Tasmania’s child and family centres building parenting capability: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT

Tasmania’s Child and Family Centres (Centres) provide a single entry point to early childhood services (ECS) and aim to improve the health and well-being, education and care of Tasmania’s children through supporting families and carers. This mixed methods study investigated the impact of Centres on parents’ confidence and competence. Centre users reported a slightly lower overall sense of parenting competence than non-users. There was no difference between Centre users and non-users in how they felt overall as a parent. Compared to non-Centre users, Centre users were more likely to report that ECS helped them develop new parenting skills. Centres supported parenting practices through a range of formal (i.e. parenting courses) and informal (i.e. role modelling) strategies. Centre users indicated that the combination of formal and informal parenting supports worked together to assist them build new parenting skills. The Centre model and partnership approach facilitates the development of positive parenting practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Parenting competency
• survey
• interviews
• disadvantaged communities
• Tasmania

Acknowledgements

This project was only possible due to the support of the staff at the Child and Family Centres and Primary Schools, Department of Education and the Project Team. We would also like to thank the families who participated in the study and Paul Pritchard and Martin O’Byrne for conducting the focus groups and interviews.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Kim Jose is currently working as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute of Medical Research. Kim has extensive experience conducting qualitative and mixed methods research studies. Her research interests in include chronic disease prevention and the promotion of health and well-being across the life course and she is a Life Course Fellow in the Centre of Excellence for Children and Families. Kim has had a diverse and varied career working as a physiotherapist in the acute, community and private sectors and as a public health practitioner and researcher.

Daniel Christensen has been at Telethon Kids Institute since 2010, and is a Research Fellow on the Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course. His research interests include children’s social and emotional well-being and their academic and cognitive development.

Dr Wietse van de Lageweg was a research officer at Telethon Kids Institute and the Tasmanian Department of Education during the study. He is a Life Course Fellow in the Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course. With a background in geography, he is interested in the spatial context associated with early childhood services in general and the Tasmanian Child and Family Centres specifically. Currently, he is an engineering consultant with Antea Group, Antwerp, Belgium.

Cate Taylor is a Senior Principal Research Fellow at the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia and an Adjunct Professor at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, The University of Tasmania. Professor Taylor specialises in large-scale longitudinal studies of children’s health, development, education and well-being. Her primary research is in children’s language and literacy development, which build the foundation for educational achievement, employment, health, well-being, prosperity and social connectedness. She has developed successful multidisciplinary research partnerships with government agencies and uses linked cross-sectoral government agency datasets to provide practical analysis and insights into best practice service provision and the role of early childhood health and education services in supporting families and young children. She began her career as a paediatric speech pathologist working with children and families in health and education settings.

ORCID

Kim Jose http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9346-6429

Daniel Christensen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9684-5782

Wietse I. van de Lageweg http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6736-9433

Cate Taylor http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9061-9162

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation and by the Tasmanian Department of Education. K. J. was supported by a grant from the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation and a Partnership Project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (1115891). C. T. was supported by a grant from the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation, a Partnership Project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (1115891) and a grant from the Australian Research Council (CE140100027). W. L. was supported by a grant from the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation and by the Tasmanian Department of Education. D. C. was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council (CE140100027). This work does not necessarily reflect the views of the Tasmanian Department of Education.