Attitudes of parents of preschool children to their own parenting education

Abstract

This paper begins by offering a definition of the concept of parenting education and providing an analysis of parental motivation for parental education, and then goes on to examine the most common formal and informal forms and sources of parenting education. It then presents the results of a study of parental attitudes to parenting education based on responses obtained from a questionnaire survey of 560 parents of preschool children in the area. The study found that parents' attitudes to parenting education tend towards the positive end of the continuum, and that there are no differences between parents of different ages, or between parents who are raising children without outside help and those who rely on others for childcare. A statistically significant difference was found in the more positive attitude towards parenting education among parents living in urban areas, female parents and those with a master's degree. The study found that parents tend to rely on informal sources and forms of parenting education much more frequently than formal ones. The most common form is self-education through various types of media and support from people close to them. Only a third of parents reported that consulting experts was an important source of parenting information. Only a small number of parents have the opportunity to take part in some form of formal parenting education. Recent trends in parenting education emphasize the increased responsibility of the community, and programs are designed to better meet parents' needs with greater utilization of new technology