Evaluation of the African Migrant Parenting Program: A Summary of the Evaluation Findings

This report is based on the evaluation of the African Migrant Parenting Program (AMPP) undertaken by Dr. Andre Renzaho in August 2009 for Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre in Melbourne. The report focuses on the uptake and effectiveness of the AMPP in the different African migrant populations that have recently settled in Melbourne. This is ostensibly owing to the fact that most culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities practice an authoritarian parenting style and certain traditional practices that have adverse effects on children's health and are against the law in Australia. Central to the recommendations made in this report are the following findings: The majority of families who participated in the program tended to be new arrivals, from the Democratic Republic of Congo and of a low socio-economic status; Within the parenting domain, the AMPP impacted most domains with the exception of the domain relating to children's independence. It is important to note that the scores in each domain were lower than expected averages, indicating the risk of child abuse and neglect among African migrants by Australian standards; Within the feeding domain, the score relating to the tendency to press children to eat more food declined significantly with mothers, suggesting mothers and fathers have different child feeding practices; Children are not allowed to be involved in decision-making related to the buying and cooking of food, or what they eat; Regarding parent-child relations, African-migrant parents characterised the recommendations for child-rearing in Australia as a soft-approach compared to what was practised in their country of origin; It is notable from the data that African parents place enormous importance on the value of education for their children. The report concludes with recommendations regarding the AMPP and suggests strategies that could be integrated within the program to increase its effectiveness.