Global Perspectives on Family Life Education PDF
Preview Global Perspectives on Family Life Education
Mihaela Robila · Alan C. Taylor Editors Global Perspectives on Family Life Education Global Perspectives on Family Life Education Mihaela Robila • Alan C. Taylor Editors Global Perspectives on Family Life Education Editors Mihaela Robila Alan C. Taylor Queens College, CUNY East Carolina University Queens, NY, USA Greenville, NC, USA ISBN 978-3-319-77588-3 ISBN 978-3-319-77589-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77589-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018944670 © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Contents Global Perspectives on Family Life Education: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Mihaela Robila and Alan C. Taylor Part I Asia Family Life Education in South Korea ................................................ 17 Jaerim Lee and Seohee Son Family Life Education in China ........................................................... 33 Yan Ruth Xia and Chun Zhang Creaser Family Life Education in Taiwan ......................................................... 49 Shann Hwa Hwang Opportunities for Family Life Education in Thailand ....................... 63 Catherine A. Solheim and Poonsuk Wachwithan Family Life Education in India: Policies and Prospects ..................... 75 Rachana Bhangaokar and Niyati Pandya Part II Australia Education for Family Life in Australia ................................................ 93 Bruce M. Smyth, Cathryn Hunter, Michelle Macvean, Maggie Walter, and Daryl J. Higgins Part III Africa Family Characteristics and Family Life Education in Algeria .......... 117 Habib Tiliouine and Mustafa Achoui Family Life Education Development, Implementation, and Evaluation in Tanzania .................................................................. 135 Rosemary W. Eustace, Tumaini M. Nyamhanga, Aisha I. Ghuhiya, and Stella Emmanuel Mushy Family Life Education in Kenya ........................................................... 153 Joan Kabaria-Muriithi, Lucy Kathuri-Ogola, and Jane Rose Njue v vi Contents Family Life Education: A Ghanaian Perspective ................................ 165 Gladys B. Asiedu and Ebenezer Donkor South Africa: Family Life as the Mirror of a Society ......................... 179 Clara Gerhardt Part IV North America Family Life Education in the United States ......................................... 195 Sharon M. Ballard, Dawn Cassidy, Alan C. Taylor, and Mihaela Robila Social Programs on Family Life Education in Mexico ....................... 217 María Alejandra Salguero-Velázquez, Bruno Anuar Franyutti Jurado, and Montserrat Soriano Chavero Part V C aribbean Family Life Education in the Caribbean Islands: Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago ................................... 231 Helyne Frederick, Maria Cecilia Reyes- Mohammed, and Sharon N. Obasi Part VI South America Family Life Education: Brazilian Realities and Dreams .................... 249 Ana Cecília Bastos, Wanderlene Reis, Rosely Cabral de Carvalho, and Lúcia Moreira Family Life Education in Chile: A Critical Analysis of Two Programs .................................................................................... 263 Jorge Delva, Valentina Garrido López, and Carolina Muñoz-Guzmán Family Life Education in Colombia: Fostering Families’ Well-Being .............................................................................. 279 Karen Ripoll-Núñez and Sonia Carrillo Part VII Europe Family and Child Welfare in Norway: An Analysis of the Welfare State’s Programs and Services ..................................... 297 Mette L. Baran and Janice E. Jones Irish Family Life in Changing Times ................................................... 311 Colm O’Doherty Family Life Education in Ukraine ........................................................ 329 Viktor Burlaka, Oleksii Serdiuk, Tetiana Nickelsen, Bohdan Tkach, and Hanna Khvorova Contents vii Family Life Education in Turkey .......................................................... 345 Zeynep Copur and Kelly D. Taylor Part VIII Middle East Socioeconomic, Historical, and Cultural Context of Israel and Impact on the Families .................................................... 363 Shulamit Natan Ritblatt and Ety Rosental Family Life Education in Saudi Arabia ............................................... 381 Sarah Almalki and Lawrence Ganong Part IX Conclusion Global Perspectives on Family Life Education: Synthesis and Future Directions ........................................................... 399 Alan C. Taylor and Mihaela Robila Index ........................................................................................................ 407 Global Perspectives on Family Life Education: Introduction Mihaela Robila and Alan C. Taylor Over the past 60 years, in the United States, Global Perspectives on Family Life the National Council on Family Relations Education: Introduction (NCFR) has been instrumental in their continu- ous support of the development and progress The purpose of this book is to provide an exten- regarding the family life education field. In the sive coverage of the different types of family life early 1980s, the criteria for individuals interested education programs in countries around the in obtaining the Certification of Family Life world, with a wide geographical representation, Educators (CFLE) were established by addressing their development, implementation, NCFR. However, historically it has predomi- and evaluation. Family life education (FLE) nately focused on training educators within the incorporates a preventative, educational, and col- United States (Allen & Blaisure, 2015). With that laborative approach to empower families and said, in early 2016, NCFR made a substantial individuals to address and resolve family issues step to become more internationally minded (Darling, Cassidy, & Powell, 2014). Effective when they appointed the inaugural NCFR Global family policies promote family life education and Task Force to explore the potential benefits and its preventive services as essential in ensuring opportunities that may prove possible with a family well-being (Robila, 2014). Best practices, global family life education emphasis (Smith, regarding family life education with diverse pop- 2016). This book is one of the first attempts to ulations in the United States, suggest implement- examine the types of family life education occur- ing effective ways to tailor interventions to fit ring in various countries around the world. Thus, family needs (Ballard & Taylor, 2012). Family the purposes of this book are to examine family life education and related coursework are avail- life education in different countries, to underline able on different continents, along with consider- challenges and opportunities, and to present best able public interest (Darling & Kaija, 2009). practices that could be adapted and developed in other areas. The attempt to develop a universally accepted M. Robila (*) Human Development and Family Studies, Queens family life education definition that is agree- College, City University of New York, able to all of those working in the FLE field has Queens, NY, USA been a challenging task for decades. FLE scholars e-mail: [email protected] have spent over 50 years defining and redefining A. C. Taylor the phenomena of