Parent Education through Parent-Child Playgroups

1. Parent Education through Parent-Child Playgroups Mon Cochran Professor, Human Development

2. The Emerging Family Policy Paradigm • Preventive – preventing negative consequences • Promotional – positive functioning, sets higher bar than prevention • A strengths orientation – shift from focus on deficits to focus on assets • Parent empowerment – generative spiral stimulated thru collaboration • An ecological orientation – orienting beyond immediate family, influences of larger systems • Affirming culture and language – respects diversity of American society. • Universality – shift in core beliefs about who is responsible for insuring health and well-being of families

3. Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregivers in the Care Continuum Family School Informal Formal Support Regulation Cochran, 2005, adapted from Porter, 2000

4. Parent-Child Playgroups as a Family Support Strategy • Thousands of playgroups nation-wide, and far more world-wide • Virtually no studies of impacts on parents or children • Two-generational family support strategy – potential impacts on both parents/caregivers and children

5. Playgroup Theory of Change • Early development stimulated by play, both with objects and with others • Parents most impt. teachers of their children, with greatest opportunity • Playgroups provide setting both for stimulating and supporting play, and for teaching parents value of and skills involved in play • Playgroups also support building friendships among parents, which reduces isolation, builds parenting confidence, and provides information

6. Boston Public Schools (BPS) Playgroups • Born of desire to involve parents in schools early • Built on ‘accidental’, popular playgroup operating in one Boston primary school developed by Family Nurturing Center • 2nd site started by BPS in fall, 2006 • On sabbatic in 2006-07, I was invited to evaluate implementation and impacts of playgroups

7. BPS Purposes of Playgroups • Ease the transition into elementary school for children and parents • Familiarize children with early learning settings and routines • Model nurturing and stimulating behaviors and activities for parents • Encourage and support networking among parents • Provide parenting information to parents • Connect parents with community resources

8. Playgroup Structure and Processes • Each site sponsored 4 playgroups per week • Each playgroup lasted 2.5 hours • A given family was only allowed to attend once a week • Playgroup was structured like morning preschool –free play/art, circle time, snack, gross motor/sensory play • Playgroup leaders worked 20 hours/week • Leaders were expected to organize and run activities, encourage networking, give parenting advice, make referrals to other services

9. Evaluation Strategy • Before and after (pre-post test) design in two sites • In-depth, one-on-one interviews with parents in fall and late spring • Participant observation of playgroups over time • In-depth interviews with other key stakeholders (playgroup leaders, school principals, BPS ECE Director, Family Nurturing Center staff) • No comparison group (or randomized design)

10. Sample Description • 63 families in fall (all available), 38 in spring • Most attrition due to child’s entry into preschool/childcare, child illness, family move out of neighborhood, arrival of a new baby in family, low attendance • Sample quite culturally diverse, rather well educated • Half of families attending for a second year

11. Findings: Playgroup Helpful? • Universal yes • For child: socialization, learning structure of ‘school’, mention of language learning doubled pre to post • For parents: chance to socialize/share ideas with other parents. • Parenting ideas more salient in fall; by spring shift to learning about child development and info. About other community resources

12. Findings: Transfer of Activities from Group to Home? • Asked whether parents brought anything done at playgroup back home • 90% give examples of carry-over • Most frequently mentioned were songs, arts/crafts, activity ideas, parenting ideas, and structured routines (clean-up, snack, etc.)

13. Finding: Confidence in Parenting Mean Score N The rating scale was 1-5, with 1 = highly confident/in control and 5 = not at all confident/in control. *** p equal to or less than .001

14. Finding: Network-building • New parents had already made friends by time of fall interview • Experienced parents had more friends in group than did new parents • Friendships expanded significantly between fall/spring in both groups of parents • Only 4 0f 38 parents made no new friends

15. Findings: Changes in Child Fall Spring * <.10 **<.05 ***<.01

16. Other Findings • Parents read more to their children in spring than in fall….somewhat • Families engaged in activities together outside the playgroup • Parent impressions of the two schools became more positive • Playgroup leaders differed in programming mix, and this was reflected in parent responses

17. Did this Playgroup Strategy Reflect the ‘New” Family Policy Paradigm? • Preventive? • Promotional? • Strengths oriented? • Empowering? • Ecological? • Culturally and linguistically affirming? • Universal?