Family Studies

• Certificates (Not Applicable)

   

• Associate Degree (Not Applicable)

   

• Bachelor Degree

  Over the course of their program, students completing the Bachelor of Science in Family Studies will develop the following outcomes:

  • 1. Families and Individuals in Societal Contexts: An understanding of families and their relationships to other institutions, such as the educational, governmental, religious, health care, and occupational instituions in society.
  • 2. Internal Dynamics of Families: An understanding of family strengths and weaknesses and how family members relate to and interact with each other.
  • 3. Human Growth and Development Across Lifespan: An understanding of the development changes (both typical and atypical) of individuals in families across the lifespan. Based in knowledge if physical, emotional, cognitive, social, moral, and personality aspects.
  • 4. Human Sexuality Across the Lifespan: An understanding of the physiological, psyhcological, and social aspects of sexual development across the lifespan, to achieve healthy sexual adjustment.
  • 5. Interpersonal Relationships: An understanding of the development, maintenance, and dissolution of interpersonal relationshipd among friends, roommates, coworkers, neighbors, as well as family members.
  • 6. Family Resource Management: An understanding of the decisions individuals and families make about developing and allocating resources including money, time, energy, space, material, and health assets, and networks of support to meet their goals.
  • 7. Parenting Education and Guidance: An understanding of how parents teach, guide, and influence children and adolescents, as well as the changing nature, dynamics and needs of the parent-child relationship across the lifespan.
  • 8. Family Law and Public Policy: An understanding of legal issues, policies, and laws influencing the well-being of families.
  • 9. Professional Ethics and Practice: An understanding of the character and quality of human social conduct, and the ability to critically examine ethical questions and issues as they relate to professional practice.
  • 10. Family Life Education Methodology: An understanding of the general philosophy and broad principles of Family Life Education in conjunction with the ability to plan, implement, assess, and evaluate such educational programs.

The Department of Child and Family Studies offers a broad personal and professional education by providing majors in the following areas: Early Childhood (Bachelor's and Associate of Applied Science), Early Childhood Education, and Family Studies. Minors in Child Development and Family Studies are also offered. Family studies is also an area available for a Bachelor of Integrated Studies (BIS).

Learning is enhanced by the Melba S. Lehner Children's School where preschool laboratory experience is provided for practical application. Practical experience is built into all areas of study. Honors credit is available for students who desire greater depth. Preparation for graduate study can be pursued in any area represented in the department.

Child & Family Studies Website

• 2021-2022

  1)Review and comment on the trend of minority students enrolling in your classes (particularly lower-division, GEN Ed) and in your programs.

  While we have not tracked this type of data before, it would be good to consider strategies to help track the enrollment of minority students within our lower-division, GEN Ed classes. We have included the data below which was graciously provided by the OIE office. While taking this data into consideration, it seems that there is room for improvement. As the tracking of this type of data proceeds, it would be good to discuss among our program and department faculty what can be done to positively impact the enrollment/retention of minority students. We are currently collaborating and reviewing how we compare with other programs/departments (primarily in MCOE) in order to figure out effective strategies in working with and retaining individuals who come from underrepresented populations.

  2) What support (from enrollment services, advising, first-year transition office, access & diversity, etc.) do you need to help you recruit and retain students?

  We are currently engaged in multiple (on-going) initiatives to help recruit, maintain, and support students from every background. These include, but are not limited to, committees focused on diversity and inclusion, committees focused on student success, and resources made available for enhancing our efforts in these areas. We are also improving and circulating marketing pieces (small signage on campus and social media posts) to inform others about who we are and what we do. We need continual support at the department, school, and university levels to help us in these efforts. The support can be in the form of financial resources, training, personnel (marketing, computer systems, outreach), and collaboration with other groups around campus. At this point, much of our request for support is to keep on supporting, creating, and emphasizing growth in these areas.

  3) We have invited you to re-think your program assessment. What strategies are you considering? What support or help would you like?

  We are currently planning for and/or building our program with new courses including opportunities at the graduate level (MEd - Family Life Education emphasis). We are also more actively engaging in marketing initiatives (referenced above), preparing for and offering existing and required courses on more flexible schedules (e.g. additional sections, on block schedule) and more flexible formats (e.g. hybrid and online).

