K-3 students were interviewed to elicit their knowledge and thinking (including misconceptions) about families, a major topic in primary social studies. Along with valid knowledge, the students displayed significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions about marriage, kinship relations, and family life in the past, in other cultures, and in urban vs.…

This study provides preliminary psychometric data for two fathering measures, the existing Nurturant Fathering Scale and the newly developed Father Involvement Scale. Both measures are completed from the adolescent or adult child's retrospective point of view. The Nurturant Fathering Scale assesses the affective quality of fathering that young…

One can develop a family and consumer sciences (FCS) course that teaches character education, and allows students to experience the good feelings that come from helping others through The Kindness Company. The Kindness Company is a simulated company that produces items for donation to local charitable organizations. Students get management…

Twenty years ago, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) issued a request for proposals that resulted in the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a unique survey valuable to a wide range of family scholars. This paper describes the efforts of an interdisciplinary group of family demographers to build on…

Information technology is entrenched in everyday life; yet, scholars have not firmly established whether this use blesses or vexes individuals and their families. This study analyzes longitudinal data (N = 1,367) from the Cornell Couples and Careers Study to assess whether increases in spillover explain changes in distress and family satisfaction…

A longitudinal analysis is conducted on the union quality of long-term cohabiting and legally married couples using data from both waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. An analysis of racially homogamous (Anglo-American and African American) couples indicates that the cohabitors and marrieds do not differ significantly with…

This study draws together two research traditions: John Greer's pioneering research among pupils in Protestant and Catholic schools in Northern Ireland and Leslie J. Francis's research concerning teenage religion and values in England and Wales. A sample of 1,585 13- to 15-year-old male pupils attending Catholic schools (n = 712) and Protestant…

This curriculum guide presents guidelines for teaching concepts of Voluntary Simplicity in home economics in Florida. (Voluntary Simplicity is a lifestyle in which individuals choose to live more simply, considering the limited nature of the world's resources.) It is designed for use as a separate unit within different subject matter areas or as…

Although afterschool programs for children have been operating for many years in some communities, the afterschool movement--the great national awakening to the opportunity afterschool offers--is just a few years old. As public demand for afterschool has grown, so has the demand for accountability. That is particularly true in afterschool…

Many African Americans experience low-grade depression, referred to as dysthymia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). After more than 250 years of enslavement, prejudice, and discrimination, dysthymia is reflected in chronic low-grade sadness, anger, hostility,…

This document examines the diversity of family form and function throughout the world and argues that education, social network, and intelligent government policies can enhance families' capacities for long-term commitment to children and to community renewal. Chapter 1 provides an overview of families throughout the world, survival and industrial…

This module is designed for use in the Family Living and Parenthood course and other home economics courses. Using this guide, teachers can help students review and learn daily living skills. Following acknowledgments, a foreword, and a subcompetency list are three units: (1) building self-esteem; (2) managing stress; and (3) handling peer…

This selective review of educational software provides evaluations of over 80 programs in the home economics subject area. The evaluation form highlights the concerns of sex equity (inviting to all students), content (accurate), presentation (logical, includes graphics and sound), interaction (user friendly), and use (recordkeeping, etc.). A…

This study used meta-analysis to explore the magnitude and direction of the linkage between marital and parent-child relations. The study also assessed variables that might moderate this association or provide insight regarding possible mechanisms responsible for such an association. A search of electronic databases provided 51 studies, including…

Ernest Hemingway was wrong. It is not necessary to leave home and go out and experience "Life" in capital letters to have "stuff" about which to write. The daughter of a kindergarten teacher, Louisa May Alcott wrote a book about her family life which became one of the most popular children's classics, "Little Women."…