Research on Parenting Curriculum for Latino Families
(Alphabetic order by title)
A
Multicultural, Community, Empowerment Approach to Parent Education:
African American and Latino Families. Jill Atkinson, 1994, dissertation,
Ph.D in Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology, Los
Angeles. This project works from an empowerment perspective to parent
education by reframing the problem to focus on the values and assumptions
of parent education, rather than the deficits of parents. Four common
assumptions are fluid throughout all parent education courses.
- Parents
have an impact on their children.
- Parents
can learn better techniques via educational materials and programs.
-
Parents will use the information in a productive manner.
-
If parents are given these techniques, then their children will benefit.
Three
implications for parent education resulted from this study.
-
Parent educators need to be aware of multidimensional aspects of parenting
values and beliefs.
- Time
should be spent at the beginning of each new class learning the language
of the parents in the class, for instance, how they choose to bring
up and discuss topics.
-
Parent educators need to be aware of the whole context in which the
parents and their children live.
Topics
such as racism, discrimination, housing, violence, and better job opportunities
are representative of serious issues that are a part of these parents'
reality, and they cannot be excluded from a class if it is really going
to help parents.
Alistando
a Su Hijo Para el Kinder: A Parenting Program for Hispanic Mothers of
Preschoolers. Karen Linn Glovka, May 1999, research project in completion
of Master's degree in Ministry, Moody Bible Institute. This project
revealed that mothers were willing to learn about developmentally appropriate
methods to help their children prepare for kindergarten. Because of
this prepratory class, many mothers learned how to become involved in
their child's classroom and many continued involvement throughout the
school year. Mothers in this study were all Spanish-language dominant
and had immigranted to the U.S. from México. The author found
an association between the level of education of the mother and the
child's attendance in preschool. Mothers noted that if there had been
a fee for the program, they would not be able to participate. Programs
that successfully involve Latino parents often establish two-way communication,
acknowledge the strengths that immigrant families bring to the classroom,
and encourage parents to share responsibility with the school for their
children's education. Exit interviews were conducted with the mothers
to gain their opinions and feedback about the class, and they confirmed
that most mothers felt they had learned something that will help them
prepare their child(ren) for kindergarten.
An
Intracultural Examination of Variations in Head Start Latino Parenting
Techniques and Its Effects on Child Cognitive Developmental Outcomes.
Colmar de Von Figueroa-Moseley, 1996, thesis for completion of Master
of Arts, University of Alabama at Birmingham. This research examines
variations in parenting and its effects on child cognitive outcomes
across 3 Hispanic/Latino subgroups - Mexican American, Puerto Rican,
and El Salvadorian - from a national sampling that utilized a subset
of 995 participants of former Head Start Hispanic/Latino parents and
children who enrolled in the National Head Start/Public School Early
Childhood Transition Demonstration Project. The findings suggested that
there exist intracultural variations in both parenting and academic
achievement within the Latino population and confirm previous findings
that parenting is related to positive child cognitive outcomes.
Beliefs
and Attitudes about Parenting among Participants of a Parent Education
Class. Cristina Cota, 1992, thesis, California State University,
Fullerton. Its focus was child abuse prevention through parent education
by teaching parents healthy parenting techniques. A cultural approach
to parenting is described in which effective parenting must be understood
from a cultural perspective. Societal and familial goals must be interrelated.
An awareness of cultural diversity in regard to parenting goals, values
and behaviors should be acknowledged. An understanding should exist
that parenting patterns are not the same in every culture. Programs
should acknowledge the diversity that exists within ethnic groups. Latino
culture is diverse, but main cultural concepts include familism, personalism,
and hierarchy. The author states that cultural insensitivity is a major
reason as to why parents do not access parenting classes. The finding
are the following.
- There
is a possible relationship between the level of education of the respondent
and his/her beliefs and attitudes about communication.
- There
is a possible relationship between the number of adults living in
the respondent's home and the respondent's beliefs and attitudes about
discipline.
