Parenting Council Research Clearinghouse: Library "T"
The Effectiveness of Parenting Programmes for Pacific Parents
Date:
2008
Published by:
The Parenting Council in association with the Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
This research study aimed to explore how effective parenting programmes were for Pacific peoples. Ten programmes were identified by thirty Pacific parents and seven programme providers who participated in this study. Following the interviews and analysis of the data, a focus group of five was conducted building on the data from the interviews and extrapolating on the themes from the participant interviews.
The Family Court: A View From The Outside (Issues Paper No. 3)
Author:
Stuart Birks
Date:
1998
Published by:
Centre For Public Policy Evaluation, Massey University
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
The focus of this paper is on the Family Court, but the subject matter raises broader questions. In this paper, building on Issues Paper No.1, there is more information on professional accountability and standards, not just in the legal profession. Similarly, the suitability of professional training and of implementation processes is questioned. Section 4.2 of Issues Paper No.2 suggested that there is a "menu of principles" upon which judges can draw. This was illustrated in detail by one paper at the 1998 Family Law Conference, as discussed in sections 2.8-2.10 below. It leads us to ask the questions: who makes policy; by what mandate; and to whom are they accountable? Again we see the significance of processes as a determinant of outcomes, and the importance of monitoring, research and broader perspectives. In all these areas, the Family Court is open to criticism.
On 1 July 2005, after 25 years of private legal proceedings, the Family Court in New Zealand was opened up to the media and hence to the public gaze. This was a substantial reversal of previous regulation of court reporting in the Family Court. The general approach to reporting court cases in New Zealand has always been one of open justice – the law recognises that the media performs an important public function in reporting the daily business of our courts and should generally have open access to do so. However, this had not been the case with the Family Court.
This research project was developed to investigate the effects of media reporting of Family Court proceedings following this hugely significant change in the law. It sought to exploit a unique opportunity to investigate whether the new openness made a difference to public awareness and understanding of the Family Court dispute resolution process and if so, what that difference was. It also hoped to be able to assess the extent to which the new openness of the court served the interests of families and children.
Ministry of Social Development - Social Policy Journal of New Zelaand
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
"Family Social Policy" is not a clearly demarcated discipline in New Zealand nor, indeed, in other parts of the world. It is hard, however, to find many policies that do not have an impact on families either directly or indirectly. And although we may and often do interrogate policies for their impact on the economy or the environment, it is far less likely that a "family lens" will be applied to policy making.
The Kiwi Nest - 60 years of change in New Zealand families
Date:
2008
Published by:
Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
Family form and structure have changed over the past 60 years, raising questions about how families can meet contemporary functions. Because the family is an economic entity, a critical social group, and a building block of communities, society itself can be affected when families come under pressure.
Global influences, the economy, social norms, our capacity to work, and our expectations about being a parent are often different today than for previous generations. This report examines the factors that affect the formation and existence of families, and how families adapt to changes. If families are adaptable, society benefits.
Alongside a demographic description of New Zealand families over six decades, the report examines three important dimensions of family life – work, income, and housing. It also discusses themes that transcend these topics.
This report will contribute to a broad view of the complexity and importance of families, and how they can be supported to enhance their wellbeing.
The Meaning of Family and Home for Young Pasifika People Involved in Gangs in the Suburbs of South Auckland
Author:
Camille Nakhid
Date:
2009
Publisher:
Ministry of Social Development - Social Policy Journal of New Zealand
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
This article uses in-depth interviews conducted with 26 Pasifika youth gang members from two South Auckland suburbs to explore how these youth perceive family and home in the context of their role as a gang member. The voices of these youth, obtained in a series of focus group interviews organised according to their gang affiliation, provide us with the opportunity to understand the place and meaning that family and home have in the lives of these young people. The data show that being a member of a family remains a key desire for youth gang members, and that a supportive immediate family takes priority over the gang family. Home to the youth included the streets, neighbourhood and community in which their immediate family and gang family resided. Of interest is that young Pasifika people involved in gangs were not seeking to replace their immediate family or home with a gang family or for a life on the street but extended their meanings of family and home to include the gang and the street.
