Asian Journal of Counselling, 2003, Vol. 10 No.

2, 147168
The Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association 2004

[Theoretical and Issues Forum]

Parent Education: Revision and Vision

Ching-Man Lam
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

This article revisits the purpose, nature, and meaning of parent

education and foresees alternative practices for changing times. The
article first reexamines the common conceptions of parent education
and identifies the dominant themes underlying parent education. The
revisit reveals a need to develop a contemporary vision and a new
focus of parent education. This article suggests to reconceptualize
parent education as parent empowerment and to transform parent
education from a private issue to a community responsibility. It
further suggests that parent education practice should shift from
knowledge inoculation to whole-person development. The form
of practice is to move from professionalism to partnership.

Parents are the earliest and closest mentors of their children; the views,
values, and attitudes of parents have an enormous impact on their
childrens development. Effective parent education is, therefore, critical.
If we are going to provide an adequate parent education service, we need
to have a vision of its goals. This article identifies the common conceptions
of parent education, examines the ideology and assumptions about parent
education, and addresses the limitations of the contemporary practice.
This revisit leads to the redefining of the meaning and goals of parent
education that is, to reconceptualize parent education as parent

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ching-Man Lam, Department of

Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, N.T., Hong Kong. E-mail:
[email protected]

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Ching-Man Lam

empowerment so as to recognize parents strengths, competence, and

possibilities for change. It further suggests that parent education practice
should shift from knowledge inoculation to whole-person development
and to move from professionalism to partnership. Finally, this article
addresses the family-state relations in parent education and the crucial
importance of community climate in child development. A supportive, non-
blaming community climate and a non-judgmental culture is essential for
parent education to be more successful.

Common Conceptions of Parent Education

A literature review reveals that three dominant perspectives have shaped
conceptions of parent education: (1) the parent-mediated perspective; (2) the
systemic perspective; and (3) the parent empowerment perspective.

Traditionally, parent education practices have been dominated by the

parent-mediated perspective: parent education is viewed as a process of
imparting appropriate knowledge and skills to parents to improve parent-
child relationships and, consequently, childrens development (Mahoney,
Kaiser et al., 1999). Studies (Maccoby & Martin, 1983; Rollins & Thomas,
1979) have identified many links between a childs psychopathology and the
parent-child relationship. These studies support the views that parents play
an important role in the development and maintenance of psychopathology in
children (Hetherington & Martin, 1986), and that changing child-rearing
practices, improving family communication patterns, or changing parents
cognition are effective responses to misbehavior in children. Most authors
agree that poor parenting is usually characterized by non-supportive or
authoritative parenting style (Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, &
Fraleigh, 1987; Gray & Steinberg, 1999), judgmental, distracting, and
devaluing communication (Alexander, Waldron, Barton, & Mas, 1989),
parental inconsistency (Fletcher, Steinberg, & Sellers, 1999), or parental
over-control (Lin, 1997; Weller & Luchterhane, 1977). This perspective

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perceived improvements in childrens behavior as mediated by parents.

As a result, a number of parent-mediated educational programs were
initiated to help parents change their parenting attitude and methods.

Most popular parent education programs available today have adopted

the parent-mediated perspective. Their goal is to train parents to be more
effective teachers of their children. For example, behavioral modification
programs (Alvy, 1994; Dembo, Switzer, & Lauritzen, 1985; Lamb &
Lamb, 1978) based on social learning theory assume that human behavior
is learned in social interaction; thus, childrens misbehavior represents
inadequate learning, and their parents should be taught ways to eliminate
undesirable and strengthen desirable behaviors in children. Parent
education programs based on Adlerian psychology assume that a childs
misbehavior reflects a need to belong, and parents are taught to support
and create a positive relationship for better child development. In Parent
Effectiveness Training courses (Gordon, 1970, 1980) based on humanistic
psychology and client-centered parent education (Lamb & Lamb, 1978),
parents are told that the most effective means of influencing their childrens
behavior are listening actively, and showing respect and acceptance of
the childs feelings. In rational-emotive parent education (Ellis & Harper,
1975; Lamb & Lamb, 1978), parents are challenged to question their
own irrational beliefs and to train themselves to think and behave more
rationally, so that they will react more appropriately to their childrens
behavior.

