Framework for Best Practices in Family Life Education: A Case Example

• Author: Eboni J. Baugh,Lisa E. Tyndall,Sharon M. Ballard,Kerry Littlewood,Carrie Bumgarner Bergeson
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12200
• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016

S M. B, L E. T, E J. B,  C B B

East Carolina University

K L University of South Florida

Framework for Best Practices in Family Life

Education: A Case Example

Evidence-based programming (EBP) in family

life education is in high demand because it has

a higher likelihood of achieving desired out-

comes than non-evidence-based programming.

Although EBP can promote program sustain-

ability and delity, the implementation of EBP

in real-world settings can be challenging. Prac-

titioners sometimes struggle with identifying the

best way to adapt EBP to t their needs. In this

article, the Positive Parenting Program (Triple

P) is used to provide an in-depth case example

of adapting and implementing EBP through the

lens of Ballard and Taylor’s (2012) Framework

for Best Practices in Family Life Education. The

authors outline framework elements that guided

this adaptation, such as consideration of context

and culture, program content and format, pro-

gram design, and the role of the family life edu-

cator. Suggestions are provided for employing

this framework to overcome barriers to imple-

mentation and ultimately increase program sus-

tainability to improve the lives of families.

Family life education is programming designed to

enrich and strengthen family well-being (Arcus,

Department of Human Development and Family Science,

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858 (bal-

lards@ecu.edu).

KeyWords: Best practices in family life education, evidence-

based programming, family life education, implementation

science, program adaptation, Triple P Positive Parenting

Program.

1992). As such, family life educators have a

primary goal of helping families build knowl-

edge and skills to facilitate optimal family

functioning (Myers-Walls, Ballard, Darling, &

Myers-Bowman, 2011). Like other domains of

family practice, there is increasing demand for

the use of evidence-based family life educa-

tion programs (Small, Cooney, & O’Connor,

2009). Evidence-based programming (EBP) has

been shown through rigorous, peer-reviewed

evaluation to be effective in achieving desired

outcomes (Small et al., 2009). EBP includes

core components that are necessary for a

program to effectively achieve its intended

outcomes (Blase & Fixsen, 2013). These core

components, which are based in theory and

research, can include learning strategies, activ-

ities, content, or other programming features

such as dosage (e.g., number and length of

sessions). Program delity is often determined

by assessing adherence to the core components

established for a particular program. There are

various ways of identifying and indexing EBP.

One example is the Substance Abuse and Mental

Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA,

2015) National Registry of Evidence-Based

Programs and Practices, which has outlined

four dimensions by which programs are rated in

order to be considered evidence based: method-

ological rigor, effect size, program delity, and

conceptual framework.

Family life educators and other practitioners

often feel pressure to use EBP (Fratello, Kapur,

Family Relations 65 (July 2016): 393–406 393

DOI:10.1111/fare.12200