Family Development Resources, Inc. * NurturingParenting.com * 1.800.688.5822 What Are Nurturing Programs? Seven Things to Know... #4 Nurturing Program Lessons are Competency Based Each lesson offered in the Nurturing Programs has identified competencies the parents need to learn and the instructors need to teach in order for parenting practices to improve. The lesson competencies keep both the parent and the instructor on track making sure learning is occurring. The individual lessons, assessments, evaluations and home practice assignments are all designed to ensure parents are acquiring the stated competencies. In competency based learning, if the parents do not display an understanding or proper utilization of the information competency based learning, if the parents do not display an understanding or proper utilization of the information and skills presented in the lesson, the lesson is repeated until the competencies have been learned and mastered. #5 Nurturing Programs have built-in Assessment and Evaluation Practices Assessment Assessment is a process where Instructors of the Nurturing Programs gather information from families in order to learn more about them. Such data would include information about their current life conditions, their childhood, their relationship with their partner, their relationship with their children, how much they already know about parenting, and the beliefs they have about raising children. Assessments in the Nurturing Programs occur at three times: - PRE, at beginning of the program; PROCESS, during the entire program; and POST, toward end of program. Evaluation Evaluation is a process that measures the degree of acquisition and accuracy of new knowledge and new skills made by the parents. It also measures the effectiveness of the instructor’s abilities to present new concepts and new skills to parents in a manner that allows the parents to increase their understanding of the new concepts and value the utilization of the new skills. Teaching and learning are partners in a relationship of dependency; Neither one works as well alone as they do together. Assessment and Evaluation Assessment and Evaluation data are gathered using valid and reliable self-report inventories and rating scales, as well as observing parent-child interactions. All the data collection is designed to ensure parents are acquiring the knowledge and skills in developing their nurturing parenting competencies. #6 Pre and Post Program Assessment and Evaluation Measures The Nurturing Programs incorporate three pre and posttest self-report assessment measures: • Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) is a 40 item, norm-referenced, Likert scale designed to assess the parenting beliefs and practices of adult and adolescent parent and non-parent populations. The AAPI is designed to assess the beliefs for parenting children from infancy to 12 years of age. Responses to the AAPI provide an index of risk for child maltreatment in five parenting practices known to result in child maltreatment. These practices are presented as Constructs: A. Developmental Expectations; B. Parental Level of Empathy; C. Belief in the use of Corporal Punishment; Responses to the AAPI provide a level of risk for child maltreatment on three levels: High, Moderate and Low. These levels of risk on the AAPI coordinate with the levels of prevention and dosage of lessons presented in the Nurturing Parenting Programs. Form A and Form B: There are two versions of the AAPI: Version A and Version B. Using alternate forms of the AAPI to gather pre and post program responses reduces the likelihood of increased positive parenting responses based on practice in completing the same inventory multiple times. D. Reversing Parent-Child Family Roles; and E. Oppressing Children’s Power and Independence. 5