  Additionally, we continue to cultivate relationships with the community to accentuate the reach of our research and programs both for faculty and especially our students. They are able to forge early, meaningful professional relationships that add to practical curricular opportunities as well as future employment options. Helping to maintain positive connections with the communities (Weber and Davis) will support our ongoing efforts.

  4) Finally, we are supporting our Concurrent Enrollment accreditation process. Does your program offer concurrent enrollment classes? If so, have you been able to submit the information requested from the Concurrent Enrollment office? Staff from OIE will reach out to you in the next few months to assist in finalizing that data submission as well as gather information for concurrent Gen Ed assessment.

  Yes, we do offer multiple CE courses, and yes we have submitted the information to the CE office.

  The full report is available for viewing.

• 2019-2020

  1) First year student success is critical to WSU’s retention and graduation efforts. We are interested in finding out how departments support their first-year students. Do you have mechanisms and processes in place to identify, meet with, and support first-year students? Please provide a brief narrative focusing on your program’s support of new students:

  Any first-year students taking courses in your program(s).

  • Most first-year students take general education courses CHF 1500 Human Development and CHF 2400 Family Relations in the program. They are invited to meet with our department-level academic advisor. Our department academic advisor provides students with various options, guidance, and assistance with their goals. Also, faculty within the program regularly use Starfish to track academic progress and reach out to students who may be struggling with a course. We need to take more time to focus even more effort on tracking first-year students so that we may enhance our outreach to these students.

   

  Students declared in your program(s), whether or not they are taking courses in your program(s)

  • Our major students gain outreach through various avenues including the CFSSA (Child and Family Studies Student Association), outside research with assigned faculty advisors, and mentored service project through CCEL designated courses. Additionally, for students who are seeking to work on research or service outside of the classroom, faculty members invite these students to be a part of various research projects. In the last two years we have had 7 students present at local, state, and international conferences, including UCUR, WSU’s OUR Symposium, NCFR, UTCFR, NCUR. 

   

  2) A key component of sound assessment practice is the process of ‘closing the loop’ – that is, following up on changes implemented as a response to your assessment findings, to determine the impact of those changes/innovations. It is also an aspect of assessment on which we need to improve, as suggested in our NWCCU mid-cycle report. Please describe the processes your program has in place to ‘close the loop’.

  • We will be discussing within department-level meetings ways to keep tracking the best practices in each of our program classes, and this includes eliminating those activities that are not found to support the program and departmental goals, while increasing those activities that seem to be working. The program is also pursuing ways of improving the current assessment plan to better align course learning outcomes with NCFR Content Areas.

  The full report is available.

• 2017

  1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?

  • Upon reflecting on the evidence of student learning, we are confident that our programs are in a strong position for a program review or an accreditation review. The outcomes are at or above previous levels of performance. 
  • Specifically for the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Education Program, the information derived from the assessment shows that university students are learning how to implement instructional programs as they pertain to guidance, developmental planning, respecting and supporting families, cooperative and collaborative teamwork, and ethical and considerate teaching practices. Additionally, this information indicates that the student teachers go beyond the minimal requirements and are consistently prepared for teaching, which is a strong complement to the EC and ECE majors. For the Family Studies program, students are demonstrating competencies in coursework and standardized exit exams in all areas except two. The areas of concern are Human Growth and Development and Family Law and Public Policy as measured by the exit exam. This will be an area of emphasis for improvement this coming year by adding emphasis in class assignments and learning activities.

   

  2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?

  • Assessment results are shared with faculty and staff in the Department of Child and Family Studies as well as the Dean and Associate Dean of the Moyes College of Education.

   

  3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?

