The decreasing birth rate, incorporation of more women in the labor force, and changing social values are greatly affecting both the structure of the family and how its members interact in most European countries (Molinuevo, 2012). Parents of this generation do not have as much time as those from years ago to interact with their children, especially when the mother works outside the home. Furthermore, the parental methods of the past do not work exactly the same in today' s society (Maccoby, 1992). Consequently, many parents feel they have lost key models for raising their children.

            Parents’ beliefs are an important part of children´s developmental, upbringing and educating context. Parents hold beliefs about children, children’s needs, about themselves as parents, about how they should act as parents and what ideal care of children consists of (e.g. Hirsjärvi & Perälä-Littunen 2001; Keller, 2007). In this symposium beliefs from Finish and Japanese parents are examined and compared in this regard by Dr. Satu Perälä-Littune (University of Jyväskylä, Finland). Also parents' beliefs of university students in Cyprus are examined by Dr. Loizos Symeou and colleagues (European University Cyprus).

            Parents feel the pressure of social expectations to raise children who will have positive self-esteem, be able to make decisions, respect norms, achieve a certain level of academic competence, create or maintain employment, and educate others (Martínez González, Pérez Herrero, & Álvarez Blanco, 2007). Most parents, however, do not receive any information or training on how to be effective parents, and so may be overwhelmed. In turn, they might feel guilty and inadequate when their children do not leave up those expectations (Abidin, 1995). Dr. Martínez-González et al. (Oviedo University, Spain) explore the educational strategies parents need to learn to be more effective in building up positive family dynamics which promote their children’s development. Previous research revealed that parents wanted help on a number of parenting issues such as ways to: 1) improve their relationship with their children, 2) help their children develop thinking and studying skills and 3) help their children develop positive self-esteem (Arcus,  Schvaneveldt, & Moss,1993). In this regard, Dr. Cullen and colleagues (University of Warwick, England) explore the main characteristics of an educational initiave developed in England to provide all parents of children aged 0-5 with the opportunity to access parenting courses (Cullen, Strand, Cullen, & Lindsay, 2014).

            These initiatives might have a positive effect not only at home, but also at school. When children misbehave in the classroom, teachers ask parents to discipline them. Often, however, parents do not know what to do. This discomfort may prevent many parents from contacting the school or the teachers, especially when parents perceive the educators as not being helpful. This could apply especially to migrant families, as Dr. Spielhofer and colleagues highlight in their paper (The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR), United Kingdom). This lack of communication may increase the tension between parents and teachers, making it more likely that each side will blame the other for the child' s misbehavior. To offset these negative outcomes, schools can help parents develop or enhance their parenting skills, helping them feel more competent and thus become more effective (Epstein, 2011). At a European level, the Council of Europe Recommendation (2006/19) on Policies to Promote Positive Parenting recognizes that parenting, though linked to family intimacy, should be consider as well as a context of public policy. From this perspective, all the necessary measures from schools and communities should be adopted for supporting parenting and creating the conditions necessary for positive parenting. In this study we explore mothers' parenting competences in order to identify their parenting needs and to promote parenting programmes (Asmussen, 2011).