Parenting education needs and preferences of parents of young children

Although this research surveyed parents, primarily Caucasian mothers of preschool-age children, in a geographic area with access to a variety of resources for families, a number of general conclusions can be made. The results support the assumption that parents of young children have a need and interest in help with parenting. Further research is needed to explore how parents' attitudes, education, and experiences with different delivery methods are related to parents' actual parenting behaviors (Spoth & Redmond, 1995). Parents of young children in the study were similar in their parent education interests and learning preferences. The results indicate that higher education or lack of it does make a difference in parents' preferred ways of learning about parenting and in their perceived needs and interest in particular content. There were differences between the two groups in levels of helpfulness of sources of parenting information and strategies for learning about parenting, preferred parent education methods, and interest in parenting topics. Interest in a greater number of topics was expressed by non-college-educated parents, perhaps indicating a perception of greater need or less accessibility to information. Attention needs to be given by those responsible for parent education to higher education as part of the ecology of their audience. Parents who have attended college are possibly more independent learners, making parenting information more accessible through books and articles. An important step in moving parents of young children from interest to participation in parent education is understanding and responding to educational and cognitive levels as well as to individual interests and needs. A survey is helpful as the beginning point of understanding and providing a more appropriate match between parent education and the audience served. Parent education is a dynamic interaction between program and participants. Response to programs is unique and varied (Powell, 1988). Therefore, programs need to be flexible and respond with ongoing informal and formal assessment in order to meet the changing needs and interests of participants. Strom (1985) suggested that multiple sources, including parents, children, teachers, and publications of experts, should be consulted about the development of the content of parent education. When the separate views of multiple sources are combined, the resulting perspective can be used to identify parental preferences, interests, and needs for planning parent education. © 2000 Human Sciences Press, Inc.