  • We will further refine the assessment process and reflect on teaching and learning strategies. Continue to ensure that our courses, learning objectives, teaching strategies, measurement, and assessment align with national standards as outlined by the National Council on Family Relations and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The Family Studies program will focus on teaching and learning strategies in the areas of Human Growth and Development and Family Law and Public Policy. Specifically, learning experiences and associated assignments will continue to be reviewed and revised to address these areas.
  •  Results from these three assessments indicate that the EC/ECE Programs continued to prepare high-quality early childhood pre-service teachers. The majority of students majoring in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Education were able to accomplish learning outcomes aligned with the NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation: 
  • promote child development and learning
  • build family and community relationships
  • use observation, documentation, and assessment to support young children and families
  • use developmentally effective approaches
  • use content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum
  • become an early childhood professional.  
  •  Compared with assessment results from the previous 2015-2016 Academic Year, students’ average scores in the Capstone Exam were generally lower.  This might be explained by the fact that an unusually high number of students (6 out of 26) failed to score at least 80% to pass the exam. One student in particular received a score below 60%, which lowered the class average. Another student retook the Capstone Exam twice but still failed to pass. To address the issues related to the Capstone Exam, the EC/ECE Programs have met and decided to make the following changes:
  • Three questions in the Capstone Exam will be substantially modified, including Question 3 on theoretical interpretations of curriculum pre-assessment, planning, and evaluating instruction, Question 4 on play-based curriculum, and Question 6 on comparison of laws that pertain to special education. 

   

  A new policy will be adopted regarding the Capstone Exam:

  • You must receive a minimum grade of 80 points in the capstone exam in order to pass the CHF 4990A course. The course and the capstone exam can only be retaken once according to department retention and referral policy. A grade of B- or better is required for Early Childhood and Early Childhood Education majors (a grade of C+ is not acceptable). A student who does not pass two or more classes in the department program (defined as a C+ grade or lower) will be subject to an academic referral and may be dismissed from the academic program.
  • For students who fail to receive 80 points in the capstone exam the first time, a written petition form must be completed and submitted to instructor, explaining why the student failed to receive a passing grade. Students will be able to choose retaking the CHF 4990A course, or retaking the capstone exam, only if they have passed the rest of CHF 4990A coursework with at least 80% grades. Otherwise, students must retake CHF 4990A.
  • For students who fail to receive 80 points in the retaken capstone exam, an oral defense remediation may be available, only to those who: 
  • 1) scored at least 75 points in the retaken exam
  • 2) demonstrated quality teaching practice with 5.5 points or higher average ratings in final student teaching evaluation
  • 3) have passed the rest of CHF 4990A coursework with at least 80% grades.  Students who do not meet any of these three criteria will receive no further remediation in order to pass the CHF 4990A course. 
  • Finally, the EC/ECE Programs submitted two self-study reports for the NAEYC Early Childhood Higher Education Accreditations, one for the Early Childhood AAS program, and one for the two BS programs in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Education. In October 2017 the three programs went through site visit reviews by the NAEYC peer review team. It is anticipated that the final accreditation decisions.

   

  The full report is available.

• 2016

  1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?

  • Upon reflecting on the evidence of student learning, we are confident that our programs are in a strong position for a program review or an accreditation review.  The outcomes are at or above previous levels of performance. 
  • Specifically for the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Education Program, the information derived from the assessment shows that university students are learning how to implement instructional programs as they pertain to guidance, developmental planning, respecting and supporting families, cooperative and collaborative teamwork, and ethical and considerate teaching practices.  Additionally, this information indicates that the student teachers go beyond the minimal requirements and are consistently prepared for teaching, which is a strong complement to the EC and ECE majors.  For the Family Studies program, students are demonstrating competencies in coursework and standardized exit exams in all areas except two.  The areas of concern are Human Growth and Development and Family Law and Public Policy as measured by the exit exam.  This will be an area of emphasis for improvement this coming year by adding emphasis in class assignments and learning activities.

   

  2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?

  • Assessment results are shared with faculty and staff in the Department of Child and Family Studies as well as the Dean and Associate Dean of the Moyes College of Education.

   

  3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?

  • We will further refine the assessment process and reflect on teaching and learning strategies.  Continue to ensure that our courses, learning objectives, teaching strategies, measurement, and assessment align with national standards as outlined by the National Council on Family Relations and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  The Family Studies program will focus on teaching and learning strategies in the areas of Human Growth and Development and Family Law and Public Policy.  Specifically, learning experiences and associated assignments will continue to be reviewed and revised to address these areas.

