For the past three years (2009-2012) I was the ‘Lector’ or topic-based professor on Parenthood and Professional Work with Parents at Leiden University of Applied Science. My task there was to develop a program of professional education on the topic of parenthood and professional work with parents. Parenthood is a neglected theoretical domain: Much is written about childrearing and how parents perform, but not a lot of it begins with the parental perspective, or considers the fact — or its implications — that parenthood is a developmental phase in its own right. In the broadest sense, this Lectorate was about developing a coherent vision, a professional identity, and a research agenda for parenthood and for professionals who work with parents in a wide variety of settings. In these three years, I worked with a team to develop a multidisciplinary ‘minor’ on parenthood and professional work with parents. This offering rapidly gained popularity amongst the bachelor students, and curriculum on parenthood began to be steadily added to other parts of the bachelor program both within the department of Social Work, and the schools of education and nursing. Outside of the school, parenthood was increasingly on the agenda as practitioners, administrators, researchers and policy makers alike struggled, and continue to struggle, with the question of how to reach and effectively work with parents.
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