A perspective on parenting skills and parent training programs for school counsellors

Abstract

The primary role of the school counsellor is to help students. It is no longer adequate to offer direct counselling to students or to act as consultants to their teachers. Counsellors have come to realize that many problems children face are family related. Counsellors need to reach out to parents in order to help students. One of the many ways they are trying to accomplish this goal is through parent skills training. -- These papers address the nature of parenting and offer a perspective on parenting skills training, particularly as it is offered to parents from late preschool to high school by school counsellors. They will provide school counsellors with background knowledge on parenting skills training and a foundation on which to critique parent training programs. These papers will allow counsellors to more effectively choose a program that will meet the needs of the parents taking part. Finally they will give some insight to school counsellors on the concerns of the initial setup, delivery, and termination of parent training programs, which may help avoid difficulties.