Hỗ trợ phát triển giáo dục của hôn nhân Inspired by research that has shown the effectiveness of MPE, diverse groups have encouraged the use and development of marriage preparation resources. MPE has been increasingly supported by professional, government, and religious leaders as a way to build healthy marriages (Brotherson & Duncan, 2004) and promote the beneficial effects of marriage for both adults and children (Amato & Booth, 1997; Waite & Gallagher, 2000). Several marriage education initiatives have been started through grassroots efforts in response to growing concerns about changing societal attitudes toward marriage. Government efforts to preserve and promote marriage continue to grow. Hawkins et al., (2008) point out that marriage and relationship education has moved beyond traditional realms of private professional or lay practitioners and is used as a tool in public policy. Reports from 2004 showed that more than 40 states had launched programs to support marriage and couple relationships (Dion, 2005). Government initiatives have been developed on local, state, and federal levels and cover a wide range of issues involved in strengthening marriages, including marriage preparation education. In the past few years, the role of the federal government in the movement to promote marriage 12 education has principally been in providing funding through grants and tax incentives (Dion, 2005). Increased funding has been available to professional, government, and community entities interested in promoting marriage education as a preventive measure in the battle against marital distress and divorce. The details of the growth of the marriage education movement are beyond the scope of this study. Unfortunately, the field is still relatively new and historical records have not been kept of the comparative numbers of available programs. One indication of the increasing efforts associated with marriage preparation resources is the number of participants and presenters at the annual Smart Marriages conference sponsored by the Coalition for Families and Couple Education (CMFCE). There were approximately 400 in attendance in the first conference held in 1997. Over 2500 people attended the most recent conference (2008) and there were over 200 presenters and 100 exhibits on display (D. Sollee, personal correspondence, Aug. 4, 2008). Suffice it to say that in the past ten years, the variety of groups supporting marriage education, as well as the variety of means for presenting educational materials, has increased exponentially (Doherty & Anderson, 2004). Evaluation of marriage preparation resources has not kept pace with the swift and extensive growth of the marriage education movement. Ideally, each resource would be peer-reviewed with published results of the evaluation of the resource. Because the time required for thorough empirical review is extensive, it is even more imperative that lay and professional educational leaders make use of a variety of empirical advancements and guidelines in their efforts to develop and offer the quality educational resources needed to help marriages now (Stanley, 2001).
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