Chapter 8: Evaluating Parent Programs

Programs for parents come in all shapes and sizes. They are aimed at a multitude of purposes, as parenting is itself a multifaceted endeavor. Evaluating a parent program begins with an understanding of the program’s intended participants and its purposes, design, and expected outcomes (Tyler, 1949). One way to define and categorize a parent program is to consider whether it is primarily related to schooling or is a general parenting program that is only incidentally or indirectly school-related. A second means of program categorization and definition considers whether the program is designed for a broad array of parents, such as all parents whose children attend the same school, or is targeted toward a subset of parents who share common characteristics or interests or whose children share common characteristics or interests.