) fall in relation to Murray’s criteria (page 193)? Compare the requirements for the Certified Family Life Educator designation and the competencies needed for parenting educators listed on page ____. How do they differ? Does a parenting educator need to know the same things as a Certified Family Life Educator? What would a community-based parenting program using an Adlerian approach look like if you were to design one for your neighborhood resource center? Apply Doherty’s levels of family involvement model (discussed in Chapter 2) to Harman and Brim’s three modes of instruction for parenting education: the individual mode, the group mode, and the mass mode. Investigate the availability of parenting education programs in your community. In what settings are they held (health care, community education, extension)? From the descriptions, can you tell what theory of child development they are based on (behaviorism, Adlerian, temperament, and so on)?
Case Study Design
Julian and Marie are the parents of 13-year-old Ruby. Ruby refuses to clean her room, and it has become quite a mess. Describe how Julian and Marie would react if they parented using each of the styles described by Baumrind: permissive, authoritative, and authoritarian. How would a parenting educator following a behavioral approach suggest that Julian and Marie deal with Ruby and her room? One following an Adlerian approach?
Box 12.1 - Steps in Designing Family Life Education Programs for Business
1. Realistically appraise your ability to develop and provide services.
Why do you want to develop a FLE program for business? What will this program offer to the employees? What resources do you have to support the start-up phase of the program? Is your agency or sponsoring group willing to make a commitment to provide services?
2. Select your target organization.
Do you or your board have members who can assist in making contacts? Which worksites do your clients come from? Are there any potential buyer organizations that are known for their interest in human resources or that have a history of community involvement? Have you or your agency had any previous formal or informal contacts with any organizations?
3. Research the organization.
What is the size of the organization? hat is the relationship between employees and management? What are the workforce characteristics or specific workforce concerns (alcoholism rate or well-being of retirees, for example)? Are there any related service programs in existence?
4. Schedule a meeting.
Identify the persons within the organization who are responsible for such programs. Arrange a meeting, bringing a descriptive brochure that you can leave with them. Help the organization’s representatives to identify what some of the needs are that these programs might address. Be clear about what you and your agency can and cannot provide. Describe other existing agency programs so they can get a sense of where the seminar service fits in with the total service delivery of your agency.
5. Follow up on the contact.
Send a letter referring to the visit and suggesting what the next steps are. Keep in touch personally. Identify whether additional persons should be involved.
Note. From Life Education in the Workplace, by K. Apgar, D. P. Riley, J. T. Eaton, & S. Diskin, 1982, New York: Alliance for Children and Families. Copyright 1982 by Alliance for Children and Families, reprinted by permission of Manticore Publishers.
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