HUSC Body of Knowledge: Family and Consumer Sciences

Foundations of Family and Consumer SciencesCareers Serving Individuals, Families and Communities

You will be able to1. Explain the mission of family and consumer

sciences.2. Compare various definitions of the term, family,

and varied structures of the family unit.3. Explain how the family functions as a social unit.4. Provide an example of how the human

ecosystem model and other theories are applied to meeting basic human needs.

5. Determine where and how Consumer Economics and Family Financial Planning fit within the human ecosystem model.

Lesson: 1

Objective 2: Compare various definitions of the term, family, and varied structures of the family unit.

The definition of a family is illusive and it is difficult for people to agree on a common definition.

“All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” .

The concern for family stability has spanned for centuries.

1950s:◦ The nuclear family headed by a male breadwinner was

the desired norm and televisions shows such as “Father Knows Best” and “I Love Lucy” were popular.

Late 1960s-Early 1970s: ◦ Newly blended family such as the “Brady Bunch” ◦ Female head-of-household “Partridge Family” and

“Julia” 1980s:

◦ Traditional two-parent Huxtable family of “The Cosby Show”

◦ “Murphy Brown” decided to bear a child as a successful, unmarried, professional woman.

1990s: ◦ A single father of one biological child adopted two

African American children- “Different Strokes” 2009:

◦ Female is major breadwinner and works outside the home while the husband stays at home and cares for the children – “Househusbands”

◦ Civil unions (same sex couples) with children – “The Modern Family”

◦ Isolated families with non-main stream religious beliefs such as polygamy – Husband with multiple wives – “Big Love” (Note: Illegal in the U.S.)

A group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head.

A group of persons of common ancestry, A people or group of people regarded as

deriving from a common stock or a group of people united by certain convictions.

The basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their own or adopted children.

Lesson: 2

Objective 3: Explain how the family functions as a social unit.

Objective 4: Provide an example of how the human ecosystem model and other theories are applied to meeting basic human needs.

Family diversity has increased in the U.S. since the 1960s.◦ The two-parent family is but one of many

variations.

There have been changes in family structure, roles, and relationships◦ How is the family defined?

◦ How has the family in the U.S. changed over the past half-century?

◦ How does the family operate within a socio-economic-political system?

How does the social system concept help in understanding families?

A system is an informal network of elements that are interrelated in a more or less stable fashion within a given time period.

The family is a task performance group that meets the needs of its members (termed organisms) as well as other societal groups.

This is why it is called a social system.

•Systems require inputs

•The activity within a system is known as throughout

•Systems generate outputs

Feedback•Feedback provides experience knowledge, etc., for future use.

Nickols, S.Y. (2003) Human ecosystem theory: A tool for working with families. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 95(2), 15-18.

Urie Bronfenbrenner used the environmental approach to describe human development.

As humans, we depend on many factors in our environment (factors both inside and outside the family unit) for survival.

This interdependence both within and with the environment is referred to as the ecosystem.

Psychologist base developmental theory on the venue (time, place) of a person’s maturation.

The greater ideological values, norms, beliefs and general ways of behaving, and thinking that are esteemed in a particular culture.

External environments such as social networks and religious groups in which the family participates.

Relationship between the family and other venues for development such as the neighborhood childcare center or school.

Family

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) Ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rule-makersDecision-makers

JudicialEducational

Religious

Economical

Familial

Political

Human Behavioral Environment

Human Constructed Environment

Natural Environment

Human Ecosystem Model

Technology Sector

Household Sector

Agriculture Sector

Industrial Sector

Genetic Material

AirEnergy Fuels

Water

Plants

Land

Lesson: 3

Objective 4: Provide an example of how the human ecosystem model and other theories are applied to meeting basic human needs.

Food Clothing Shelter Relationships

Food consumption patterns both within families and the greater society are influenced by complex, interrelated factors including:◦ Biological◦ Social◦ Economic◦ Cultural◦ Political environment

Serves to cover and protect the body from the elements.

Serves to meet basic human social and psychological needs.◦ This differentiates clothing from fashion.◦ Clothing and accessories and body adornment are

important clues for understanding who we are as individuals and as a family.

Culture, social status, gender and religious values are expressed through clothing.

As families progress though the lifecycle they generate different housing needs.

Although dependent on income, housing needs are affected by family values, attitudes, composition, and the housing market itself.

Affordable housing is an important issue.

Individuals and families are also affected by interior spaces of shelter i.e. paint color, design etc.

The modern nuclear family is shaped by three sentiments:

◦ Romantic love between adult partners rather than a partnership based on function only.

◦ Parental love for children and

◦ The belief that bonds among nuclear family members grow more intense and binding.

Psychological Family – modern family compared to family units throughout history.

Global Family – current focus on relationships and interactions with the outside culture.

The family unit is defined as the basic unit in which two or more people are cohabiting or sharing emotional, social, physical, and economic resources.

Families exist within a social system and theoretical models help professionals visualize how various factors impact individuals and families, and communities.

The human ecosystem model provides a structure for explaining how each successive environment plays a part.

After reading the family’s description, identify factors that affect their quality of life in:

◦ The natural environment

◦ The human constructed environment

◦ The social behavioral environment

Identify and give examples of how factors from each of the three environments in the human ecosystem affect your own quality of life.

Explain in your words the mission of family and consumer sciences.

Objective 1: Explain the mission of family and consumer sciences

Family and consumer sciences focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals families through the basic human needs of food, clothing, shelter, and relationships with in the context of their environment.

A nuclear family is a family group consisting of only a father and mother and their children, who share living quarters.

A blended family is a family in which one or both members of the couple have children from a previous.