MANY DIFFERENCES EXIST IN INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, STRENGTHS, AND WEAKNESSES RELATED TO EFFECTIVE CHILD REARING AND PARENTAL COMPETENCIES, PROGRAM GOALS FOR PARENTHOOD EDUCATION SHOULD EMPHASIZE THE FOLLOWING: (1) A PRIMARY CONCERN FOR STRENGTHENING THE FAMILY UNIT THAT RECOGNIZES AND ACKNOWLEDGES THE COMPLEXITY OF RELATIONSHIPS, NEEDS, AND GOALS; (2) PUBLIC RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE COMPLEXITY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE PARENTAL ROLE; (3) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES THAT INVOLVE PARENTS IN THE PROCESS OF SPECIFYING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES RELEVANT TO THEM, THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS; (4) DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS DIRECTED TO SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL GOALS FOR CHILDREN AND PARENTS AS WELL AS THE NARROWER SCHOOL-RELATED GOALS AND CONCERNS; (5) DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PERSONNEL WITH APPROPRIATE ELEMENTS FOR WORKING WITH FAMILIES, ADULTS AS WELL AS CHILDREN; AND (6) DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES THAT FACILITATE THE COORDINATION AND FULL UTILIZATION OF ALL EXISTING DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR PARENTHOOD EDUCATION. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--KBL)