International Perspectives on Parenting Support and Parental Participation in Children and Family Services

Carmel Devaney is an Associate Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Head of Discipline of Applied Social Science, and a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Galway, Ireland. Carmel is an Academic Director of the MA in Family Support Studies and teaches and researches in the areas of child protection and welfare, family support, parenting support and children and young people in care. Prior to joining the University, Carmel worked for many years in statutory children and family services as both a practitioner and manager. Rosemary Crosse is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway. Rosemary works in the area of parenting support and participation. In addition to her academic work, Rosemary is a member of The Parenting and Family Studies Alliance, which aims to promote and facilitate critical inquiry into the changing nature of parenting and family life in modern society. Rosemary is also a member of the Parenting Network, which has been a central part of an all-island approach to promote the value of parenting support and to secure the necessary policy and strategies to embed parenting supports as key elements of all child and family infrastructure in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

1.Introduction to Parenting Support and Parental Participation in Children and Family Services. Part One. 2.Parenting Support and Parental Participation. 3.Parents’ participation in the early childhood education and care system in Bulgaria: Status quo and contributing factors. 4.Mapping Parenting Interventions in Portugal. 5.Harnessing the Power of Evidence: Parental Participation in one Early Learning and Childcare Setting in Scotland. 6.The integral role of parents in fostering a sense of belonging for school-aged children. 7.Supporting parents in acquiring (self)regulatory competence in the use of media technologies by family members: The case of programmes, projects and activities applied in Poland. 8.Contact Time for very Young Children. Part Two. 9.A participatory model of research with parents involved in a child protection and welfare service to inform its future strategic orientation. 10.The implementation and effectiveness of group-based programmes for mainly vulnerable parent populations: Key findings and lessons from research conducted in Ireland. 11.Mechanisms of change in parenting support initiatives for vulnerable families. Raising up parents’ voices through the significant events approach. 12.Let’s reflect together: Building capabilities through participative assessment of the child’s needs. 13.Licence to help? A relational approach to families with complex lives. 14."It’s a private matter"- aligning the views of Polish migrant parents and Irish service providers in the delivery of parenting support. 15.A Relational Approach to Assessing and Enhancing Parenting Capacity: Building Better Futures. 16.Understanding the experiences and perceived needs of parents with children on the autism spectrum. 17.Parental participation and community family support: ‘Family Support Hubs’ in Northern Ireland and ‘Family Hubs’ in England. 18.Learning and final remarks: Parenting Support and Parental Participation.