Prioritizing Parents: Education about Engagement in Inclusive Societies

Authors: Michelle P. Kelly, Khawla Barley, Adel Wahdain, Ashlyn Smith, Andrew Lincoln, Angela Precious Manu
Conference: International Dialogue Of Civilization And Tolerance Conference – Abu Dhabi 2024
Keywords: inclusion, intellectual and developmental disabilities, parent training, UAE

Abstract

Education is a catalyst for promoting inclusive mindsets and inclusive societies. For parent education programs to be successful, it is necessary to understand how to successfully recruit fathers and mothers to the programs and how to prevent attrition across multiple sessions. In Study 1, a total of 894 parents in the UAE responded to an online, anonymous survey to share their perspectives on early childhood development training. The findings of this study will be shared including reported preferences about the types and values of items that should be offered as potential incentives or adequate compensation for parents to engage in training. In Study 2, preliminary findings from a pilot 6-session parent education program will be shared including social validity data as well as the reported levels of stress, well-being, morale, self-efficacy, and parenting behaviors of eight Arabic-speaking mothers of children of determination in Abu Dhabi. The potential implications of these findings will be outlined, including a discussion on future research and design of efficacious parent education practices.