UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF INTEGRATED PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & FAMILY STUDIES PROGRAM
HDFS
60
THE FAMILY CONTEXT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
SPRING
2006
1:25 - 2:40 Mon & Wed
Marsh Life
Sciences 235
Code # 11992
INSTRUCTOR:
GRADUATE TEACHING FELLOW:
Lawrence G. Shelton
Julie Leaf
Living/Learning Center C-150
Julie.Leaf@uvm.edu
656-2008
656-9112
Lawrence.Shelton@uvm.edu
http://www.uvm.edu/~lshelton/
DESCRIPTION:
This course teaches a developmental ecological approach to analysis of
the family as a system in which individuals
develop.
Prerequisites: None.
TEXTS:
Galinsky, E. [1987]. The six stages of parenthood.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Originally published as Between Generations.]
Shelton, L. G. [2006]. Develecology:
An introduction to Bronfenbrenner. Unpublished manuscript,
University of Vermont.
Additional readings will be on reserve through Bailey/Howe Library.
REQUIREMENTS:
Regular attendance and participation in class
discussion.
Reading in preparation for class.
Completion of occasional exercises in and out of
class.
An objective examination on ecological concepts--
the Eco-Exam-- on March 6.
Several writing assignments will be offered for
points. Some will be required, some optional.
A course evaluation.
A final examination [ at 4:00 pm, Tuesday, May 9th ].
EVALUATION:
Points will be assigned to each exercise and exam. The course
grades will be based on total points accumulated across the semester.
Office Hours:
Living/Learning
C-150
Wednesdays: 11:00 –
1:00
And by appointment: Julie.Leaf@uvm.edu
Or
656-9112 [e-mail is faster]
HDFS
60
THE FAMILY
CONTEXT
SPRING 2006
OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Our purpose in this course is to develop an understanding of how
families participate in the processes of human development. We
assume that all students have at least a rudimentary understanding of
how individual development occurs, including the major stages,
transitions, and domains. If you have not had a course in human
development and are not taking one concurrently, you may need to do
some additional reading to more fully appreciate the complexity and
implications of the material of this course.
Our objectives include:
-- to learn Urie Bronfenbrenner's language for describing and analyzing
the relationships between a person's context and the person's
development;
-- to develop a framework of develecological principles to explain
changes in family structure and function;
-- to apply that language and those principles to our understanding of
--ourselves and our own development,
--development of other people in our culture, and
--current topics of interest in the world of
families;
-- to improve our abilities to think, discuss, and write about
the processes of development.
I assume that most students want to learn as much as possible. If you want to earn an A in this course,
it will help if you:
-- Learn to think like Urie
Bronfenbrenner, as his ideas are presented in this course;
-- Apply his scheme to each exercise,
essay, and exam in the course;
-- Try to interpret all the readings
according to his scheme;
-- Write and revise with close
attention to what you are doing;
-- Challenge yourself to think, to
apply the concepts, and to question them;
-- Eat well, stay healthy, keep up,
live an orderly life, and get a good night's sleep every night, but
especially before the exams.
In-class informal writing exercises
will be given randomly. They will be tied to the topic and the
readings for the day. Each will be worth a small number of points
and you must be present to do them. No make-up opportunities will
be provided.
Several formal writing assignments
will be offered, each worth a specific possible number of points.
These must be submitted on or before their due dates, and will not be
accepted after the due dates. All formal writing assignments must
be typed.
The Eco-Exam is an objective
exam on Bronfenbrenner's concepts. I will ask you to demonstrate
that you know his scheme and that you can apply it to interpret simple
case illustrations and examples. You must pass it with no more
than 5 mistakes, and you may take it as often as necessary to pass
it. The maximum number of points that can be earned by passing
the Eco-Exam will be 50 the first time, and decrease by 10 each time
you take it. Study for it and pass it early, so you won't have to
worry about it, and so you will understand ecological analysis and be
able to apply it as we proceed through the semester. You must
pass the eco-exam by April 26 to pass the course.
The Final Exam is a
combination of multiple choice, short answer and short essay
questions. It covers everything in the course. It will be
worth approximately 100 points. The Final Examination is on
Tuesday, May 9 at 4:00 p.m., in MLS 235. It will not be given
earlier.
