Roles and capacities of Thai family development centres
| Published date | 17 December 2018 |
| Date | 17 December 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-11-2017-0048 |
| Pages | 110-121 |
| Author | Warunsicha Supprasert,David Hughes,Piyatida Khajornchaikul |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Children/youth,Parents,Education,Early childhood education,Home culture,Social/physical development |
Roles and capacities of Thai family
development centres
Warunsicha Supprasert, David Hughes and Piyatida Khajornchaikul
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of thispaper is to examine Family DevelopmentCentre (FDC) staff’s[1] perspectives
on their roles and capacityto promote early childhood language learningthrough good parenting.
Design/methodology/approach –This research employed in-depth interviews with 30 FDC coordinators
and volunteer staff, supported by limited field observations.
Findings –Identifying risk, surveillance of at-risk families, building community solidarity and activities to
support parenting and children, emerged as key components of FDC work. Volunteers softened their
surveillance role by emphasising their social support function and personal links to local communities. Most
activities aimed to strengthen family bonding and relationships, with fewer specifically addressing early
childhood language deficits. Volunteers found the latter challenging, and generally sought to work in
cooperation with education, public health and child care staff where projects involved language development.
Practical implications –Most volunteers said they lacked the capacities to promote early language
development effectively and required additional training in such areas as partnerships and collaboration,
family and parenting support, and project management. The authors argue that the importance given to
partnerships reflects volunteers’recognition that they need to draw on outside expertise to address
children’s language problems. Given resource constraints, volunteers will remain central to family support
work for the immediate future. Even with training lay volunteers will not become language experts, and future
policy should centre on building a framework of professional support for the community teams.
Originality/value –This study fills a gap in knowledge about FDC volunteer roles and suggests a need for
training that focuses on teamwork rather than specialist language expertise.
Keywords Thailand, Parenting, Surveillance, Early childhood language development,
Family development centres, Roles and capacities
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Early childhood language delay is a highly prevalent condition of concern for parents and
professionals. It may result in long-term consequences, not only in language development but
also in social and emotional wellbeing. Later in life, affected children will have difficulty coping with
complex situations (Wake et al., 2012). Many disadvantaged children around the world do not
fulfil their developmental potential due to sub-optimal child-rearing and impoverished learning
environments (McGregor et al., 2007; WHO, n.d.). Recent Thai research using multi-agency data
found a high prevalence of language delay, with over 20 per cent of children aged 0-5 years old
at high risk of serious language deficits, as well as falling far below na tional goals
(Nopmaneejamruslert, 2013; Patthanapongthorn et al., 2014).
Families play a primary role in early childhood language acquisition by nurturing children’s speech
and literacy development at home. The domestic environment and the approach of parents are
therefore critical factors. They have the potential to shape children’s readiness for school, their
attitudes towards learning and their later academic attainment (Sammons et al., 2015; WHO,
1999). However, literature reviews have shown that Thai parents lack appropriate parenting
skills, especially in rural areas (Moesuwan et al., 2004).
Received 7 November 2017
Revised 27 July 2018
17 September 2018
Accepted 27 September 2018
The authors are grateful to FDC
volunteers and coordinators for
participating in this study. The
authors thank the anonymous
referees of the journal for their
constructive suggestions. This
paper was prepared while
Warunsicha Supprasert was a
visiting doctoral student at
Swansea University, UK, and
Warunsicha is indebted to those
who assisted in discussions about
the study. This paper is a part of
research project funded by
Praboromarajchanok Institute for
Health Workforce Development,
Ministry of Public Health, Thailand.
Warunsicha Supprasert is
based at the Faculty of Public
Health, Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand; and
Strategy and Quality Assurance
Division, Sirindhorn College of
Public Health Chonburi,
Chonburi, Thailand.
David Hughes is Professor at
the Department of Public
Health, Policy and Social
Sciences, College of Human
and Health Sciences, Swansea
University, Swansea, UK.
Piyatida Khajornchaikul is
Assistant Professor at the
Faculty of Public Health,
Mahidol University,
Bangkok, Thailand.
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JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
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VOL. 13 NO. 3/4 2018, pp. 110-121, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660 DOI 10.1108/JCS-11-2017-0048
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