Concept Maps in the Family Science Classroom

This presentation will illustrate the usefulness and variability of concept maps in family science classrooms. This poster will define concept maps, demonstrate examples of effective use of concept maps in teaching family science, and delineate scholarly-based information on how to maximize their effectiveness. It also will illustrate the importance of student involvement in constructing and using this visual aid

Parents' socialization of children's emotions and children's socioemotional adjustment : the role of adult attachment

textThe main goal of this study was to examine how parents’ mental representations of their past attachment relationships influence the way they respond to their own children’s emotions, using hypotheses based in attachment theory. Parents’ responses to their children’s emotions and children’s emotion regulation and social and emotional adjustment over time were also examined. Finally, differences between mothers and fathers were examined. The original sample contained 125 couples. Mothers’ and Fathers’ mental representations of attachment were measured prior to giving birth to their first child. Parents’ responses to their children’s emotions were assessed during parent-child interactions when children were 2-years old, and with parental questionnaires when children were 7-years old. Children’s emotion regulation was coded at 2-years and parents and teachers reported children’s social adjustment using the Child Behavior Checklist at 7-years. Mothers’ adult attachment did not predict their responses to their children’s emotions when their children were 2- or 7-years old. Fathers’ adult attachment did predict their responses to their children’s emotions. Dismissing fathers were more minimizing and punitive toward their children’s emotions than secure fathers when children were 2-years old. Dismissing fathers, compared to secure fathers, reported more distress and punitive reactions to their children’s emotions when their children were 7-years old. In addition, the more sensitive parents were to their children’s emotions, the better their children’s emotion regulation. Less sensitive responses were related to children’s underregulation of emotions. In general, children’s emotion regulation at 2-years did not predict children’s social adjustment at 7-years, although, some child gender differences were found. Few differences were found between mothers and fathers in the way they responded to their children’s emotions.Human Ecolog

The Family Folklore Album: Using the Power of Stories to Engage Students in Family Science

The Family Folklore Album project is a pedagogical tool in which students interview family members in order to collect stories which are then organized and critically analyzed using concepts and insights gained from a family science course. The Album is designed to help students to gain an awareness of their own family and their place within it, as well as the multiplicity of ways of being family. Formal assessment data of the project reveals that, in general, students appreciate the opportunity to spend time with and learn more about their family members, while at the same time gaining a deeper understanding of family science concepts and their own identity

The Discipline of Family Science and the Continuing Need for Innovation

The discipline of family science is entering a new phase, the evaluation and innovation stage. With shrinking academic budgets and threats of departmental dissolution or mergers, it is imperative for administrators of family science programs to be able to articulate the distinctiveness of the discipline, the worth of the unique skills and perspectives afforded by family science programs, the challenges affecting the field, and the solutions and resources necessary to propel family science to new levels of relevance and application. This article reviews the history of the development of the field of family science and then reports survey results from representatives of family science programs related to each of these matters. Innovative strategies for advancing the field and family science programs are discussed