Culturally Sensitive Parent Education: A Critical Review of Quantitative Research

Abstract

The recent growth of culturally sensitive parent education programs necessitates an evaluative look at their effectiveness. This article critically reviews the quantitative literature on culturally sensitive parent education programs, discussing issues of research methodology and program efficacy in producing change among ethnic-minority parents and their children. Culturally sensitive programs for African American and Hispanic families are described in detail Quantitative studies of culturally sensitive programs are critiqued against existing literature on the effectiveness of traditional parent education programs. Main conclusions include the prevalence of flaws in research methodology, which may contribute to the finding of somewhat lower efficacy of these programs in comparison to standard programs. Although efficacy studies of programs for Native American and Asian American parents could not be found, efforts to serve these populations are also described. Recommendations for future research are proposed.

Pilot Study of the Korean Parent Training Program Using a Partial Group‐Randomized Experimental Study

“…Such programs may not reflect the concerns or backgrounds of ethnic minority parents and may require significant adaptation. When adaptations were made, such as reducing the length of intervention period or eliminating critical core content, retention rates increase but effect size decreases (Gorman & Balter, ; Kumpfer, Alvarado, Smith, & Bellamy, ). Recently, a few culturally tailored parent trainings that targeted minority families were developed and tested using more rigorous research methods.…”

The “Paradox of Empowerment” in Parent Education: A Reflexive Examination of Parents' Pedagogical Expectations

“…Parent education on a social constructionist epistemological grounding is culturally sensitive, as it regards the epistemic status of people's lived knowledge as equal to that of expert knowledge. It reckons “different ways of being and acting” and refrains from “judging a group by a particular standard” (Gorman & Balter, 1997, p. 342) or adding “another ‘should’ to the women's [parents'] lives, by defining … a model for ‘good’ motherhood [parenthood]” (Vincent & Warren, 1998, p. 191).…”

Poverty and Health Disparities for American Indian and Alaska Native Children

“…The literature on American Indian and Alaska Native education suggests some goals for future programming that are based on observations of what has and has not worked from the perspective of the communities themselves. Foremost is the importance of working collaboratively with communities to determine the goals and activities of educational programming 100,101,103,104,107,108 . Doing so often means incorporating traditional cultural teachings and language 102 .…”

“…Second, educational institutions must acknowledge that communities often identify different norms for what is considered desirable behavior and goals of education 100,109 . In practice, doing so means reconsidering the use and validity of traditional means of assessing behavior and educational achievement (e.g., standardized norm‐referenced tests), 101,104,110–112 as well as extending involvement in the assessment process to parents and extended family 100,108,110 . It also means acknowledging and accommodating differences in learning styles that American Indian and Alaska Native children may exhibit (e.g., silence and observation over verbal exchange) 104 .…”