Criticism about the lack of diversity among those receiving graduate degrees in various scientific fields, particularly in family and consumer sciences (FCS), has been growing for years. One approach to diversifying the profession and higher education in general is to enhance the preparation of students on the undergraduate level by identifying…

Engagement in family and consumer sciences leads to action that improves the human condition. Collaboration and Reciprocity in Education (CARE) provides the foundation for instruction, research, and service, engaging academic and community agencies to establish local and international partnerships that will improve the condition of individuals,…

Since the turn of the 20th century and the coalescence of home economics, the use of money within the household has been an issue of study. Now known as family and consumer sciences (FCS), the profession can boast of a century of financial education of youth and adults in a variety of formal and informal settings. In recent decades, financial…

Collaboration between industry and academia creates a win-win situation for individuals and communities. Through innovative partnering, students apply knowledge to real-world situations, institutions increase program visibility, and businesses receive innovative solutions to complex problems. This article provides a roadmap for implementing a…

Parenting is one of the most important tasks an adult will tackle. It is also one of the most difficult, and one for which few individuals receive education. Increasing concerns about child abuse and neglect reflect the desire to reduce the worst outcomes of parenting and improve the chances for children to flourish. Considering that context,…

Teen, single, divorced, foster, abusive, substance affected, and incarcerated parents and their children participated in intensive parenting education classes lasting 9 to 24 weeks. Participants were primarily single (58%), Hispanic (60%), and female (60%). Parents showed significant increases in empathy and knowledge of positive discipline…

This qualitative study examined the collective factors of parenting practices in the context of Latino family culture, parental involvement, and community-school relations among Latino parents and school personnel in three rural southeastern communities. A total of 75 respondents, including school personnel and Latino parents, participated in…

A multimethod evaluation procedure was used to evaluate "The Power of Positive Parenting" (Alvy, 1999): pretests and posttests with open-ended questions and satisfaction surveys (n = 99), five focus groups (n = 70), and follow-up phone calls (n = 72). After reading the booklet, parents reported being more confident, showed significant increases in…

This study identifies and evaluates sanctions for dress code violations in secondary school handbooks. Sanctions, or consequences for breaking rules, vary along seven interrelated dimensions: source, formality, retribution, obtrusiveness, magnitude, severity, and pervasiveness. A content analysis of handbooks from 155 public secondary schools…

One of the challenges faced by graduate programs in family and consumer sciences (FCS) is how to maintain the identity and cohesion of the profession (its values, mission and goals) despite an increasing number of students who have undergraduate degrees from other disciplines or from specialized areas within FCS but who do not identify themselves…

Community asset mapping is one approach to community assessment. According to Kretzmann and McKnight (1993), discovering the assets, capacities, and resources embedded in a community leads people to take responsibility for and ownership of rebuilding and renewing their community. Community mapping is a tool for consideration by family and consumer…

Food preparation skills are needed to prepare low-cost, nutritious meals that meet current dietary recommendations. Research indicates that many youth and adults can read a recipe for ingredients, but they often do not know basic food preparation techniques such as how to broil, fold, dredge, baste and other cooking methods. To address the need to…

Grandparents raising grandchildren face many challenges including dealing with the complicated systems of child welfare, education, healthcare, and the aging network. They must contend with maintaining financial resources for their grandchildren, enrolling the children in school, accessing healthcare and insurance, and obtaining safe, affordable…

The authors of this article discuss customizing parent education which requires customized assessment. At Auburn University, Kreg Edgmon and Wally Goddard developed a parent assessment based on the National Extension Parent Education Model (NEPEM) (Smith, Cudaback, Goddard, & Myers-Walls, 1994). All items in the parent assessment were tested with…

For more than 20 years, Cooperative Extension University and county faculty throughout the nation have made available an unusually parent-friendly series of educational newsletters. Monthly issues of the newsletters address information by age groups. Through local and state collaborations that often feature the county Extension office, hospitals,…