The purpose of this book, Empowered to Parent- Single Parenting: The Guyana Reality is to promulgate the child-raising challenges young single parents face in their role as parents and to explore ways to help mitigate the challenges they face in parenting. The main thesis of the book is, to facilitate competent parenting among young single parents through the collaborative approach of stakeholders and incorporates reflective and shalom leadership.
The book is divided into five written chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the professional conceptual framework of the book which encapsulates Bowlby’s attachment theory, Skinner’s operant conditioning theory, Bowen’s family systems theory, and Minuchin’s family structure theory. Chapter 2 examines the key literature that embodies the framework necessary for the transformation of young single parents. These perspectives include fresh insights into concepts such as child-raising challenges of young single parents, facilitating competent parenting among young single parents, the theological foundations, transformational leadership through empowerment for single parents, and the like. Chapter 3 sets the stage for investigating the parenting skills needed to empower young single parents in their role as parents by employing the qualitative research methods of one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions to observe behavior, feelings, and interactions with the people who know the subject matter. Chapter 4 provides detailed findings and results that embody a research component with real-life experiences in addressing the intricacies of the subject matter. Some topics elaborated on include themes emerging from the responses of the one-on-one interviews, themes emerging from the responses of the focus-group discussions, and convergence of the main themes emerging from the interviews and focus-group discussions, and so forth. It proves the case for a holistic approach through the use of the transformational models suggested in the book. Chapter 5 delineates how the child-raising challenges of young single parents can be mitigated. The author provides several suggestions and strategies on how to facilitate competent parenting among young single parents as part of a holistic empowerment plan with stakeholders to build their capacity to engage in the process of personal growth and development that will transform their lives and the lives of their children.
The book also provides some useful tools for data gathering and training in its appendices. Such materials include interview and focus-group questions and a well-designed holistic empowerment plan that may be used or modified for the improvement of parenting among young single parents. This book is a must-read for all parents, educators, social workers, community and faith-based leaders.
Dr Benjamin, a Guyanese has more than 25 years of experience in empowering young single parents to fulfill their God-given purpose. As a former banker, he had the distinct honor of mentoring young parents on how to become successful entrepreneurs. Today, as a pastor and community leader he continues to mentor people to live a purpose-driven life. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science- Management (B.Sc. Man), Bachelor of Arts- Theology (B.A Th), Master of Arts in Social & Civic Entrepreneurship (MACE), and Doctor of Transformational Leadership (DTL).
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