This book provides an account of parenting support initiatives in children and family services from a number of jurisdictions, paying particular attention to their impact on both hard and soft outcomes for participants and to the inclusion of parents in the design and delivery of these supports.
By focusing on parents who are experiencing challenges outside of the normal day-to-day task of parenting and in receipt of formal support services, their perspectives on the experience of receiving these supports and the difference experienced by children and family members are analysed. Conceptually driven and reflecting the individual theories and frameworks that underpinned the parenting supports, the participatory processes and the research undertaken, this book includes case studies from Australia, Bulgaria, England, Italy, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia and Spain. By highlighting the theoretical, conceptual and practical considerations required when supporting parents in an inclusive manner, it will be of interest to all scholars, students and practitioners working in the following areas: social work and social care, child development, child protection and social policy.
This book provides an account of parenting support initiatives in children and family services from around the world, paying particular attention to their impact on both hard and soft outcomes for participants, and to the inclusion of parents in the design and delivery of these supports.
1.Introduction to Parenting Support and Parental Participation in
Children and Family Services. Part One. 2.Parenting Support and Parental
Participation. 3.Parents participation in the early childhood education and
care system in Bulgaria: Status quo and contributing factors. 4.Mapping
Parenting Interventions in Portugal. 5.Harnessing the Power of Evidence:
Parental Participation in one Early Learning and Childcare Setting in
Scotland. 6.The integral role of parents in fostering a sense of belonging
for school-aged children. 7.Supporting parents in acquiring (self)regulatory
competence in the use of media technologies by family members: The case of
programmes, projects and activities applied in Poland. 8.Contact Time for
very Young Children. Part Two. 9.A participatory model of research with
parents involved in a child protection and welfare service to inform its
future strategic orientation. 10.The implementation and effectiveness of
group-based programmes for mainly vulnerable parent populations: Key findings
and lessons from research conducted in Ireland. 11.Mechanisms of change in
parenting support initiatives for vulnerable families. Raising up parents
voices through the significant events approach. 12.Lets reflect together:
Building capabilities through participative assessment of the childs needs.
13.Licence to help? A relational approach to families with complex lives.
14."Its a private matter"- aligning the views of Polish migrant parents and
Irish service providers in the delivery of parenting support. 15.A Relational
Approach to Assessing and Enhancing Parenting Capacity: Building Better
Futures. 16.Understanding the experiences and perceived needs of parents with
children on the autism spectrum. 17.Parental participation and community
family support: Family Support Hubs in Northern Ireland and Family Hubs
in England. 18.Learning and final remarks: Parenting Support and Parental
Participation.
Carmel Devaney is an Associate Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Head of Discipline of Applied Social Science, and a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Galway, Ireland. Carmel is an Academic Director of the MA in Family Support Studies and teaches and researches in the areas of child protection and welfare, family support, parenting support and children and young people in care. Prior to joining the University, Carmel worked for many years in statutory children and family services as both a practitioner and manager.
Rosemary Crosse is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway. Rosemary works in the area of parenting support and participation. In addition to her academic work, Rosemary is a member of The Parenting and Family Studies Alliance, which aims to promote and facilitate critical inquiry into the changing nature of parenting and family life in modern society. Rosemary is also a member of the Parenting Network, which has been a central part of an all-island approach to promote the value of parenting support and to secure the necessary policy and strategies to embed parenting supports as key elements of all child and family infrastructure in Ireland and Northern Ireland.