Prospects and Challenges of Family Education in Bangladesh

Abstract

Family is the fundamental unit of society and civilization. A child gets his first education from his family. Family education is a broader term that combines formal and non-formal education types. Generally, the concept of family education relates to a structured, systematic, and organized education program carried out by parents, older members of the family, and their children. Civility, morality, gratitude, respect for one another, life skill, and leadership- learners acquire these qualities from the family. The study aims to discover the prospect and challenges of family education in Bangladesh. This study also intends to explore the status of family education programs focused on health, income generation, and adolescent education in Bangladesh. The researcher used a mixed-method approach to conduct the study, reflecting the quantitative and qualitative design. Structured Questionnaire for Quantitative Studies; expert’s and NGO personnel’s interviews for the qualitative part. To get the necessary data, the researcher intended to select two NGOs running different family education programs in Bangladesh. These are BRAC and Plan International. The researcher used random sampling to collect quantitative data and Purposive sampling for qualitative data. For the qualitative part, data collection is done with the help of open-ended questions. The results of this study show that family education contributes to the health protection of the family members as well as income generation and awareness building. The findings from the thesis further indicate that family education programs are reducing child marriage, dropping out from school, and preparing adolescents to form conscious family life. Income generation programs provide some skills that could be momentous for each family member. Researchers suggest that there are far-reaching benefits to family education if there is adequate funding and long-term planning. Curriculum reform with the implementation of education philosophy can make this theory more applicable at the ground level. To develop the family education sector, the government, as well as the non-government organizations, have to work continuously.