The second dominant perspective of parent education, which is based

on recent developments in family studies, involves conceptualizing parent-
child relationships in terms of larger family systems (Belsky, 1990;
Belsky, Rovine, & Fish, 1989; Stafford & Bayer, 1993) and the social
context beyond family boundaries (Peterson & Rollins, 1987). Proponents
of this perspective point out that parent-child interaction is bidirectional
rather than unidirectional (Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992), and that a

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childs development is influenced not only by parents, but also by other

family members and people outside the family. They advocate an
interactive or systemic perspective on parent education (Mahoney, Kaiser
et al., 1999; Turnbull, Blue-Banning, Turbiville, & Park, 1999). Parent
education programs take a wider view, focusing on the dynamics of the
family and the relationship between family members. Like the parent-
mediated perspective, the systemic perspective considers that the goal of
parent education is the strengthening of the family to create better
outcomes of children (Mahoney, Kaiser et al., 1999; Turnbull et al., 1999).
Parent education practices operating from this perspective also view
parents as the agent and children as the targets of change (Patterson,
Reid, & Dishion, 1992).

The third perspective to parent education, which has emerged from

theories of empowerment (Solomon, 1976, 1987), emphasizes recognizing
and respecting parents for fulfilling their responsibilities competently. It
emphasizes on the importance of family empowerment as a means of
developing appropriate strategies to solve family problems (Fine & Lee,
2001). This perspective is particularly suitable for parent education for
disadvantaged families and families with special need children (Le Gacy,
2001; Vernberg & Pavon, 2001). The Families First program, which is
based on the Homebuilders model (Kinney, Haapala, & Booth, 1991),
the Home Start program, where parent volunteers work alongside
professional workers (Shinman, 1996a, 1996b), and the Video Home
Training parenting program, which focuses on the communication patterns
of family members (Gerris, Van As, Wels, & Janssens, 1998), are examples
of parent education programs based on the empowerment perspective.
Although many advocates of parent education (Gerris et al., 1998) favor
the empowerment perspective, this perspective is relatively unpopular due
to the supremacy of parent-mediated perspective.

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The Dominant Assumptions Underlying Parent Education

Two central themes emerge from the examination of existing
perspectives of parent education. The first is the nurture assumption
(Harris, 1995; Lykken, 2000). It maintains that children are shaped and
socialized primarily by the guidance and modeling of their parents, and,
therefore, family environment plays a significant role in child development.
Parenting is not a self-sufficient and self-sustaining act, but is inherently
directed toward the well-being and functional behavioral development of
a child. People who are inadequately socialized tend to incompetent parents
and produce inadequately socialized children who, in turn, become
incompetent parents (Lykken, 2000).

Various studies have examined how family and parental factors predict
child development (Maccoby & Martin, 1983; Otto & Atkinson, 1997;
Rollins & Thomas, 1979). Many links have been discovered between youth
crime and child psychopathology on the one hand, and parental
psychopathology, the parent-child relationship, and the family structure
on the other. Since it is believed that improving family environment, child-
rearing practices, and family communication patterns will diminish child
psychopathology, parent education programs focus on discouraging
dysfunctional parental practices (Abidin, 1976a, 1976b; Maccoby &
Martin, 1983; Rollins & Thomas, 1979), improving parent-child
communication (Gordon, 1970, 1980), and strengthening the relationship
between parents (Haley, 1971; Minuchin, 1974). Parents are responsible
for creating a healthy family life and should be educated in effective
parenting. Proponents of the nurture assumption believe in the critical
influence of parents and advocate the idea of parental licensure (Lykken,
2000; Westman, 1994).

The second theme is the notion of education. Theoretical and empirical

reviews demonstrate the strong influence of the education model on parent

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education, especially those programs that are based on the parent-mediated

or systemic perspective. This notion of education reflects the influence of
the compensatory education model (Robinson, Rosenberg, & Beckman,
1988). The foremost goal of parent education is to teach parents a more
functional child-rearing style and appropriate strategies to solve family
problems (Fine & Lee, 2001).

According to the Websters New World Dictionary (1988), education

is the process of training and developing the knowledge, skill, mind and
character (p. 432). The term parent education, then, suggests a unilateral
transfer of information, knowledge, and skills from teachers to learners,
from professionals to parents, or from helpers to those needing help. The
educational view of parent education is closely related to the nurture
assumption, both of which hold that parental and familial functioning are
related to childrens functioning (Lamb & Lamb, 1978), and that it is
essential for parents to have knowledge and skills to fulfill their roles
(Hebbeler & Gerlach-Downie, 1998; Mahoney, Boyce, Fewell, Spiker,
& Wheeden, 1998). Parent education has been defined as systematic
activities implemented by professionals to assist parents in accomplishing
specific goals or outcomes with their children (Mahoney, Kaiser et al.,
1999, p. 131).

