Parenthood is a neglected domain. Though we have reams of information about parenting and raising children, there is a widespread blind spot when it comes to understanding the parents themselves.
The parental perspective is missing from professional education; from governmental and institutional policies and guidelines; from research programs and academia; and even from some of the most parent-friendly programs and initiatives.
Two years ago we – a group of professionals from policy, practice, and academic settings – set up this national consortium on parenthood and professional work with parents, with the aim of addressing this lacuna on all levels, from governmental policy to professional education and practice, and academic research. The initiators of this consortium were inspired by a combination of our own local engagement with this problem, and by examples we saw elsewhere such as Mary Crowley’s work in the UK on standards.
We have produced a position paper which includes our vision, the core issues that we think are crucial for this initiative, and our analysis of why, time and again, the parent ‘disappears’ from behind the ‘childrearer’ as the object of public and professional attention as well as what can be done to correct this problem.
The position paper will be made available here as soon as it is published, probably in June 2012.
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