Parent education: Vision and revision

Abstract

This article revisits the purpose, nature, and meaning of parent education and foresees alternative practices for changing times. The article first reexamines the common conceptions of parent education and identifies the dominant themes underlying parent education. The revisit reveals a need to develop a contemporary vision and a new focus of parent education. This article suggests to reconceptualize “parent education” as “parent empowerment” and to transform parent education from a “private issue” to a “community responsibility.” It further suggests that parent education practice should shift from “knowledge inoculation” to “whole-person development.” The form of practice is to move from “professionalism” to “partnership" .

本文探討家長教育的目標、性質及意義，從而釐定未來的工作方法。文章首先審視家長教育的主要理念，找出家長教育背後的主旨。結果顯示，家長教育需要有一個更合時宜的視野和焦點。本文建議將「家長教育」的概念理解為「家長充權」，並將家長教育由「私人事件」轉化為「社區責任」。文章更建議家長教育的重點應由「知識的灌輸」轉變為「全人發展」，而推行形式則由「專業」走向「夥伴合作」。