The nurture assumption has been criticized for ignoring the impact of
poverty, community subculture, and genetic factors (Harris, 1998), and
for laying all the blame for childrens problems on parents (Gerris et al.,
1998). The education model of parent education has also been criticized
for holding parents entirely responsible (Gerris et al., 1998), as well as
being narrow and outdated (Dunst, 1999; Winton, Sloop, & Rodriguez,
1999). These criticisms of the nurture assumption and the education model
have serious implications for the development of parent education and
suggest a pressing need to develop a new vision of parent education.

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Reconceptualizing Parent Education as Parent Empowerment

The first task in developing a new vision of parent education is to

reconceptualize its definition. Although parent education has been used
extensively in recent decades, its connotations are quite negative. First,
parent education conveys an implicit message that parents possess
inadequate, inefficient, or insufficient abilities that are in need of
remediation (Winton, Sloop, & Rodriguez, 1999). It suggests that parents
lack the knowledge required to rear children adequately. In fact, parents
are sensitive to these implicit criticisms and many parents react negatively
to the concept of parent education (Greene, 1999). The term parent
education failed to recognize parent competence; it was considered
insulting and eventually fell out of favor (Dinnebeil, 1999; Winton, Sloop,
& Rodriguez, 1999).

Parent education implies certain assumptions about the direction

and type of interactions between parents and professionals. Professionals
are experts who have knowledge to be the teacher, whereas parents are
inadequate and need to follow the instruction of the experts. The
relationship between parents and professionals (Barrera, 1991), the role
conflict for parents (Hanson & Hanline, 1990; Vincent & Beckett, 1993),
and the potential cultural bias of parent education (Hanson & Lynch, 1995)
are all suggested by the inherent bias of parent education.

Parent empowerment is a more appropriate term. Empowerment is

conceptualized as a process by which individuals gain increased control
over their lives (Parsons, 1991; Rappaport, 1981). Parent empowerment
suggests that all parents have strengths and capabilities, including the
capability to become more competent (Rappaport, 1984). The goal of
parent empowerment is to activate the strengths, competence, and
possibilities for change that exist in parents and in the social context.
According to Singh, Curtis, Ellis, Nicholson et al. (1995), empowerment

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can be accomplished by access to knowledge, skills, and resources. An

empowered person is able to negotiate the human service delivery system,
efficiently utilize it to meet their needs, and finally transcend the need for
assistance from it (Curtis & Singh, 1996, p. 504). The empowerment
framework no longer defines parents as passive service recipients but
active and competent change agents. Parents will become active
participants in the care and service provided to their children and will
self-empower during the process (Singh, Curtis, Ellis, & Wechsler et al.,
1997).

In addition, the empowerment framework pays attention to the

satisfaction of the parenting experience. The parent education paradigm
unintentionally ignored the joy and satisfaction of being a parent. Many
people find the experience of parenting gratifying, enlightening and often
exhilarating, but these positive experiences have been ignored. Coleman
and Karraker (1998) conducted a comprehensive review of literature on
parenting ability and confidence. They assert that self-assurance is strongly
related to parental ability, and that confidence enhances parental
competence and positive child outcomes. The awareness of their own
capabilities helps parents to develop a sense of pride and reinforce good
parenting practices. By shifting from a didactic paradigm to an optimistic
one, the concept of parent empowerment promotes the joy and satisfaction
of being a parent, as well as giving parents a sense of competence,
achievement, and self-sufficiency.

