A Public/Private Partnership in Offering Relationship Education to the Norwegian Population

Abstract

This article is an overview of the relationship education field in Norway. We explain the roles of the national authorities and private organizations in education, and analyze achievements and challenges in the field. Involvement and economic support from the national authorities have made relationship education available to large groups of the population, though the characteristics of those who choose to attend are largely unknown. To ensure recruitment of those most in need of education, new strategies based on systematic information on barriers among different groups of the population must be developed. A variety of relationship education programs are offered by public and private organizations, with the U.S.-developed Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) being the most widespread. We present preliminary data of an effectiveness evaluation of PREP workshops in Norway. In general, participants evaluate the workshops positively. It is important to tailor relationship education to fit the various customs, beliefs, and challenges of couples attending programs.

Governing couple-sexuality: publically funded couples' courses in Norway

“…Thus, state engagement in the stabilizing of cohabitation and parenthood through welfare provision and regulation can be interpreted as an expression of a social-democratic and equality oriented Norwegian spirit. The state provides several educational programmes that represent interventions into family relations, such as maternity education, parental guidance programmes and mandatory mediation in cases of parental separation (Thuen and Laerum 2005).…”

Relationship Interventions During the Transition to Parenthood: Issues of Timing and Efficacy

“…The Danish TtP version of PREP was translated and adapted from a Norwegian version (Thuen & Laerum, 2005). The Danish TtP version of PREP was translated and adapted from a Norwegian version (Thuen & Laerum, 2005).…”

Couple Relationship Education in Australia

“…A major strength of the skill‐training approach is that standardized training programs have been developed for disseminating the approach. For example, PREP has been successfully disseminated through religious leaders in community and military settings in the United States (Stanley et al, 2001; Stanley et al, 2005) and by religious and secular professionals in Norway (Thuen & Lærum, 2005). However, as noted previously, widespread dissemination of skill‐training programs has not occurred in Australia.…”