A Synthesis of Behavioral and Communication Approaches to Child Rearing for Parenting Skills Classes. Practicum II.

This report describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a class on effective parenting skills that combined behavioral and communication based (client-centered and Adlerian) approaches to child rearing. Seventeen parents of elementary school age children attended the class; twelve parents attended five or more sessions. The class consisted of seven weekly 90-minute sessions covering behavioral consequences, reinforcement, punishment, behavior charts, and communication with children. It was expected that parents would (1) notice improvements in the home behavior of their children; (2) increase their knowledge of the dynamics of children's behavior and how behavior is learned; (3) increase their knowledge of communication skills to use with children; and (4) acquire an attitude about child rearing based on valid child rearing techniques. To determine the parents' mastery of the above expectations, pretesting and posttesting were conducted using four instruments: Devereux Child Behavior Rating Scale (DCB), Communication Skills Survey (CSS), Behavior Management Skills Survey (BMSS), and Mother Child Relationship Evaluation (MCRE). The evaluation of the class revealed that only the first three expectations were fulfilled. The results obtained from the four instruments are summarized in 21 tables. The instructional materials used in the class and the evaluation forms are provided in appendices. (Author/MP)