FREE report: What Works in Relationship Education - 6/30/09

[Smartmarriages]

Hi Diane, 

A number of us did a policy and research conference in London sponsored by
the Doha Group in Qatar.

The website is really the front end of a book they published from this
conference.  That is to say, at present, the website IS the book.  Hence,
there are many high quality chapters available from the various presenters
at the conference that are FREE downloads on this site.
 
It goes live tomorrow, timed for a Smart Marriage connection.
  
The website link is www.relationshipeducation.info
<http://www.relationshipeducation.info>
 
Live starting tomorrow, July 1, 2009 in terms of downloading chapters.

Scott Stanley 


>From the Intro: 

> Preface
> Samantha Callan, Editor
> 
> ŒWhat Works in Relationship Education? Lessons from Academics and Service
> Deliverers in the United States and Europe¹ was a unique event in a unique
> location. We drew together a dozen or so global experts for a colloquium on
> relationship education: a field which is no longer in its infancy but is in
> some ways perhaps going through a rather misunderstood adolescence. Our
> setting in the magnificent Westminster Hall, part of the public area in the
> United Kingdom¹s Houses of Parliament, underscored the profound policy
> relevance of the subject under discussion.
> 
> Over the two days of the colloquium we took a Œdeep bore¹ look at the state of
> international research in couple relationship education and its implications
> for policy and practice. One key aim of our funders, the Doha International
> Institute for Family Studies and Development, was that we should produce a
> body of work that could be drawn on by designers of Qatari relationship
> education services. The intention was that this aim would be largely met by
> publishing the proceedings of the colloquium with each paper presented at the
> event given a separate chapter.
> 
> An expert invited audience were carefully chosen for their ability both to
> contribute to the high-quality discussion (which helped to shape the final
> content of the chapters here) and to take back the best practice and research
> findings and integrate them into service and policy design. Again, the
> development and dissemination of information about positive family values and
> the promotion of strong family relationships through education, training and
> publications are part of the core remit of the funders. They were delighted
> with the level of engagement in the colloquium by the invited audience, which
> included members of both Houses of the United Kingdom Parliament, from
> different political parties..
> 
> Not only were the House of Commons and the House of Lords both represented but
> the event was sponsored by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sustainable
> Relationships. We were also joined by senior executives of many
> non-governmental organizations, researchers from top UK universities and
> practitioners who are working Œat the coalface¹ of couples¹ relationships on a
> daily basis. Although some of these practitioners usually work therapeutically
> with couples, the emphasis of the whole event was on how to work
> preventatively in such a way that severe and pronounced relationship
> difficulties do not emerge or become full-blown.
> 
> It was appropriate therefore that the organisers of the event, Care for the
> Family, have for the last 25 years been working primarily to prevent family
> breakdown in the UK as well as to help those suffering from its effects. They
> have for instance designed the first marriage preparation course specifically
> for step-parents. With their partners at the Marriage Preparation Course they
> have set up the National Couple Support Network. At present, only around one
> in 12 engaged couples in the UK do some kind of serious marriage preparation
> (other than briefly with the vicar or chaplain who will marry them), almost
> all of which is organised and run through churches. This new network aims to
> put all couples in the UK who want marriage preparation in touch with a full
> service that includes access to a support couple.
> 
> The obvious danger in economic downturns is that the prevention of family
> breakdown becomes a luxury which governments feel they cannot afford to invest
> in, and yet it is during precisely those times that the lessons learned from
> relationship education most need to be imparted and disseminated. When public
> funds are short it is even more important that the evidence-base for
> interventions is uncontrovertibly robust. This publication aims to strengthen
> the evidence base for relationship education as well as to draw attention to
> the need for ongoing research.. As such it meets a pressing need for policy
> makers and others from many countries, who are greatly exercised by the need
> to prevent family breakdown and strengthen relationships across society.
> 

**************************
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13th Annual Smart Marriages® Conference, The Shingle Creek,
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