- There
is a possible relationship between the age of the respondent and his/her
beliefs and attitudes about the safety/security of children. (The
more years they had, the more likely to believe that the parent bares
full responsibility for child's safety and security.)
- There
is a possible relationship between the number of adults living in
the home and the respondent's beliefs and attitudes about stress/anger
management.
Focus
Group Assessment of Parenting Education Preferences of Hispanics and
Whites. Linda Rains Russell, 1994, thesis for completion of Master
of Science, Texas Woman's University. The purpose of this qualitative
study was to determine via focus groups, parenting values, skills, practices
and methodology for parenting education in the Latino and White cultures
in Texas. The two main themes that emerged from this project are that
- both
Latino and White parents parent in the interest of their children,
and
- overall
Latino parents do so by focusing on immediate needs, while White parents
emphasize future needs.
The
author emphasizes that to be effective parent education programs must
meet the needs, goals, and expectations of their participants. A needs
assessment must be completed to determine the cultural family values
and the program format preferences. Projects that ask parents what is
important to them and offer them options have a higher rate of attendance.
The author gives a review of Latino parenting values, skills, and practices,
including values such as emotional support, child rearing goals, and
personal deficits as parenting obstacles. Latino parenting skills identified
include open communication, parent as total provider, parent's parents,
children, and instincts. Latino parenting practices identified include
authoritarian family structure, importance of family interaction, focus
on basic needs, and mother as primary disciplinarian. When asked, Latino
parents offered the following suggestions for designing parent education
classes: discussions with educated leader, familiar settings with child
care on weekdays, personalized invitation letters, and informational
topics related to child's age. Education, income, and gender can also
be indicators of parenting patterns. Finally, the author gives recommendations.
- Educators
should present alternative parenting resources that exist in the community
to Latino parents.
- Educators
should consider developing programs for Latino families that include
grandmothers and/or other family members.
- Educators
should consider conducting discussions using questions for parents
to discuss with other parents, along with the freedom to ask questions.
- It
is recommended that high schools be required to incorporate parent
education classes into graduation requirements for all students since
many fathers in the study indicated "no desire or need"
for parent education classes.
-
More studies are needed within subgroups of Latino culture to capture
the diverse parenting techniques that may exist.
- Educators
must be sensitive to the many differences that exist within the same
culture due to socioeconomic levels.
- Educators
should not assume that parents are of the same cultural background
as their children or significant other.
- Educators
should consider utilizing focus group discussions with parents of
many different cultures to assess their needs.
- All
parent education programs that are developed should most definitely
be informal meetings.
Natural
Mentor Relationships Among Lantina Adolescent Mothers: Psychological
Adjustment, Moderating Processing, and the Role of Early Parental Acceptance.
Jean E. Rhodes, Josefina M. Contreras, & Sarah C. Mangelsdorf.
American Journal of Community Psychology, April 1994 v22 n2 p211(17).
The authors claim that mentor relationships appear to enhance young
women's capacity to benefit from their support resources and offset
the effects of relationship problems. The results of the study provide
evidence that natural mentors are important protective resources for
minority adolescent mothers. Young women with natural mentors reported
lower levels of depression and anxiety than those without natural mentors.
Natural mentors are people such as a special aunt, a neighbor, or a
teacher.
New
Opportunities Parenting Program. María Deyanira Toro, 1999,
thesis for completion of Master of Social Work. The author analyzed
a program taught to 15 court referred Latino parents with domestic violence
and child abuse charges. The participants participated in 24 weekly
class sessions to learn about child development, anger management, discipline
techniques, children's rights, and parents' rights. There was an evaluation
by the parents at the end of the program. The evaluation is in English
and Spanish and is eight pages long. It asks parents to respond on a
continuum from not helpful (1) to very helpful (10) and asks questions
related to learning about specifics such as child development, discipline,
sex, drugs, domestic violence, self-esteem, etc.
Parent
Stress: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Hispanics and Anglo-Americans.