   

  Results from these three assessments indicate that the EC/ECE Programs continued to prepare high-quality early childhood pre-service teachers.  Despite the fact that the threshold to pass program assessments was raised from C to B-, students overall showed better performance in the Capstone Exam and Student Teacher Evaluation compared with results from the previous 2014-2015 Academic Year.  The majority of students majoring in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Education were able to accomplish learning outcomes aligned with the NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation:

  • promote child development and learning,
  • build family and community relationships,
  • use observation, documentation, and assessment to support young children and families,
  • use developmentally effective approaches,
  • use content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum, and
  • become an early childhood professional.

   

  One area that the EC/ECE Programs will consider improving is the revision of some questions in the Capstone Exam, particularly Question 3 on theoretical interpretations of curriculum pre-assessment, planning, and evaluating instruction, and Question 6 on comparison of laws that pertain to special education.  Student performance in these two questions have been difficult to predict, which might be explained by the problematic question setup and inconsistent expectations in rating.  Another area for future program improvement is to incorporate the Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey (TBPS) as an additional program assessment tool.  During the 2015-2016 Academic Year, the EC/ECE committee decided to add TBPS to program assessment and collected data from students enrolled in CHF 2600 Introduction to Early Childhood Education (baseline) and CHF 4990A Seminar in Child Development (outcome).  In this program assessment report, however, TBPS results are not included.  The decision was made because:

  • there are not enough data within an academic year to show shifts of students’ beliefs about developmentally appropriate early childhood teaching practice, and
  • there is not a meaningful way yet to align TBPS results with NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation.  This is something that the EC/ECE Committee needs to work on in the future.
  • Finally, a main goal for the EC/ECE Programs in the 2016-2017 Academic Year is to complete and submit two self-study reports for the NAEYC Early Childhood Higher Education Accreditations, one for the Early Childhood AAS program, and one for the BS programs in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Education.  As part of the NAEYC Accreditation, site visit will take place in Fall 2017.  It is anticipated that accreditation decisions will be made in Spring 2018.

   

  The full report is available for viewing. 

• 2015

  1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?

  • Upon reflecting on the evidence of student learning, we are confident that our programs are in a strong position for a program review or an accreditation review.  The outcomes are at or above previous levels of performance. 
  • Specifically for the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Education Program, the information derived from the assessment shows that university students are learning how to implement instructional programs as they pertain to guidance, developmental planning, respecting and supporting families, cooperative and collaborative teamwork, and ethical and considerate teaching practices.  Additionally, this information indicates that the student teachers go beyond the minimal requirements and are consistently prepared for teaching, which is a strong complement to the EC and ECE majors.  For the Family Studies program, students are demonstrating competencies in coursework and standardized exit exams in all areas except one.  The areas of concern are Human Growth and Development and Family Law and Public Policy as measured by the exit exam.  This will be an area of emphasis for improvement this coming year.

   

  2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?

  • Assessment results are shared with faculty and staff in the Department of Child and Family Studies as well as the Dean and Associate Dean of the Moyes College of Education.
     

  3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?