The Role of Family Centres in Encouraging Learning and Understanding within Families
Author:
Stewart Ranson and Heather Rutledge
Date:
2005
Published by:
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Location:
Britain
Abstract:
Family centres are community resources providing local support to parents and children. They represent a key resource for a number of government policies that target families in deprived areas. This study examined how family centres can encourage learning and understanding within the family.
The Role of Whānau in the Lives of Māori with Physical Disabilities
Author:
Adelaide Collins and Huhana Hickey
Date:
2006
Published by:
Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
The objectives of this research were to identify whether the Whānau is the primary or secondary social and economic unit in the lives of Māori with disabilities; the part that Whānau play in the lives of Māori with disabilities and the factors that help and hinder the wellbeing of Whānau when a member has a disability.
Kaupapa Māori principles underpinned the research, which comprised a review of literature, development of a model on Whānau wellbeing, and in-depth interviews with Whānauin the Gisborne/East Coast and Waikato regions.
The Spinafex Effect: Developing a Theory of Change for Communities
Authors:
Kathryn Handley, Sheryll Horn, Ripeka Kaipuke, Bruce Maden, Elizabeth Maden, Barbara Stuckey, Robyn Munford, Jackie Sanders
Date:
2009
Published by:
Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
This report provides a brief overview of a two-year process of reflection, critique and practice development, and highlights some of the key practice learning from this project. It also provides some suggestions about the ways in which other family/whänau and community organisations could develop their own theories of change by reflecting on their practice to become more intentional about the work they do
Towards A Statistical Typology of New Zealand Households and Families: The Efficacy of the Family Life Cycle Model and Alternatives
Author:
Charles Crothers and Fiona McCormack
Date:
2006
Published by:
Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
Despite the family being the nexus of most people’s social, economic, political and cultural lives, there is very little systematic social research material concerning its structure and variability in structure. In charting an analytical path through this difficult territory, the Statistics New Zealand (Statistics NZ) classifications are of considerable utility. However, these typologies have been developed from a formal classificatory stance and have not been empirically tested, nor their fit with empirical consequences researched. Alternative classifications may better capture significant empirical variation, and this is the task of this report.
Tracing Changes in Families Who Participated in the Home-Start Parenting Program: Parental Sense of Competenceas Mechanism of Change
Authors:
Maja Deković & Jessica J. Asscher & Jo Hermanns &Ellen Reitz & Peter Prinzie & Alithe L. van den Akker
Date:
2010
Published by:
Prevention Science
Location:
The Netherlands
Abstract:
The present study aimed to (1) determine the long-term effectiveness of Home-Start, a preventive parenting program, and (2) test the hypothesis that changes in maternal sense of competence mediate the program’s effects. Participants were 124 mothers (n=66 intervention, n=58 comparison). Four assessments took place during a 1-year period. Latent growth modeling showed that Home-Start enhanced growth in maternal sense of competence and supportive parenting, and led to a decrease in the use of inept discipline. Results of mediational and cross-lagged analyses were consistent with the hypothesized model: Participation in Home-Start was related to the changes in maternal sense of competence, which in turn predicted changes in parenting. The results affirm the importance of directly targeting parental sense of competence in the context of prevention work with parents.
This paper explores the issues surrounding data collection and the diversity of family types, with particular emphasis on family connections across households. Most of the official statistics in New Zealand and overseas rely on data collected on an individual or household basis. Hence we commonly see such terms as ‘sole parent family’ and ‘absent parent’. There is commonly an implicit assumption that individuals are part of one household only, and that all their family members live in that same household. This does not reflect the reality of life for many people, and yet the data shape the perspectives chosen and the analyses undertaken. The associated terminology emphasises some relationships, while ignoring others. Similarly, there are inaccuracies in the perceived availability of, and demands on, resources for the various identified groups of people. It is through this distorted lens that much of our perception of society is formed.
