Abstract
Parent education programs, offered via family–school partnerships, offer an effective means for promoting the mental health and educational functioning of children and adolescents at a whole-school level. However, these programs often have a low uptake. This study aimed to identify strategies for increasing the uptake of parent education programs within preschool and school settings. A three-round Delphi procedure was employed to obtain expert consensus on strategies that are important and feasible in educational settings. First, thirty experts rated statements identified from the literature and a stakeholder forum. Next, experts re-appraised statements, including new statements generated from the first round. Ninety statements were endorsed by ≥80% of the experts. Primary themes include strategies for program selection; strategies for increasing the accessibility of programs and the understanding of educational staff on parent engagement and child mental health; strategies for program development, promotion and delivery; as well as strategies for increasing parent and community engagement. This study offers a set of consensus strategies for improving the uptake of parent education programs within family–school partnership.
Highlights
Over the course of the schooling years, young people create and consolidate patterns of cognitions and behaviours that affect their immediate and long-term wellbeing
We found that a group of Australia based educators, service providers and researchers, highly experienced in working with parents and families in educational settings, were able to reach consensus around a broad set of guidelines for increasing parent engagement and uptake of parent education programs in school and preschool settings
Ninety statements that were endorsed by at least 80% of the experts cover strategies that correspond to ten distinct themes: (i) parent education program selection, (ii) increasing the accessibility of parent education programs, (iii) schools’ role in parent education program promotion, (iv) school staff’s role in parent education program promotion, (v) program developers’ role in parent education program promotion, (vi) service providers’ role in parent education program promotion, (vii) increasing the understanding of educational staff on parent engagement and child mental health, (viii) parent education program development, (ix) program delivery and (x) increasing parent and community engagement
Summary
Over the course of the schooling years (typically ages 4–17), young people create and consolidate patterns of cognitions and behaviours that affect their immediate and long-term wellbeing. A growing body of research suggests that children who are mentally healthy learn better, and, reciprocally, adults who are more educated enjoy healthier, more productive and longer lives [7,8,9]. Given that both risk and protective factors for mental health run through the early childhood and school years [10,11], it is prudent that prevention and response efforts are strengthened in the primary settings where young people are socialised—families and schools. The bulk of existing research on family–school partnerships has focused on how educators can work
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