CFLE Directions: Family Life Education: The Practice of Family Science

by Dawn Cassidy, M.Ed., CFLE, NCFR Director of Education

June 1, 2015

CFLE Network

NCFR has been fortunate over the years to benefit from the generosity of members who willingly share their knowledge and expertise for the betterment of the field of family science. I've had the privilege of working with many NCFR members in the creation of multiple professional resources: the University and College Curriculum Guidelines; 3 volumes of the Family Life Education Teacher's Kit (which I hope to resurrect someday soon via the Professional Resource Library); the Family Life Education Framework; Tools for Ethical Thinking and Practice for Family Life Educators; Pathways to Practice, a Family Life Education Internship and Practicum Handbook; Careers in Family Science; and Family Life Education: Integrating Theory and Practice, not to mention countless CFLE Network articles. These resources provide valuable information to support family professionals. None of these resources would exist without the dedication of the NCFR members who volunteered their time and knowledge toward their creation.

NCFR's newest publication, Family Life Education: The Practice of Family Science, is yet another collection of invaluable information provided by multiple experts in the field. Editors Michael Walcheski, Ph.D., CFLE, Concordia University, and Jennifer Reinke, Ph.D., CFLE, University of Wisconsin-Stout, have recruited experts from all areas of family science to provide an amazing resource. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every chapter and am confident it will become a well-used and referenced publication for family life education professionals and students alike!

Following is a helpful description of this important publication provided by the editors, Drs. Walcheski and Reinke.

Over the past 30 years, many scholars, researchers, and practitioners have worked to define and refine the discipline of family science and the application of such to the profession of family life education (FLE). Most recently, the journal Family Relations (Vol. 63, No. 3) included articles (Gavazzi, Wilson, Ganong, & Zvonkovic, 2014; Hamon & Smith, 2014; Hans, 2014) calling for a continuation of the work suggested at the 1985 National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) conference (Cushman, 2014). The practice of family science rests on a rich history of program development.

Clarifying the definition of family life education has not been an easy endeavor. Consistently identified as a source of operationalizing family life education (Darling & Cassidy, 2014; Duncan & Goddard, 2011; Hennon et al., 2013), Arcus et al. (1993) examined the practical and programmatic features of family life education in the context of what is and what should be family life education. They arrived at these principles:

Family life education is relevant to individuals and families throughout the lifespan.
Family life education should be based on the needs of individuals and families.
Family life education is a multidisciplinary area of study and multi-professional in its practice.
Family life education programs are offered in many different settings.
Family life education takes an educational rather than a therapeutic approach.
Family life education should present and respect differing family values.
Qualified educators are crucial to the successful realization of the goals of family life education (pp. 15–20).

The sections and chapters of the present volume have been shaped by the description and principles of family life educationas we now have them.

Purpose

The primary purpose of Family Life Education: The Practice of Family Science is to meet readers at the intersection of family research and practice. The practice of family life education is grounded in and sustained by family science. This foundation, family science, has a rich history extending back to the beginning of the previous century (Smart, 2009). NCFR has named Family Science as the identifying term for the discipline twice in the past 30 years (Cushman, 2014). During this time, NCFR has been diligent in advocating the sound dissemination of high-quality family research and its application to the practice of family life education (Hennon et al., 2013). The NCFR Task Force on the Development of a Family Discipline identified family science as a field of study where "the primary goals are the discovery, verification and application of knowledge about the family" (1987, p. 49). The application of such knowledge is the framework (Bredehoft & Walcheski, 2011) by which family life educators practice family science. Furthermore, the purpose of this book is to provide a reliable resource for the preparation of family life educators and for the certifying CFLE exam. We are confident that this book will be a benefit for new and experienced family professionals.

Outline of the Text

Three overarching themes informed the development of this book: (a) recognizing family science as the foundation for family life education, (b) identifying the audience as the family science student and family life education professional, and (c) and reflecting the prescriptive work of family life education across the lifespan. As editors, we have organized the volume into three sections.

The chapters in Section I are organized around current themes in family life education, such as the science and art of family life education, opportunities and challenges in coparenting education, family life and technology, and strategies for designing online family life education programs. This section chronicles the emerging trends in family life education, and includes updates and reprints of landmark articles that further the discussion of what comprises family life education, such as the Levels of Family Involvement Model: 20 Years Later (Doherty & Lamson, 2015), Reconceptualizing the Domains and Boundaries of Family Life Education (Myers-Walls, Ballard, Darling, & Myers-Bowman, 2011), and Family Coaching: An Emerging Family Science Field (Allen & Huff, 2014).