Grades for the semester will be
assigned by totaling all the points earned on all the
assignments. A minimum of 100 points will be required to pass the
course with a D. Beyond that, the distribution of total points
will be divided to determine specific grades. Students who earn
the highest number of points in the class will receive A’s, those in
the next group, B’s, and so forth. The class distribution of
points earned will be provided periodically, but it will not be
possible to predict semester grades until the end of the
semester. Clearly, regular attendance and doing the best possible
work on every assignment are the best strategy for earning a high
grade. Please note that some assignments are “optional”.
That means you do not have to do them. Just be aware that if you
don’t do them, you don’t get points for them, while students who do
them will earn points.
My job is to help you
learn. I welcome your suggestions about how to do that. I
welcome your questions at any time—before and after class, by e-mail,
campus mail, snail mail, phone-mail, or mental telepathy. Consult
with me after class. Make an appointment with me and ask your
questions in person. I make my own appointments, so leave a clear
phone message or send me an e-mail with some suggested times, and I’ll
get back to you as soon as I can.
If you have any special needs,
such as sitting up front, taping lectures, having other students share
notes with you, or opportunities to study overheads at greater length,
please let me know. I encourage all students to use the resources
of The Learning Cooperative to help with assignments. The Learning Coop
in Living/Learning offers workshops on study skills and taking
multiple-choice exams. Check their schedule now, and take
advantage of their opportunities. Check out
http://www.uvm.edu/~learnco/. The Writing Center is available to
help you with the writing assignments for this course. Tutors for
this course can be found through the Learning Coop as well. You
may also find it useful to join with a small group of other students in
the course to study together, discuss the readings, and share drafts of
your written work.
Julie Leaf is our Graduate
Teaching Fellow. Her job is to help me with the mechanics of the
course and to help you in any way she can. She will be happy to
answer questions, provide consultation, review drafts of assignments,
and schedule review sessions if you want. She will have office
hours as above, or you can call or e-mail her to schedule another time.
There is a web site for the
course, which will include the syllabus, outline, some of the
overheads, study questions, MP3 recordings of most lectures, and other
information. Materials will be posted on the site periodically
through the semester, so you will want to bookmark it and log on
regularly at http://www.uvm.edu/~lshelton/ .
Special Note about your e-mail:
When I e-mail the class, which I will do occasionally, I will use the
Registrar’s list of enrolled students. Messages sent by faculty
go automatically to your uvm.edu address. You are responsible for
all messages sent to this address, so be sure to check it
regularly. If you prefer to use another e-mail address, you must
forward your uvm.edu address to the preferred one. You may do
that through the UVM CIT web site. If you forward to Yahoo or
AOL, you must make sure to keep below your volume limit, or messages
will not get to your account.
HDFS
60
THE FAMILY CONTEXT OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT SPRING 2006
APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE AND OUTLINE
DATE
TOPIC
ASSIGNMENT
Jan 18 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Syllabus
Development
Context
Ecology, System, and Ecosystem
Family
23 UNIT 1: ECO-ANALYSIS
The Person &
Development
Shelton, Sections 1 - 5
Activities
25 Relations
& Dyads
Shelton, Sections 6 - 7
30
Roles
Shelton, Section 8
Exercise One Due
Feb 01 Settings
& Transitions
Shelton,
Sections 9 - 10
06 Systems
& Microsystem
Shelton, Sections 11 - 13
08
Mesosystem
Shelton, Section 14
Exercise Two Due
Garbarino, pp.
xiii - 33
13
Developmental Trajectory
Shelton, Section 15
15
Exosystem
Shelton, Section 16
Exercise Three Due
20 Holiday, No
class
22
Macrosystem
Shelton, Section 17
27
Chronosystem
Shelton, Sections 18 - 22
Mar 01 Review
06
ECO-EXAM
08 Assignment 4 Due
Unit
2: Families
Mar 08 UNIT 2:
FAMILIES
Definition of
Family
Garbarino
& Abramowitz pp. 71 - 98
13
Dating and Relationships
Coontz, Hodder
15
Cohabitation
Schwartz
Spring Break
27
Marriage
Carrere &
Gottman, Marano
29 Assignment 5 Due
Galinsky pp. xv - 118
Apr 03
Parenthood
Benn & Garbarino pp. 99 – 131
05 Parenting
Styles
Galinsky pp.
119 - 177
Chess & Thomas, Strauss
10 The Family
Microsystem
Bronfenbrenner 1985 &
1990
12
Discipline
Galinsky pp.
