Questions about the effectiveness of parent programs are addressed in this paper, which is based on the premise that an important step toward improvement is the identification and clarification of assumptions which prompt and sustain specific program structure and operations. Selected major assumptions about the ways in which programs attempt to influence parents are discussed, and three dimensions of parent programs are examined in order to identify the relationship between prevailing assumptions and program practices: the expertise and role of the professional in working with parents, the development of program standards of good parenting, and conceptions of how parents change. As a preface to the analysis of these areas, current trends and developments in the parent education field are considered. (MP)