  • We will further refine the assessment process.  Reflect on teaching and learning strategies.  Continue to ensure that our courses, learning objectives, teaching strategies, measurement, and assessment align with national standards as outlined by the National Council on Family Relations and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  The Family Studies program will focus on teaching and learning strategies in the areas of Human Growth and Development and Family Law and Public Policy.  Specifically, learning experiences and associated assignments will be reviewed and revised to address these areas.
  • One area that the EC/ECE Programs will consider improving is the instruction of guidance principles.  Results of the Capstone Exam suggest that students seem to be relatively weak in that area.  It may be true that a few students were transfer students and took the lower-division guidance course (equivalent to CHF 2610) in other institutions.  They did not received adequate training in guidance before their student teaching.  This makes it critical for instructor of CHF 4710 and CHF 4990A to review the program’s philosophy in guidance.
  • Another major area for future program improvement is to keep examining and revising the assessment tools.  During the 2014-2015 Academic Year, the EC/ECE committee decided to add the revised Professional Portfolio to program assessment because of its close alignment with NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation.  The rating system of the Professional Portfolio is still inconsistent with other assessment tools, making the data interpretation difficult.  For the Early Childhood Capstone Exam, Question 4 on play-based curriculum was added and weights of the other questions were adjusted.  However, the format and content of existing measures still need to be reexamined for easier implementation and data analysis.  Some questions in the Capstone Exam do not have grading rubrics.  Some questions’ grading rubrics are unclear or misleading.  The Pre-Kindergarten Student Teacher Evaluation Form was totally revised in summer 2015 and will be used for program assessment starting from the 2015-2016 Academic Year.  The Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey will be implemented as an additional program assessment tool starting from the 2015-2016 Academic Year.  These issues need to be resolved as the Early Childhood Programs (A.A.S. and B.S.) go through the NAEYC Early Childhood Associate and Baccalaureate Degree Accreditations in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Academic Years.

   

  The full report is available for viewing.

• 2014

  1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?

  • Upon reflecting on the evidence of student learning, we are confident that our programs are in a strong position for a program review or an accreditation review.  Compared to previous periods of assessment, the outcomes are at or above previous levels of performance. 
  • Specifically for the Early Childhood/Early Childhood Education Program, the information derived from the assessment shows that university students are learning how to implement instructional programs as they pertain to guidance, developmental planning, respecting and supporting families, cooperative and collaborative teamwork, and ethical and considerate teaching practices.  Additionally, this information indicates that the student teachers go beyond the minimal requirements and are consistently prepared for teaching, which is a strong complement to the EC and ECE majors.  For the Family Studies program, students are demonstrating competencies in coursework and standardized exit exams in all areas except one.  The area of concern is Families in Society as measured by the exit exam.  This will be an area of emphasis for improvement this coming year.

   

  2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts? 

  •  Assessment results are shared with faculty and staff in the department of Child and Family Studies as well as the Dean and Associate Dean of the Moyes College of Education.

   

  3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?

  • We will further refine the assessment process.  Reflect on teaching and learning strategies.  Continue to ensure that our courses, learning objectives, teaching strategies, measurement, and assessment align with national standards as outlined by the National Council on Family Relations and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
  • In the area of Early Childhood/Early Childhood Education, the faculty will work towards improving the instruction of guidance principles.  Results of the Capstone Exam suggest that students, especially ECE majors, seem to be relatively weak in that area.  It may be true that a few ECE majors are transfer students and took the lower-division guidance course (equivalent to CHF 2610) in other institutions.  They have not received adequate training in guidance before their student teaching.  This makes it critical for instructor of CHF 4710 to review the program’s philosophy in guidance.
  • Another area for future improvement is to keep revising the assessment tools.  During this academic year, the EC/ECE committee decided to remove the Teacher Work Sample and Final Student Portfolio from program assessment because of their inconsistencies with the other measures.  The Capstone Exam also went through minor revisions to emphasize the applied nature of learning outcomes.  However, the format and content of existing measures still needs to be reexamined for easier implementation and data analysis.  For example, each assessment adopts a different rating system: 100-point, 6-point, or 5-point.  A rationale needs to be provided for the inconsistencies in the rating scales.  Some questions in the Capstone Exam do not have grading rubrics.  Some grading rubrics are unclear or misleading.  These issues need to be resolved in the next academic year.
  • Finally, this program report is missing assessment results collected from the Follow-up Evaluation for ECE/EC Graduates.  Lack of time for data collection is one reason.  Another reason is that there is no efficient way of tracking students after graduation.  A better way of coordinating the follow-up evaluation should be underway for future.
  • For the Family Studies program, an area of concern is the Families in Society area.  Exit exam scores were lower.  First, we will explore reasons for the lower scores and then work to address our teaching strategies in that area. 

   

  The full report is available for viewing

• 2013

  The Family Studies program conducted a 5 year program review with full self-study during the spring of 2014. Those results are presented in place of the Annual Assessment. Please reference those documents for information that includes data for the 2012/13 academic year.

2018-19

2017-18

2013-14