Shift From Knowledge Inoculation to Whole-person Development

In the modern era, knowledge based on rationality, science, and

structure has demonstrated its effectiveness and power (Mohan, 1993,
1995, 1996). However, scientism and rationality putting emphasis on
technique factors over relationships promote dehumanization (Mohan,
1997). Under the influence of scientism, contemporary parent education
programs highlight skills and techniques. This reflect the dominant

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mentality of instrumental rationality. Scholars (Alexander et al., 1989;

Barber, Chadwick, & Oerter, 1992; Herold, Mantle, & Zemitis, 1979;
Lin, 1997) indicates that in parent education programs, the skills and
technique factors are emphasized and there are a wide range of
standardized, ready-made training packages for parents to obtain
behavioral skills in helping their children. It is well known, however,
that parenting is not merely knowledge and skills; one does not become
an effective parent simply by acquiring knowledge and skills. Study results
(Tam, Lam, Cheng, Ho, & Ma, 2001) indicate that the emotional and
personal problems of parents are major obstacles to effective parenting,
and that childrens problems reflect the inner struggles of their parents.
In determining the meaning and scope of parent education, we need to
adopt a broader perspective that goes beyond the level of skills and takes
into account the values, attitudes, and emotional background of parents.
Parent education should encompass the ideas of whole-person
development and parent growth. It should aim to develop the human
capitals of the family and to address parenting ideologies and values.

Moving From Professionalism to Partnership

To preserve their identity as valuable service providers, professions

are often creating their own unique practice domains, specializations,
and boundaries. Professionalism involves establishing and possessing a
particular knowledge paradigm. However, in the process of developing
professional knowledge, professional systems become monopolies and
professional persons assume the position of experts. The expert-oriented
and all-knowingness stance on handling family issues is wicked and the
professional approach to parent education has created resentment. It
conveys the message that professionals have the knowledge to be the
teachers and parents are only students who need to follow the instructions
and advise of the experts. As a result of this negative message, parents
become passive service recipients and the provision of parent education
is unidirectional from professionals to parents.

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During the past three decades, professionals have been criticized on

this mode of professional practice (Dunst, 1999; Winton et al., 1999). It
has been acknowledged that parents are, in fact, the experts on their
children and that the explicit instruction on parents is incompatible with
the empowerment philosophy. Moreover, parents do not want to be
perceived as needing help even when they may actually want the service
(McBride & Peterson, 1997). Finally, parent education assumes a one-
way flow of information, but it has been shown that professional-parent
relationship is more successful when it is perceived as a collaborative
venture (Winton et al., 1999).

To involve more families for parent education, it is essential to adopt

a perspective that empowers family members and takes into account the
social environment in which the family is situated. The general goal of
this paradigm is to let families work out their problems by addressing
and mobilizing forces within and/or around the families themselves. This
approach emphasizes respectful partnerships with families with the
provision of emotional and educational supports (Burton, 1992; Dunst,
1990), working on problems and goals defined by parents (Lee, 1994),
parents and professions working together in a realistic, collaborative
relationship based on mutual trust, respect, and commitment (Foreman &
Marmar, 1985), giving parents the opportunity to self-determine (Parsons,
1991) and to decide which of the available services best meets their needs
(Bailey, 1991; Burton, 1992; Murphy & Lee, 1991). The partnership
relationship respects and dignifies the role of parents and does not convey
the notion that parents are deficient. It aims to establish collaborative
relationship with parents, to involve parents as equal and active partners,
to recognize the central and long-term importance of the role they play,
and to acknowledge the existence of intervention services to help people
achieve their goals and fulfill their responsibilities as parents (Mahoney
& Wheeden, 1997).

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 Parent Education: Revision and Vision

Transforming From Private Issue to Changing the Cultural Climate

The moral issues raised by family-state relations have a direct bearing

on parent education. The distinction between private and public spheres
of life established a framework for conceptualizing parent education. In
all societies, parents have legal or quasi-legal obligations to care for and
bring up their children. In most modern societies, parents are not allowed
to educate their children in whichever way they choose. There are general
rules regarding child-rearing practices. A moral theory of parenthood
(Blustein, 1982) is also there to regulate the relations of parents to
children. Parenthood and parent education are understood in terms of
parental duties and responsibility. This moral perspective on parent
education assumes the priority of parental duties over parental rights
(Locke, 1971) and parental duties being private and fundamental, thus
placing an intolerable burden on parents. Actually, this moral theory of
parenthood is vital in understanding the Chinese parenting practice. Under
the strong influence of the Chinese familism, the Chinese believes that
family and parenting issue is a private sphere. These Chinese sayings
explain clearly the Chinese views on parenting and family issues: If
the offspring was not taught properly, it was the fathers (parents)
responsibility/fault, and Family wrongdoings should not be disclosed.
The Chinese have maintained a clear idea about family boundary and
parental duties for their children (Wu, 1996).

