Lessons from the field. A day in the life of a full‐time parenting educator

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• Author: Brian J. Higginbotham,Joshua J. Turner,Stephen F. Duncan,David G. Schramm
• Date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12736

BRIEF REPORT

Lessons from the field. A day in the life of a full-time

parenting educator

Brian J. Higginbotham

1

|Joshua J. Turner

1

|Stephen F. Duncan

2

|

David G. Schramm

1

1

Department of Family, Consumer, and

Human Development, Utah State University,

Logan, UT

2

School of Family Life, Brigham Young

University, Provo, UT

Correspondence

Dr. Joshua Turner, Department of Human

Development and Family Studies, 2705 Old

Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA.

Email: joshua.turner@usu.edu

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to learn more about

the daily activities of 10 parenting educators, hired to imple-

ment a federally funded fatherhood education program.

Background: Federal grants for Healthy Marriage and

Responsible Fatherhood programs have increased employ-

ment opportunities for parenting educators, who often take

on multiple duties. Despite initial job descriptions, adjust-

ments are necessary to achieve programmatic milestones and

satisfy funder expectations. Nevertheless, research available

to guide employers regarding the hiring, managing, and time

allocation of parenting educators is limited.

Method: Descriptive analyses of the activity logs of 10

parenting educators were conducted. Parenting educators

also participated in retrospective interviews at program

conclusion.

Results: The largest percentage of time was spent on class

activities, followed by professional development, and

administrative duties.

Conclusions: The duties of full-time parenting educators go

well beyond teaching.

Implications: Individuals entering into parent education

positions come from a diversity of backgrounds. Their

understanding of the discipline of parent education may be

limited by the types ofexperience they have had to date.

Organizations hiring parenting educators may benefit from

providing new employee training that includes theory, skills,

and concepts related to family life education, business,

marketing, and administration. In thisstudy, we provide

lessons from the field gleaned from the parenting educators

hired to implement a federally funded fatherhood education

program. Implications include strategies for posting, hiring,

and supervising parenting educator positions.

Received: 8 June 2021Revised: 21 March 2022Accepted: 20 May 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12736

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

1368 Family Relations. 2023;72:1368–1378.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare