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In this paper we talk about creating coherence and transparency in the relationships between teacher, model of adult learning and subject taught. We describe how we have made connections between adult learning theory and family therapy to generate resources for action in teaching on the qualifying level course at Northumbria University. Using a recent teaching session and the voices of trainees, we illustrate these connections with an example of teaching about relational reflexivity, using methods which enabled us to generate reflexive ‘flow’ in the learning context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational contexts can be both enriched and impoverished by our relationship with learning and our ‘identity stories’ as learners influence how we construct contexts for learning. Keenoy et al. (2007) describe identity as a ‘transient bridging concept’ between the individual and society which is constructed through ‘reflexive processes of naming, labelling, classifying and associating symbolic artefacts and social actors in a dialogical process of social definition and redefinition’. Can methods of assessment be constructed to afford reflexive, dialogical learning opportunities? This paper outlines the design and methodology of a reflexive framework for the summative assessment of abilities used on the Intermediate Level course at Northumbria University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a brief introduction about repertory grid technique in the study of families, with the author's comment on the paper "A comparative study of repertory grid and clinical methods for assessing family structure," by A. Karastergiou-Katsika and J. P. Watson. A simplified description of the repertory grid approach is offered, and some of its applications and uses in family work is discussed. The author notes that the paper of Karastergiou-Katsika and Watson has presented an interesting and potentially useful application of grid techniques in the field of family work.

The article examines the complex intersection of gendered family roles, family formation, economic motivations, and family migration. It depicts that the inter relationships are more complicated than suggested by simple models of triggers in mobility behavior. It mentions that the fertility event is related to space needs that drive the balancing process of mobility and migration. It also discusses how women participate in the labor force and the magnitude to which they are disadvantaged by moves. It mentions that the explanatory variable in understanding migration is not the potential economic return to migration but the extent to which traditional gender roles inhibit consideration of the woman's labor market activity.

