Parent education needs assessment: parents of typical 14 to 17-year-olds

UnrestrictedParenting an oldest child at the edge of the parent’s practical knowledge and experiences may contribute to parenting insecurities about the quality of the parenting environment, leading parents to seek support in a parent education program. In the vast majority of parent education programs reviewed in the literature, very few assess or utilize parent self-perceptions of needs to drive program content. This survey research study identified parent needs of parents of typical 14 to 17-year-olds using a qualitative approach. The participant sample included an ethnically and demographically diverse sample of 20 parents of typical 14 to 17-year-olds from an urban community.; Significant findings indicated that parents have primary needs in the area of supporting their adolescent’s academic development, and with improving parent-adolescent communication. Differences in parent needs in relation to parent ethnic or demographic factors were inconclusive. The implications of the findings are that although some aspects of existing parent education programs align with parent needs, new parent education programs will need to be developed due to the gap between the identified parent needs findings and the existing program content