Magaly Lucia Solis, 1990, dissertation, Ph.D. in Psychology, University
of Virginia. The study found that Latinos perceive more parenting stress
in all areas of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) except their relationship
with their spouse and in the degree of distractibility/hyperactivity
of their child. Less acculturated Latinos experience more depression,
less attachment to their child, and feel less competent in their parenting
role than higher acculturated Latinos. Less acculturated Latinos experience
the most stress and the higher acculturated Latinos are more similar
to Anglo-Americans in their perceptions of parenting stress. The findings
of this study suggest that the PSI is a reliable and valid instrument
and can be applied with a culturally different sample.
Parenting
Among Hispanic and Anglo-American Mothers with Young Children. Pablo
G. Cardona, Bonnie C. Nicholson, & Robert A. Fox, Parenting Center,
Marquette University. The Journal of Social Psychology, 2000, 140(3),
357-365. The study examined parenting practices and developmental expectations
of Latino and Anglo American mothers living in the United States. Using
the Parent Behavior Checklist (PBC), they examined three themes of parenting:
expectations, nurturing, and discipline. They found evidence of cross-cultural
differences in parenting young children. Latina mothers reported a higher
frequency of discipline and a lower frequency of nurturing than Anglo
mothers; there were no differences in expectations between the two groups.
The author is clear to note that the PBC may not accurately gauge the
parenting techniques and styles of the Latina mothers. It is also important
to note that although there were differences, both groups fell adequately
within the "normal" range of the PBC, and when considering
these three parenting characteristics together, the author finds that
Latina mothers do not have a consistent authoritarian parenting style
as believed.
Parenting
Styles, Language and Parents' Education as Predictors of School Achievement
for Hispanic Students. María Soledad Torres-Villa, 1995,
dissertation, Georgia State University. This study was completed to
learn more about a child's learning in relation to the parenting skills
of their parent(s). The Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) was used.
It evaluates the parental authority provided by the parents according
to Baumrind's theory of parenting styles. Once again, the study concludes
that when applying a theory developed for one ethnic group to another
ethnic group, one must proceed with caution.
Relationship
of Parenting Styles to Ecological and Cultural Contexts of Immigrant
Latino Families. Angela Edith Arzubiaga, 1998, dissertation, University
of California, Los Angeles. This project gives a description of immigrant
families and their experiences. It warrants caution when using PQS parenting
style indexes to identify problems and concerns with immigrant Latino
families. Immigrant Latino families can be viewed as powerful, agentive,
family brokers, operating despite and from within the resources and
constraints of their environments.
The
Parent Perception Inventory: Validity and Hispanic vs. Anglo Comparisons.
Jane A. Russell, 1996, thesis, California State University, Hayward.
This project assessed whether or not the Parent Perception Inventory
(PPI) was appropriate for assessing a child's current perceptions of
their parents' specific positive and negative behaviors in an easily
administered format. The author found that there were no significant
differences when assessing parent-child relationships with Latino families.
But, because of the low number of people in the sample size used no
conclusive results can be drawn. The author does caution that when using
these types of tests, if differences are noticed, the "tester"
should take caution in measuring whether such differences are adaptive
or maladaptive.
Working
with Latino Parents/Families (http://www.cyfernet.org/parent/latinofam.html)
- Karen DeBord & Millie Ferrer. It discusses approaches and best
practices when working with Latino families. One approach discussed
is to start with cultural generalizations, keeping in mind individual
diversity. Some generalizations discussed are family unity, family loyalty,
and an emphasis on cooperation rather than competition among family
members and friends (familism and collectivism), a hierarchy regard
or respect to those with power and positions of authority, and religion.
Best practice approaches include developing trust and a personal relationship
with Latino families, establishing community networks and partnerships
with other organizations and agencies that are already serving Latino
families (working through schools and churches is noted as especially
successful), delivering programs in a language that can be understood
(not only translation, but culturally adapted), and having employees
and volunteers who are bilingual is important.
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