The Discipline of Family Science and the Continuing Need for Innovation

Abstract

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.

Family Science as Translational Science: A History of the Discipline

“…The NCFR plays a critical role in the translation process, assembling researchers and practitioners together and facilitating conversation and collaboration around the latest scholarship. As such, many members of the family science discipline consider the NCFR their primary professional organization (Burr & Leigh, ; Hamon & Smith, ; Ingoldsby & Bowen, ). On its website, the NCFR (n.d.‐e) notes that its membership represents “professionals from social research, teaching, practice, policy analysis, and human services.” As such, the NCFR plays a critical role in disseminating cutting‐edge family scholarship and practice via its annual conferences and premiere journals (e.g., Family Relations [with a strong application thrust], Journal of Marriage and Family , Journal of Family Theory and Review ), and in generating a variety of disciplinary resources, including ethical guidelines for family professionals (R. A. Adams, Dollahite, Gilbert, & Keim, ; Arcus, ; NCFR, ), the Careers in Family Science booklet (NCFR, ), and the online resource for graduate and undergraduate study in marriage and family (Hans, ).…”

Inquiring Through and With Deleuze: Disrupting Theory and Qualitative Methods in Family Studies

“…Attempts to standardize departments under the name “family science” may be efforts to add credibility to the field; however, the use of the label “science” suggests a reification of postpositivism as the approach with which to study families and designates epistemological paradigms outside of this “core” as outside the field (Hamon & Smith, , p. 317) . The name “family science” has been suggested because it “better reflects the rigorous methods employed in discovering and applying new knowledge” (Hamon & Smith, , p. 319). The idea that some methods are rigorous (i.e., scientific) while others are not suggests a break between the rigorous (e.g., scientific, postpositive, properly performed quantitative, mixed‐methods, and objectivist and systematic thematic analysis) and the nonrigorous (anything else).…”

“…Ironically, the belief that standardization and increased scientificity allows for the discovery of “new knowledge” (Hamon & Smith, , p. 319) has arguably resulted in the replication of the same rather than anything new. For example, we often must defend the commonsense outcomes of sophisticated studies to students or lay persons who shrug and reply, “Didn't we already know that?” Although we typically attribute this to confirmation bias, we maintain that the replication of results is, to some extent, due to the attempted replication of method and the acceptance of few epistemologies, methodologies, and theories.…”

Family Film Festival: Academic and Social Interaction Outside the Classroom with Retention Benefits

“…On that Sunday, following Freshmen Convocation, volunteer faculty members lead groups of freshmen in discussions of the book. The book is used in various freshmen classes and is an important component of the learning Since Family Science is a major that many undecided students "find" during their first two years of school, retention of non-freshman may be of greater importance to Family Science faculty and students than to many other majors (Hagenbuch & Hamon, 2011);Hamon & Smith, 2014). Research on student retention finds that students are more likely to stay in school if they gain a sense of self-development and feel integration between their academic and social lives (Bean, 2005).…”