Section II begins with an outline of the Family Life Education Content Areas: Content and Practice Guidelines. These guidelines should be referenced in the study of the following chapters as a guide in preparation for the CFLE Exam. Each chapter in this section focuses on one of the 10 Family Life Content Areas. Each presents the learning outcomes of the content area from the Framework for Family Life Education (Bredehoft & Walcheski, 2011) and the practice component from the Family Life Education Content Areas: Content and Practice Guidelines (National Council on Family Relations, 2014). Chapter authors were asked to follow the same template; however, the uniqueness each author brought to the task produced distinctive results. As editors, we attempted to provide a sense of continuity without disturbing the distinct contribution of each author. Many of the content areas overlap and interact with each other. The chapters in this section encompass the following topics:

The practice components from the Family Life Education Content Areas: Content and Practice Guidelines.
The specific Framework's concepts and area outcomes.
An introduction to the Content Area.
A discussion, intended for students and practitioners in the field of family life education, integrating the practice components from the Family Life Education Content Area Guidelines and the Content Area outcomes from the Family Life Education Framework for the practice of family life education. Authors were asked to provide visual tools and case studies to encourage the application of current themes and best practices in family life education.
References of works cited in the chapter.

Section III includes chapters for the development of family life education teaching and practice for the profession and the professional. One of the strengths of this section is the brevity and applicability of the chapters, as authors offered specific and practical ideas of how to effectively practice family life education. Chapter foci include topics such as marketing family life education programs, preparing for the profession, developing a portfolio, using social media as a family life educator, and principles for improving family programs. This section concludes with a postscript to the field of family science and the professional development of the family life educator.

All authors were asked to provide discussion questions, annotated references, and key resources to accompany their chapter. Discussion questions use language that promote Bloom's higher learning outcomes, while annotated references provide readers with the descriptions of a few important sources of information on the topic. Key resources include books, research articles, websites, films and media sources, and curriculum materials that support the work of the family life educator. Annotated references and key resources will be accessible via the NCFR website.

Family Life Education: The Practice of Family Science continues the rich history of writing about work with families. For family life educators, it is necessary to question and discuss changing definitions, to review old and offer new approaches to program and delivery, to evaluate work and effectiveness with individuals and families across the lifespan, and to assess the relevancy of training programs. As members of a profession, family life educators are consistently faced with pioneers who leave, the arrival of new explorers, and the ever-changing territory of work with families. It is imperative that we remain vigilant to the evolving nature of family life education as described and explained in this volume.

Family Life Education: The Practice of Family Science will be published in summer 2015 and will be available through the NCFR Store. ISBN: 978-0-916174-75-1

References

Allen, K., & Huff, N. (2014). Family coaching: An emerging family science field. Family Relations, 63(5), 569-582. doi: 10.1111/fare.12087

Arcus, M. E., Schvaneveldt, J. D., & Moss, J. J. (Eds.). (1993). Handbook of Family Life Education: The practice of Family Life Education (Vol. 1). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Bredehoft, D. J., & Walcheski, M. J. (Eds.). (2011). The Family Life Education Framework [Poster and PowerPoint presentation]. Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.

Cushman, D. (2014). The future of Family Science. NCFR Report, 59(3), 5–6.

Darling, C. A., & Cassidy, D. (with Powell, L.) (2014). Family Life Education: Working with families across the lifespan. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Doherty, W., & Lamson, A. (2015). Levels of family involvement model: 20 years later. In M. J. Walcheski & J. S. Reinke (Eds.), Family life education: The practice of family science. Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations.

Duncan, S. F., & Goddard, H.W. (2011). Family Life Education: Principles and practices for effective outreach. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Gavazzi, S. M., Wilson, S. M., Ganong, L., & Zvonkovic, A. (2014). Furthering the conversation on the discipline of Family Science: Comments on the articles by Hamon & Smith and Hans. Family Relations, 63, 333–342.

Hamon, R. R., & Smith, S., R. (2014). The discipline of Family Science and the continuing need for innovation. Family Relations, 63, 309–322.

Hans, J. D. (2014). Whither famology? Department name trends across four decades. Family Relations, 63, 323–332.

Hennon, C. B., Radina, M. E., & Wilson, S. M. (2013). Family Life Education: Issues and challenges in professional practice. In G. Peterson & K. Bush (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (3rd ed., pp. 815–843). New York: Springer.

Myers-Walls, J. A., Ballard, S. M., Darling, C. A., & Myers-Bowman, K. S. (2011). Reconceptualizing the domain and boundaries of Family Life Education. Family Relations, 60, 357–372.

National Council on Family Relations. (2014). Family Life Education content areas: Content and practice guidelines. Minneapolis, MN: Author. Retrieved from https://www.ncfr.org/cfle-certification/academic-institutions/apply-cfl…-

Smart, L. S. (2009). Family Science: The emergence of a new discipline, 1982–2007. Family Science Review, 14, 118–128.

About the Editors

Michael J. Walcheski, Ph.D., CFLE, is a Professor of Psychology and Family Science in the College of Education and Sciences and Dean of the Graduate School at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN.

Jennifer S. Reinke, Ph.D., CFLE, is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.