Educational needs and interests of parents

50 Pages·2012·1.29 MB·English

by  Theisner, Alene.

~<^-
Cww A*^~rf~y &~ A-*—
OF
., ' ' aiountCo?. 1917
•ubnlttedIn partial fulfillnontoft,e requirements
forthedegreeof
KM
-P.ICIJLTUHALCOLLKOB
1988
_CCO-
;mtftt
.ft
pit
TABLKOFCOMTBI!T3
IHTRODUCTIO?.' 1
CHOINSSTTORRUYC.TOjIFOOSNKKISX0NJ?TCV- ;THOOD 1034
IN'rirtPHKTATIONOFRBTUW3ON^UKSTIONNAIRE 11
>NALDATA 12
DUALITY, S0U3C:ANDAMOUNTOFH!FORMATION
PKHTAINIfcGTOPAHftTBOOl 14
THBDUALITYOFINFORMATION IB
SOUrtCPKSAROEFNTIHNOFOODRM(ATTaIbOlNeIU)D \mATRECEIVINGIT 15
(TableII) 16
TAHCETUAALMOUPRN0TISLKM3OFPARENTSIN PARENTHOOD(TableIII) . 2119
PlaUHES
21.. PPrroobblleemmssIInnCChlioltdhinPgeeCdhliml*dren 2223
3.ProblensInBehavior 25
465...PPPrrrooobbbllleeemnmsssIIInnnSCSohecixiladKlduHcyAsgctitleionvneiti.esIn 2276
vdoler.cencn 28
7.ProblensIniioral Attitudes 30
EDUCATIONOF 8IRL3FORPARKNTHOOD 32
EDUCATSTOIUO8BN0OABYL3STKSDTAANTDA0U8S01-I.ORCFLIT3.FJf(tTFRaOKKbhlTSeTHAIIIIV.)HIRFB.(LJAPTAKRWENTTOHOOD 33
?ROBL!*SOF0RKATK3TINTKRKST 33
CONCLUSION 35
BIBLIOGRAPHY 37
'DICALS 42
.JJBSTIOKKAIRB 44
Thisdeeadehaaboonaweptbybooks, phamphlets,and
articles relatingto childnatureandwaysandmeansof
perfectinghisdevelopment. ThisuniversalInterestIn
thewelfareofchildren h«acrystallisedadealrefor
trainlniTofparentsaathegreatestaediaand factorsIn
thechild'sdevelopment. Untilrecentlyparentshave
learnedhowtobrin?uptheirchildren chieflythroujrh
thealowuncertain processofexperience«trainstaback-
groundoftradition. Ideasoftheneedsandnaturesof
theirchildrenhavecometoa fewparents throughthe
channelsofbooka, leotures, anddiscussion irroups. The
aajorityofparents, however, havehadnospecialtrain-
ingtohelpthemIn theirrelationshipwiththeirohlldren.
Thisconsciousnessoftheneed fortheeducationof
parentshaabeenemphasisedbythree factors. I'lrst,
alnee thefloridWartheattentionofthemasseshasbeen
turned tothepromotionofthephysical,Intellectual,
andsocialwell-beingoftherisinggeneration; aecond,
thenuiaberofJuvenileorlmnaanddelinquentshasin-
creasedyearly?and, third, thepresentIndustrialera
haachangedthefamilystatus. Thesehavebrouirhtthia
realization tot:iepublicmindwitha foroethatcannot
beignored.
lioclillifeofthepreviousgenerationwasmore
IntimateandmovedInanarrowandeasilycontrolledlimit.
TodaytheunitofIndustryinrt educationhasbeen taken
fromthehomeendwithitthefatherandoften themother.
Thesocialcontactsofthehonehavewidened. Theper-
sonalInfluenceoftheparentispresent, buttheactual
timeofcompanionshiphasbeenwidened. Thepnrsor,«l
influenceoftheparentispresent, buttheactualtime
ofcompanionshiphasbeen lessened. Parentseverywhere
arelookingforhelp. Theydemandconcrete, spoolfic,
andclearassistancefortheyareawareofthenecessity
offaolnitthe problemsastheyarisein thecareand
developmentoftheirchildrenandaredesirousofthe
Information thatwillassistthen to fdveintelligent
solutions.