This paper looks at some of the issues associated with attempting to provide training in family therapy on a low budget of time and money. It also considers some more general points to do with providing training..The more extensive programmes referred to which take place in the U.S.A. are not yet viable in the U.K. It is not suggested that they should be copied, since professional cultures differ, but some learning can usefully take place. The aims and methods of teaching on introductory and intermediate low budget short courses are described and compared, and some vignettes given in order to propose ways of making such training effective. Course outlines and trainee evaluation of such training are given in the appendices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how translational family science might be instantiated by considering research on forgiveness in close relationships. Relevant historical context is provided to traverse ground in multiple disciplines in an attempt to avoid repetition of past errors. The translational science continuum (T1 to T4) is considered and specific examples of each type of translation are outlined. A set of explicitly stated implications are offered in the course of the analysis. These implications speak to lessons that can be learned for translational family science from the examination of forgiveness in a relationship context as well as mandates for forgiveness research that become apparent when research on this construct is viewed through the lens of translational family science. The potential for a healthy symbiotic relationship between translational family science and research on forgiveness in relationships is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family science has been a translational science since its inception. The history of family science began with an interdisciplinary group of scholars who came together to explore the complex nature of families during the discovery phase, paying particular attention to applying information to resolve family challenges. In the pioneering stage, family professionals struggled with naming the discipline and assembled professional groups that collected and applied information to benefit families. In the maturing stage, disciplinary leaders deemed that family science met the criteria of a bona fide discipline and the field's identity became more pronounced, with a great deal of translational work occurring. During the current stage, evaluation and innovation, family science professionals need to assess programs and practices to refine and better articulate and distinguish the field. This historical account accentuates the central importance of the translational nature of family science to the discipline's identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on family instability is fertile ground for translation into policy and practice. This article describes how basic science in this area can more effectively support work in later stages of the translational research process. To begin, the scope of family instability is outlined with trends, causes, and effects. Next, a conceptual model of the effects of family instability on children's health identifies focal aspects that could be leveraged for translational research: developmental domain, developmental time, mechanisms, and points of variation. The guidelines presented are meant to be general and applicable to a variety of topics and fields in which family scholars aim to improve basic research that can contribute to and move forward a translational family science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online professional practice analysis of family life educators was conducted resulting in responses from 522 Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs) and a comparison group of 369 noncertified family practitioners. This survey included questions about the characteristics of CFLEs, their work environments, and practice-related tasks within 10 CFLE content areas. Compared to noncertified family professionals, CFLEs more frequently perceived that entry-level family life educators needed greater expertise in Internal Dynamics of Families, Human Growth and Development, Human Sexuality, Interpersonal Relationships, Family Resource Management, and Family Life Education Methodology than the other family life content areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family life practitioners are increasingly being called upon to help families meet work-life challenges. This article describes the grassroots beginnings, program development, and formative evaluation findings for 1 module of a Cooperative Extension work-life management program. Although the curriculum module is based on theory and research, it emphasizes practical strategies. A total of 101 employed parents participated. An intervention group received the curriculum and materials, whereas a comparison group did not. Pretest and posttest comparisons provide initial support for the success of the curriculum in encouraging effective work-life management practices among employed parents. Directions for further program revision and evaluation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a longitudinal study of psychosocial factors in children with recent onset of rheumatic disease (N = 72), it was hypothesized that FACES III cohesion sum scores would be correlated with family closeness as measured by the Kvebaek Family Sculpture Technique (KFST). A second aim was to examine how these instruments were associated with semi structured interview assessments of child and family psychosocial function, and whether these associations were linear or curvilinear. FACES Ill cohesion sum stores and KFST family mean interpersonal distance were not correlated, whereas the cohesion sum scores were related to the mother-father distance on the KFST. Where associations with child and family psychosocial function were found, they were linear. The results support the usefulness of a distinction between cohesion as a family or group characteristic and dyadic closeness, especially between the parent figures. The need for further conceptual clarification and more thorough empirical validation procedures in this area is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Important aspect of graduate education is learning how to evaluate the quality and validity of research. The sturdy of families presents particular challenges, due in part to the multidisciplinary nature of family research. Three methods designed to teach students how to critique family research are examined. All three methods appear to have promise in teaching students how to evaluate family research, and all three methods sensitized students to pertinent issues in the research literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a brief overview of various teaching techniques used in interpersonal and family relationships courses over the past decade. It also summarizes the empirical studies that have assessed teaching techniques and the outcomes of courses in terms of changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. It is encouraging to see the diversity of teaching techniques used in family life education, but unfortunately there are limited empirical assessments of the effectiveness of these teaching methods. Additionally, little attention has been paid to educating family life educators about the various teaching techniques that are available. No easily accessible source exists for ideas and information about teaching university-level family relations courses. The challenge for family life educators for the decade of the '90s, then, is to more definitively assess the effectiveness of various teaching methods and to address the issue of outcomes for students in terms of their increased under standing of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, their personal growth, and their competence in developing and maintaining satisfying interpersonal relationships.

This article examines the parental responsibilities of rearing adolescent children as well as the factors that can support or undermine a parent's ability to perform them. Current research and theory on child rearing, adolescent and adult development, and parent-adolescent relations are integrated to present a conceptual framework for parenting adolescents. Implications for developing programs for families with adolescents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A program to provide guidance to graduate assistants as they begin to teach an undergraduate course in family relationships is described. This explanation focuses on the organization of this multisection course, as well as the management of the program to train graduate assistants that includes the use of an information and policy manual; the implementation of a teaching seminar; and the incorporation of evaluation, feedback, and support of teaching assistants. The purposes of this program are to provide quality and consistency to the undergraduate course and to facilitate the development of graduate students as effective teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their discursive study of circular questioning in a systemic family therapy session, the authors raise some interesting perspectives on the original Milan therapy team's guidelines for the therapist as the conductor of therapy. By emphasizing circularity from a discourse point of view, they suggest these guidelines can be used to help family members hypothesize about their own perspectives on themselves and the other family members in circular terms, and, drawing upon Cecchin's notion of neutrality, by creating a state of curiosity in their talk and maybe in their minds. Their emphasis on circularity also helps us to become more sensitive to ways in which the natural recursion in language can help us to appreciate the new guiding lines circular questions can suggest with previously spoken elements. If we follow this line of argument, then circular questions can be seen as a critical part of a therapy we can call recursive family therapy in which we use the recursive element of all natural living languages to help our clients to recursively change their language and lives naturally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]