Parents as Teachers

This is an educational program of home visits for parents with children from 0 to 5 years of age. The objective is to improve parenting skills, prevent child abuse and mistreatment, detect developmental delays and deficits, and promote children’s preparation for entry into the educational system.
The program consists of strengthening protective factors and parent-child bonds through techniques aimed at improving their relationship of trust and collaboration, as well as through assessments and collaborative intervention planning. The program offers monthly group meetings for participants, where they can share experiences and contact support services.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies show mixed results on the effects of the program. Promising effects were observed on children’s cognitive development [1], such as improved performance on school readiness tests [2] [3] and on communication and language tests [3] [4], and a moderate effect on prosocial behavior in children from low-income families [3].
In terms of parenting skills and competencies, parents participating in the program were shown to be more likely to enroll their children in preschool programs [2] [3], to read to their children, and to be more involved in their education [2] [5], and there was a trend toward a reduction in the situation of children being referred to foster care [6] or reports of maltreatment to child protective services [6]. The program also indicated significantly greater awareness among caregivers of child sexual abuse prevention and a higher frequency of protective behaviors [7]. The program was more effective for families with low income and low parental education level.
However, other studies have shown no statistically significant effects on cognitive development, communication, physical development, parent-child interaction, or general parenting behaviors [8] [9] [9] [10].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Pfannenstiel, J. C., & Seltzer, D. A. (1989). New Parents as Teachers: Evaluation of an early parent education program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 4(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(89)90025-2

[2] Pfannenstiel, J. C., Seitz, V., & Zigler, E. (2002). Promoting school readiness: The role of the Parents as Teachers program. NHSA Dialog, 6(1), 71–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/s19309325nhsa0601_6

[3] Zigler, E., Pfannenstiel, J., & Seitz, V. (2008). The Parents as Teachers program and school success: A replication and extension. Journal of Primary Prevention, 29, 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0132-1

[4] Wagner, M., Spiker, D., & Linn, M. I. (2002). The effectiveness of the Parents as Teachers program with low-income parents and children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 22(2), 67–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/02711214020220020101

[5] Chaiyachati, B. H., Gaither, J. R., Hughes, M., Foley-Schain, K., & Leventhal, J. M. (2018). Preventing child maltreatment: Examination of an established statewide home-visiting program. Child Abuse & Neglect, 79, 476–484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.019

[6] Jonson-Reid, M., Drake, B., Constantino, J. N., Tandon, M., Pons, L., Kohl, P., Roesch, S., Wideman, E., Dunnigan, A. & Auslander, W. (2018). A randomized trial of home visitation for CPS-involved families: The moderating impact of maternal depression and CPS history. Child Maltreatment, 23(3), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559517751671

[7] Guastaferro, K., Felt, J. M., Font, S. A., Connell, C. M., Miyamoto, S., Zadzora, K. M., & Noll, J. G. (2020). Parent-focused sexual abuse prevention: Results from a cluster randomized trial. Child Maltreatment, 27(1), 114–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559520963870

[8] Wagner, M. M., Cameto, R. & Gerlach-Downie, S. (1996). Intervenção de Apoio aos Pais Adolescentes e Seus Filhos: Um Relatório Final sobre a Demonstração de Pais Adolescentes como Professores. Menlo Park, Califórnia: SRI International.

[9] Wagner, M. M., Clayton, S. Gerlach-Downie, S. & McElroy, M. (1999). Uma Avaliação dos Pais do Norte da Califórnia como Demonstração de Professores . Menlo Park, Califórnia: SRI International.

[10] Wagner, M. M., Spiker, D., Hernández, F., Song, J. & Gerlach-Downie, S. (2001). Avaliação Multilocal de Pais como Professores: Experiências e Resultados para Crianças e Famílias . Menlo Park, Califórnia: SRI International. http://www.sri.com/policy/cehs/publications/humanpub/patfinal.pdf.

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