178- 282
17 Family
Values
Honig
19 Family
Constellation
Galinsky pp. 283-320
Assignment 6 Due
Renkl
24
Diversity
Hines
26 Case
illustration: Divorce
Underwood, Hetherington
Last day to pass Eco-Exam: 20 points
maximum
May 01
Illustrations and Extensions
Nance-Nash
May 03 Review
and Wrap-up
May 0? Review
Session TBA
MAY
09 4:00 pm MLS
235 FINAL EXAMINATION
Tuesday
UNIT ONE: ECO-ANALYSIS
READINGS:
Shelton, L. G. [2004]. Develecology:
An introduction to Bronfenbrenner. Unpublished manuscript,
University of Vermont. [All]
Garbarino, J. [1992]. Children
and families in the social environment [2nd ed.].
New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Pp. xiii - 33.
REQUIRED EXERCISES
EXERCISE ONE: Due 30 January
Describe two very important molar activities you engage in.
Explain how these two activities satisfy the criteria in
Bronfenbrenner’s definition of molar activity. Your explanation
should convince us you understand the concept of molar activity
Maximum points: 5
[ This should take 1 or 2 pages. ]
EXERCISE TWO: Due 08 February
Do either a. or b.
a. Describe two important dyads you participate in with different
people. Then explain for each the properties of affect, power,
and reciprocity the relations exhibit.
b. Describe one important setting in your ecosystem. Then
describe the microsystem that exists in it.
Maximum points: 5
[ This should take 2 or 3 pages. ]
EXERCISE THREE: Due 15 February
Pick three important settings in your mesosystem. Describe the
links between each pair of settings. How do the relationships in
Hypotheses 28, 34, 35, 36, 38, and 40 apply to these settings in your
mesosystem? Convince us you understand each hypothesis.
Maximum points: 5
[ This should take 2 to 4 pages. ]
Assignment 4:
1. Describe an important event or series of related events in
your life.
2. What influence did the experiences described have on your
life/development?
3. Translate your description into Bronfenbrennerian terms.
See if you can find within your description illustrations of each of
these:
an ecological transition
a molar activity
a change in developmental status
a change in a dyad
a change in a relation
a change in a role
support for proposition C or F
a change in a mesosystem
support for three of the Hypotheses.
Elaborate on the illustrations you find, to explain them.
Convince us you understand each concept. If you don’t find
illustrations, try choosing a different event to analyze.
This exercise should take you three to five pages, at least.
Maximum Points: 25
Due 8 March
Assignment 5: Develecological principles
The goal in this assignment is to sort out from Bronfenbrenner’s
framework a clear statement of your understanding of what conditions of
the ecosystem are most supportive of human development. This will
require that you study the hypotheses pertinent to each element of the
system and try to abstract the important features and then synthesize
them into a set of principles that express how an ideal ecosystem would
operate.
This exercise should take you two or three pages. It should be
complete, straightforward, clear, and effectively written.
Maximum Points: 25
Due March 29
This assignment is not required. Be sure to note, however, that
if you choose to not do it, you will receive no points toward your
final grade.
HDFS
60
THE FAMILY CONTEXT OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
SPRING 2006
EXPECTATIONS
for the ECO-EXAM
REMEMBER: THE PURPOSE OF THIS
UNIT
IS TO LEARN
A SET OF CONCEPTS
AND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THOSE CONCEPTS
THAT WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND
THE RELATION BETWEEN
A PERSON'S TRANSACTIONS IN THE
ENVIRONMENT
AND
THAT PERSON'S DEVELOPMENT.
YOU SHOULD KNOW:
DEFINITIONS
HYPOTHESES, AS THEY RELATE TO REALITY--NOT VERBATIM, BUT USES OR
APPLICATIONS
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ACTIVITIES AND DEVELOPMENT
TYPES OF DYADS.
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:
WHAT CHARACTERISTICS OF DYADIC INTERACTIONS AFFECT A PERSON'S
DEVELOPMENT?
IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE A RELATIONSHIP MORE [OR LESS] DEVELOPMENTALLY
FACILITATING, HOW WOULD YOU CHANGE IT?
WHAT CHARACTERISTICS OF ROLES AFFECT A PERSON'S DEVELOPMENT?
HOW DO SETTINGS AFFECT DEVELOPMENT?
IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE A SETTING MORE [OR LESS] DEVELOPMENTALLY
FACILITATING, HOW WOULD YOU CHANGE IT?
WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MESOSYSTEM AND DEVELOPMENT?
THE EXOSYSTEM AND DEVELOPMENT? THE MACROSYSTEM AND
DEVELOPMENT?
