Needs assessment of family education courses for parents of high school students in the field of children's educational issues

The present study was aimed to study the educational needs of high school students’ parents regarding the educational issues of their children. Concerning the nature of the study, and its objectives, the study was a kind of survey research. The sample consisted of all school principals and instructors for family education courses, and students’ parents from among high schools in Tehran Counties. The sample was selected randomly from various educational districts in multiple stages, which included 527 parents, 51 instructors, and 48 principals, who all were involved in family education courses. A researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect data from the participants. Descriptive statistics and T-tests were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that from parents’, instructors’, and principals’ view, the content of such courses was relatively harmonious with the educational needs of parents, but it did not cover all the educational needs of attending parents. The other educational needs of parents were teaching life skills to children, Mental and emotional characteristics of Adolescent, Expectations young to adults, Social problems in adolescence and coping with them, Teen abnormal behavior and how to reduce them. Since the content of such courses did not cover all needs of parents, it was suggested to instructors to identify other needs of parents based on a survey in advance and include them in their instruction program.