Support to the family and positive parenting: Training programs for professionals in the social protection system

Information

Supporting the family and positive parenting is important for improving the resources and competences of parents for raising, educating, protecting the health, well-being and rights of children. The aim of the work is to identify and analyze accredited training programs related to family support and positive parenting, which are available to social care professionals in the Republic of Serbia in order to assess the availability of modern knowledge about positive parenting among social care professionals. The programs are mapped from the catalog of accredited training programs on family support on the platform of the Republic Institute for Social Protection random. 15 out of 37 training programs were analyzed using desk analysis. It has been shown that the training programs are mainly focused on the family as a whole, while parenting issues are poorly represented. Most of the analyzed programs lack transparent data on the method of imparting knowledge and skills to professionals, the training techniques used, and monitoring. Data on the number of trained professionals and conducted evaluation studies on the effects of the program are currently not available. The conclusion is that the programs offer a wide range of general knowledge and skills for working with families, while the specific knowledge and skills for providing support and strengthening the competence of parents for positive parenting are modest. The findings are discussed in the light of contemporary theoretical approaches and research, and guidelines for improvements in this area are provided.

Output type
Journal article
Year
2023