Education for Family Life in Australia

Family life education is neither a formal discipline nor a formally recognized vocation in Australia. Rather, it comprises a loose amalgam of programs, services, and policies - with little reliable evaluation data to guide its activities. Education for family life in Australia has a complex disjointed story, characterized by a marked decline in couple relationship education, on the one hand, and an expansion of parenting education on the other. Our central argument is that supporting and enriching couple relationships is critical to successful parenting. Yet Australian policy - possibly reflecting broader cultural and attitudinal barriers—appears to neglect this important nexus.