family life education (Arcus, Human Development and Family Science, East Schvanevelt, & Moss, 1993; Darling, Cassidy, & Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected] Powell, 2014; Hennon, Radina, & Wilson, 2013). © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1 M. Robila, A. C. Taylor (eds.), Global Perspectives on Family Life Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77589-0_1 2 M. Robila and A. C. Taylor Currently, the National Council on Family • Family life education is offered in many dif- Relations website describes family life education ferent settings. and its primary purpose through the following: • Family life education takes an educational rather than therapeutic approach. Family life education focuses on healthy family functioning within a family systems perspective • Family life education should present and and provides a primarily preventative approach. respect differing family values. The skills and knowledge needed for healthy func- • Qualified educators are crucial to the success- tioning are widely known: Strong communication ful realization of the goals of family life edu- skills, Knowledge of typical human development, Good decision-making skills, Positive self-esteem, cation.” (pp. 15–20) and Healthy interpersonal relationships. Family life education professionals consider It is important to distinguish how family life societal issues including economics, education, education is comparable to and different from work- family issues, parenting, sexuality, gender and more within the context of family. They other family service fields. In 2011, the concep- believe that societal problems such as substance tualized model of the Domains of Family abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, debt, Practice was introduced to distinguish the inten- and child abuse can be more effectively addressed tions and practices of family life education, from a perspective that considers the individual and family as part of larger systems. Knowledge family therapy, and family case management about healthy family functioning can be applied (Myers-Walls, Ballard, Darling, & Myers- to prevent or minimize many of these problems. Bowman, 2011). This model addressed why, (NCFR, n.d.) what, when, for whom, and how family life edu- While these descriptions seem appropriate cation, family therapy, and family case manage- and applicable to the practice of family life edu- ment are uniquely different and focused. While cation within North America, it remains to be these three fields of practice have the same pri- seen whether they are truly transferable to a more mary mission to help strengthen healthy families global family life context. For example, the indi- and their members, each also attends to this work viduals and families living in less developed in diverse ways. As was mentioned earlier, fam- countries may not have the same immediate soci- ily life education fosters strong healthy families etal problems or similar Western societal para- by helping families develop skills and knowl- digms that govern what is currently defined as edge. In addition, FLE helps individuals of all healthy family functioning. For this purpose, the ages enhance their attitudes, values, and goals. chapters within this book shed light on the prac- Family therapy helps families refocus and tices of family life education from various coun- rebuild their relationships and functioning. tries as they relate to multiple ideological Finally, family casework is concerned with sup- paradigms and distinct, acceptable practices of porting families to comply with the legal and healthy family formations and functioning. policy systems impacting families while provid- In addition to the abovementioned description ing various resources to help them become more by NCFR today, Arcus et al. (1993) introduced successful. the following practical and programmatic fea- For this edited book, we have asked the tures of FLE as it relates to its main objectives: authors to focus their chapters on the field of family life education. While we acknowledge • “Family life education is relevant to individu- that there are times when the fields of family life als and families throughout the lifespan. education, family therapy, and family case man- • Family life education should be based on the agement are sometimes intertwined and com- needs of individuals and families. bined, our focus is on the educational outreach • Family life education is a multiple disciplin- activities used to “strengthen and enrich individ- ary area of study and multi-professional in its ual and family well-being” (Arcus et al., 1993, practice. p. 21). Global Perspectives on Family Life Education: Introduction 3 The Framework for Best Practices tent” and aware of the unique customs and rituals in Family Life Education that exist within, as well as the needs and strengths of those families, are essential for pro- The Framework for Best Practices in Family Life gram success. Education was introduced by Ballard and Taylor While the term “culture” has traditionally in their book entitled Family Life Education with been defined as a group of individuals who have Diverse Populations (2012, Sage) and is used in common values, norms of behavior, symbols, this book as well. The three main components of language, and common life patterns that people this best practice framework consist of the fol- learn and share with one another, it will con- lowing, program content, program design, and tinuously evolve and change over time the family life educator, which are embedded (Shimizu, Lee, & Uleman, 2017). For example, within the culture and the strengths and needs of theories of cultural diversity or racial identity the population (see Fig. 1). These components have changed and adapted over the past 20 years are discussed in the following sections. as we have become more culturally aware and competent globally (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Allen, Fine, & Demo, 2000). It will be Culture and Needs and Strengths valuable for family life educators to openly of the Population grasp the concept of culture that goes beyond geography, language, and behaviors. Culture The Framework for Best Practices in Family Life also refers to the context (e.g., agency or com- Education has the three components (program munity) in which the programming occurs, content, design, and family life educator) embed- including issues such as funding, politics and ded within the culture and the strengths and needs policy, and the capacity of the organization to of the population (Ballard & Taylor, 2012). deliver the program effectively (Durlak & Understanding the culture of the population DuPre, 2008). The sociohistoric and economic attending an FLE program is important for the context of a region reflects the level of family success of the program and the acceptance of the life education provided, with the more devel- program by its participants. For educators who oped areas presenting more advanced and are offering FLE programs in various countries sophisticated methods, while rural or poorer throughout the world, being “culturally compe- areas generally lag behind. Fig. 1 Framework for Best Practices in Family Culture Life Education. (Ballard & Taylor, 2012) The Family Life Educator Program Program content Design Strengths & Needs of Population
The list of books you might like