Thesituationoftheparentiswellexpressedby
Randolph(1918) whenhewrites! "allparentswishtodo
wellbytheirchildrensbuta *rentnanydonotsucceed
andfewknowthereasons fortheirfailure. In this
democraticworldItisneverenoughtomeanwell;itis
necessarytobewise, tohaveusefulknowledge, andapply
it."
asamotherin searchofthebestsolutionsto the
itaryandpnmanentproblerisarisingin thecur*of
aohlld,ithasbaooaeevidentthatthereislittlecon-
nectionbetween theneedsofparentsand theexisting
fontofinformation. Thenanytruthsestablishedby
InvestigatorsarenotInausable forn toemtlptheparent
to solvetheproblemsthatarise frommomenttomoment.
Parentshavelittletinetotrytounderstand the tech-
nicalsolutionsaspresentedbyspecialistsofchildren
andyouth. HanyproblemsofaouteInterest toparents
arenottouchedatall. Theearnestmotherwantshelp,
butItBiuatbepracticalhelpwhichcanbeapplieddirect-
lyandimmediatelyto thecaseinhand.
Theresearchworkeroonsidershisworkdonewith
theestablishmentofthetruths. Theftreatestneedis
forInterpretationofthess)truthsassolutionswhich
canberecofnlBwdandappliedto theproblensofparents
andothersInterestedin thewelfareofchildren. There
mustbeanadjustmentofthescientific findingsto the
differentdegreesofabilityand trainingoftheparents.
AiT.roIUBMM T
AcknowledgementIsgiven to!'r. FlorenceBrownSherbon,
direotoroftheKansasBureauofChildResearch, forher
encouragementIn thla studyandherassistanceIn placing
theituastionnalrea, tothe106busyparentswhosecooper-
ationmadethisstudypossible,«ndtoHr.V.L.Strickland
forhishelpfulnuidanceandconstructiveoritioismin
theor<mnlsatlonofthisthesis.
BISTORT0?EMJCATIONTOKFAKSKTHDOI;
ThepastfewyearsgiveevidenceoftheIneffective-
nessofthetraditionalandroutinemethodofrearingof
childrenin thehone. Thismethodlanotoperatingas
desired. Parentsareawareor theirown shortcomingsand
feelthemselvesinadequatelyequipped fortheirtask.
Theyareconfrontedwithproblenaandareunableto find
solutionsInrendinir, obaervatlonoftheirneighbors,
andeounselwithorofeasionals. Thisconditionhas given
parentaleducationitsname, andItsactivitiesare
directedtomeetingtheimmediateandconcreteproblems
ofthefamily.
Amongthefirsttostateclearlytheneedoftrain-
ingforparenthoodwasSpencer(18BSa). Heplaces,
"theseactivitieswhichhavefortheirendtherearing
snddisciplineoftheoffspring," thirdinimportance
oftheleadingkindaofactivitywhichconstitutehuman
life. Hewrites further, (1883b) "Parenthoodshouldoccupy
thehisrhestandlaatplaoeIn thecourseofInstruction
foreachmanand orann. Physicalmaturity1*markedby
abilitytoproduceoffspring.: bonontalmaturity1*mark-
edbytheabilityto trainoffsprlr.fr."
Peataloeel (1898) requiredastheonlyeducationof
•wither"a thinkinirlove."
Contradiction totheIdea thatparenthoodlaln-
stlnotlvelapreaentInRead's(1917) definitionof
Kothercraft. Shesaya, "ItIsnomoreInstinctivethan
isgardeningorbuilding. Itsrequisitelaavital
workinpknowledgeofthefundamental principlesofbiology,
ane, economics, psycholory, education, andarts,
'lunel(1926) sutrireetstheeducationofparentswhen
hestates thetwoobjectivesofdesirablefamilylifeas,
"Theweaningofthechildfromtheincestuouslovewhich
bindsittotjhe family(togetherwiththehatredwhich
thislovemayentail) andthe graduallooseningofthe
psycholortical,moral, andeconomicdnpendenceofthe
individual."
Groves(1924) Intimatedtheinevltablenessofpreps-
ration forparenthoodwhenhewrites,"As the scienceof
conductdevelopsmoreemphasiswillbeplacedon thework
ofthepsrent."