Although parents have duties and obligations, parenting is never a

purely private endeavor. The community and the larger ecological context
are also of crucial importance in the psychological development of families
and children. A healthy extra-familial context, an encouraging community
climate, and the positive cultural values surely help to foster better child
development. There are some aspects of family life and childrens
development for which the state and the community are held responsible.
In response to these responsibilities, the government needs to initiate

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policies and legislation, and devote resources to parent education programs

to foster a healthy environment for child growth and development. The
government should also encourage organized actions, social groups, and
grass-roots movements to give support to families and children. In other
words, it is the responsibility of the macro systems to establish a
supportive, non-blaming community climate and a non-judgmental culture
to enhance family and child development.

Implications for Practice, Research and Education

The proposed vision attempts to redress the shortcomings of the
existing conceptions of parent education and will have significant
implications for practice, research, and education. As regards practice, it
reminds us that only offering parents a single option of education to
enhance their childrens development is too restrictive. It therefore
suggests a broader perspective to parent education. The notions of whole
person education and parent growth alert us to the importance of
family-centered (Mahoney, Kaiser et al., 1999) and person-focused
practice rather than skill-focused training. The strengths and empowerment
perspectives remind us to focus on assessing and working with family
strengths rather than deficits.

Moreover, in this fast-changing era, we, as practitioners, should

realize and appreciate diversity and ambiguity. When working with
families, we should be aware that there is no set arrangement for
childrearing that is objectively optimal or even desirable. Therefore,
providing standardized behavioral training packages for parents and
encouraging the conformity of parental action to certain standards of
behaviors do more harm than good.

Besides, the revisit reminds us that parents not only have parental
duties but also have parental rights and competence. In working with
parents, we need to value and dignify their role, to respect their parental

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 Parent Education: Revision and Vision

independence and freedom of choice, and to have a high regard for their
parental competence. Since parents are adults, professionals must
understand the core constructs of adult learning and avoid teaching and
imposing. If parents do not feel that their input is valued, or if they feel
that they are being judged and evaluated, the impact of parent education
is likely to be negative. Parent education must be provided as though it
were a matter of course, with no stigma attached. Encouraging a sense of
empowerment and developing a partnership relationship are the ingredients
for success in working with parents.

Parents are not the sole agent to hold responsible for the well-being
of children. All the key partners, such as schools, social service agencies
and mass media, have a role in enhancing the child and familys quality
of life. They are both the potential providers and recipients of education,
resources, and support in a mutually reciprocal fashion. The community,
the parent educators and the parents should work together cooperatively
within the social context to establish a supportive culture for parent
empowerment.

We now turn to the implications for research. Knowledge comes from

practice; practice and research are inseparable (Peile, 1993). A literature
review in parent education shows that there is, especially in Hong Kong,
little documentation of contemporary family life and its emphases. Without
such a knowledge base, service planning only responds to the surfaced
problems. In the last two decades, family practitioners have developed
knowledge based on their practical experience; however, this knowledge
has not been properly documented or systematically organized. There is
a pressing need to conduct pertinent research on local families, in terms
of family profiles and other relevant characteristics, and to develop parent
education strategies that meet the special needs of families. Professionals
must recognize the importance of knowledge accumulation and should
develop evidence-based practices to generate new knowledge.

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Ching-Man Lam

In the training of parent educators, it should be stressed that parent

education is not a single discipline; it involves many disciplines, including
social work, education, nursing, and popular culture. Practitioners must
develop a holistic view of the family and its social context. In an
increasingly complex world, professionals must recognize and admit that
they may not know the solutions to all the problems they encounter. In
our training programs for family practitioners, we need to encourage the
following three qualities: (1) a dynamic perspective that is sensitive to
the complex local and global context; (2) an open attitude to appreciate
diversity and uncertainty and to explore alternatives; and (3) a humble
heart showing sympathy and respect for service recipients, and willing to
act collaboratively with parents and families.

Conclusion
The review of the major conceptions and assumptions of parent
education reveals the shortcomings of its theory and practice, as it stands.
This article advocates the adoption of a broader definition of parent
education, one that encompasses the notion of parent growth, that
reconceptualizes parent education as parent empowerment, that moves
from a professional relationship to a partnership, and that transforms
parenting by changing the cultural climate. We believe it is time to
reevaluate, critically and globally, the vision of parent education. It is
hoped that the vision proposed in this article will promote a dialogue
about new forms and strategies of parent education in the near future.

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