HOW DO THESE CHANGE OVER TIME?:
A PERSON
ACTIVITIES RELATIONS
ROLES SETTINGS
MICROSYSTEMS THE
MESOSYSTEM
THE EXOSYSTEM
WHAT EXPERIENCES CREATE A DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY?
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE: TO USE THE WHOLE
SYSTEM TO
<>INTERPRET A BRIEF NEWS
STORY;
<>INTERPRET ARTICLES ABOUT DEVELOPMENT; AND
<>INTERPRET YOUR OWN DEVELOPMENT.
HDFS
60
THE FAMILY CONTEXT OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
SPRING 2006
UNIT TWO: FAMILIES
READINGS:
Benn, J.L. & Garbarino, J. [1992]. The developing child in a
changing environment. In J. Garbarino, Children and families in the
social environment [2nd ed.] [Pp. 99-131]. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Bronfenbrenner, U. [1985]. The parent/child relationship and our
changing society. In L. E. Arnold [Ed.], Parents, children, and change
[Pp. 45-57]. Lexington, MA: Heath.
Bronfenbrenner, U. [1990]. Discovering what families
do. In D. Blankenhorn, S. Bayme, & J. B. Elshtain
[Eds.], Rebuilding the
nest [pp 27 – 38]. Milwaukee, WI: Family
Service America.
Carrere, S. & Gottman, J. M. [1999]. Predicting the future of
marriages. In E. M. Hetherington [Ed.], Coping with divorce, single
parenting, and remarriage [pp. 3-22]. Mahwah,
NJ: Errlbaum.
Chess, S. & Thomas, A. [1987]. Goodness of fit: The key to
healthy development. In Know
your child [Pp. 54 – 70]. New York: Basic
Coontz, S. [2004]. The world historical transformation of
marriage. Journal of
Marriage and Family, 66, 974-979.
Galinsky, E. [1987]. The six stages of parenthood.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Originally published as Between Generations.]
Garbarino, J. & Abramowitz, R. H. [1992]. The family as a
social system. In Garbarino, J. Children and families in the
social environment [2nd ed.]. [Pp. 71 – 98]. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Hetherington, E. M. & Kelly, J. [2002]. Lessons learned in
forty-five years of studying families. In For better or for worse:
Divorce reconsidered. Pp. 275-280. New York: Norton.
Hines, P. M., Garcia-Preto, N., McGoldrick, M., Almeida, R. &
Weltman, S. [1992]. Intergenerational relationships across
cultures. Families in
Society. Pp. 338-356.
Hodder, H. F. [2004, November-December]. The future
of marriage. Harvard
Magazine. Pp. 38-45, 98-99.
Honig, A. S. [2000]. Raising happy achieving children in
the new millennium. Early
Child Development and Care, 163, 79-106.
Marano, H. E. [2000, March/April]. Divorced? Don’t even
think of remarrying until you read this. Psychology Today, 56-62.
Nance-Nash, S. [2004, February]. Managing a blended family.
Black Enterprise, Pp.
Renkl, M. [2002, June/July]. Oldest, youngest, or in
between. Parenting.
Pp. 82-86.
Schwartz, P. [2002, July/August]. Love is not all you need.
Psychology Today,
52-59.
Strauss, M. A. [2001, Sept./Oct.] New evidence for the
benefits of never spanking. Society, Pp. 52 – 60.
Underwood, N. [2002, January 21]. The happy divorce: How to
break up and make up. Maclean’s.
Pp. 25-29.
HDFS
60
THE FAMILY CONTEXT OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT SPRING 2006
Assignment Six:
Preparation: If
you accepted and conscientiously applied Bronfenbrenner's propositions
and hypotheses, how would you raise children? What would you
do? How would you relate? What would you do to create and
maintain a developmentally facilitating microsystem for the children
you were raising? What would you do to make their mesosystem as
supportive of their development as possible?
Assignment:
Write five [5] rules for raising children, drawing on your
understanding of the role of the family setting and its context in
children’s development. Explain the significance of each rule and
support each rule with your understanding of Bronfenbrenner’s scheme.
Be specific and clear and support your rules. It may help to give
an example of what one would do in following each rule.
This assignment should be no more than 5 pages in length, typed,
double-spaced.
Clarity, organization, and literacy will be assumed.
Assignments will be evaluated for application of a Bronfenbrennerian
ecological analysis. If you did Assignment 5, you may find it useful to
reflect these principles in your rules.
Julie and Larry are willing to read and respond to drafts as time
permits, up to April 14.
Maximum Points: 40
DUE: April 19.