Early Childhood Development/Better Parenting (ECD/BP) Project - Jordan

Implemented in 1998, this five-year project was designed to provide parents and caregivers of very young children with the necessary knowledge, skills, and social services concerning child rearing, specifically in the areas of health, nutrition, and social-emotional development. Local facilitators were trained to deliver courses. The project focussed on urban and rural families disadvantaged by conditions of poverty, no or minimal employment, and low literacy.

The project focussed on the following four areas:

1. Identifying and assessing gaps in knowledge and skills among different beneficiary groups including parents, social services providers, and decision makers;
2. Supporting advocacy events and the development of relevant information material focussing on decision makers, parents, and caregivers within the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);
3. Continuing the development of training material to be used by participating partners with community outreach facilities and non-governmental organisations to enable them to adopt and incorporate better parenting strategies and methods;
4. Supporting the formation of core teams of trainers/supervisors from ministries and NGOs for the development of resource centres, including centres for children with disabilities.

Main Communication Strategies
The courses offered by trained local facilitators included:

• Better parenting content
• Socialisation: family, school, religion, peers, media
• Communication skills within families
• Relationship between family and school
• Gender roles in the family

These facilitators used video, parent booklets, and facilitator guides. They were also trained in the building of more effective relations between and among parents, health centres, schools and teachers.