Todaytherearennnyorganisationsnnrtpr>onleconcern-
edin conpilingknowln^T*mdadaptin-itto theapparent
needsofparents. Thereurn 'ourorr^niratlonnoftl-
portancein this laid. ThorationalConnittae forHental
Hygienei»UMlargest. Throu/rhitslaboratories, clinic*,
andpublishedresultsaregiven thoseparentsin reichof
themreal solutions tomentalproblemsOfbothnormaland
abnormalchildren.
TheCMId3tudyAssociationofAmerloa, throughits
largestaffendtheenlighteningworkofBenjaminr.men;
wasthefirsttocompilelessonoutlines forchildstudy.
Theseoutlineswererevisedin 1927introducingthelatest
scientificprinciplesregarding faotorsthatfinterinto
thedevelopmentofchildren. Theselessonsarearranged
forgroupstudyorforcorrespondence. Lastyearthla
organisation carriedon si*ty-eightstudytroups. It
publishesamagaslne, "TheChild3tudy."
ThenationalCongress forParentsandTeachersis
organisedprimarilyforcooperativeeducation. Parent
trainingis theirfirststeptowardthatend. Theirfield
isbroad, includingmanyphasesofchildwelfarework.
Throughitsextensiondivisionsuggestedoutlinesfor
programsandforstudygroupsareavailable. Itsofficial
publicationisthe"ChildWelfareVagasine"whosemain
purposeisparentaleducation. Thisorganisation, through
trieprogramsandactivitiesofpreschoolandparent-teacher
associations, promotes theeducationofmanyparents.
Lastly, theAmerican associationofUniversitySo
underthedirectionofLouisKaydenMeek, istakingup
theworkofincreasingtheknowledgeofchildhoodand
theeducationoftheparents. Itamethod, throughits
groupsandcircles, isindividualin thatitinstills
intoeachofitamemberstheneedofpersonalhomeresearch
amongtheirown children. Theyhaveestablishedaborrow-
inglibrarythatis available toInterestedreadersand
especiallytoparents.
TwonationalbureausatWashington, U.C.amalso
makingcontributionstothiswork. Thebureauof du-
eatlon publishesoutlinesandprovidesaparent'sreading
coursetogetherwithamonthlyHomeLetterfeaturingsome
childorparentaleducationalproblen. Itincludeaa
bibliographyofbooksandavailablephamphletaon the
subject. TheChildren'sBureau, foundedin 1912,does
itagreateatworkin thenumerous freepublicationsdeal-
ingwithphysicaleareofthemother,infant,andchild.
Anothernationalorganisation thathasofferedan
invaluableservice tomot/iersistheRationalHedCross.
Throughitsclinicstwospeciallinesofeducationhave
been featured: thephysicaleareofthechild,and the
healthneedsofthemother.
Privatelyendowedfoundations, too, areworkiv
thefieldofparentaleducation. TheLaura3pilman 'rocke-
fellerr.enorl rous contriouti";ns, in-
creasedtheefficiencyofseveralorganizationsali*eady
aotivein thestudyofchildren andtheeducationof
parents. TheChildren'sfoundation atValparaiso,Indiana,
is, initsownmotto,"A.public serviceinstitution
establishedforthestudyofchildlifeand forthedla-
eainationofknowledgepertainingto thewell-beingand
educationofchildren andparents.
The"arrillPalmerSchoolofDetroitwas founded
withalegacyof$3,000,000 forthepurposeoftraining
girlsformotherhood. Itmaintainsaclinic fordiffi-
cultiesin conductandbackwardnessin education.
TheVurserySchools, altiiou^Urecentin theUnited
Uates, shortevidenceofbecomingvaluable sourcesof
InformationandInstruction,notonlyfortheparents
whosechildrenattend,butforallparents. Theseschools
aretheresultsofthenewinterestinohildrendueto
emphasisin the scienoeofbiology, physlologw« psycholor
andmedicineand theexperimentalfindingsIn thefield
ofwentalhygiene. Theyareofthreetypes: private,as
theY.aldenSchoolofKowTorkCity?Cooperative, as found-
edinChic%4?0bythefacultywivesandaluranaewho,desir-
ingobservationofotherohildrenandrealisingtho