Chapter Five

1
Chapter Five

• Family Characteristics

2
Family Systems

• No individual can be understood without looking
  at how he or she fits into the whole of the
  family.
• Families need both rules for structure and rules
  for change.
• Interaction of the family with the school,
  community, extended family and friends is
  essential to the life of the nuclear family.

3
Typical Family Life Cycle

• 1. Newly married couple
• 2. Families with young children
• 3. Child rearing families
• 4. Families with adolescents
• 5. Families launching children
• 6. Families in later life
• Lambie Daniels-Mohring (1993)

4
Newly Married Couple

• Primary theme attachments
• Primary tasks realignment of relationships with
  friends and family to include spouse and spouses
  family commitment goal sharing
• Stressors work-family, balancing changes with
  extended family, dealing with in-laws, developing
  dual career goals

5
Families with Young Children

• Primary theme developing strategies for getting
  things done
• Primary tasks realignment of marital system to
  include children, develop parenting style
• Stressors financial strains, making decisions
  about both careers and child care options

6
Child Rearing Families

• Primary theme bringing others into the family
  boundaries, consolidating accomplishments of
  family members
• Primary tasks establishing sibling roles,
  division of family responsibilities
• Stressors intrafamily strains, dealing with
  involvement in school activities and families of
  childrens peer group

7
Families with Adolescents

• Primary theme decentralization, loosening
  boundaries
• Primary tasks managing childrens increasing
  independence, midlife career and marital issues,
  increasing flexibility of roles
• Stressors financial-handling demands of
  feeding, clothing and entertaining adolescents

8
Families Launching Children

• Primary theme differentiation, detachment
• Primary tasks Negotiating to become a couple
  again, renegotiating roles with adult children
• Stessors Financial strains dealing with
  paying for college, wedding, or helping children
  begin their own nuclear families

9
Families in Later Life

• Primary themes letting go, dissolving ties
• Primary tasks Redefinition of roles between
  aging spouses dealing with the death of friends
  and family
• Stressors financial strains planning for the
  loss of income following retirement, paying for
  health care costs

10
Areas for Major Life Problems

• Families with Special Needs Go Through the Same
  Family Life Cycle but Often Face Additional
  Issues
• Myths
• Pile-up
• 3. Added financial burdens

11
Stages of Grief

• Shock
• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

12
Individual Variations

• People do not experience each of these feelings
  in a set order with resolve or closure at the end
• Grief is idiosyncratic
• People may vacillate between stages at various
  points in their lives
• People may regress to earlier stages

13
Characteristics of Coping

• 1. Ability to identify the stressor.
• 2. Viewing the situation as a family problem
  rather than the problem of one member.
• 3. Adopting a solution-oriented approach rather
  than blaming.
• 4. Showing tolerance for other family members.

14
Characteristics of Coping

• 5. Commitment/ affection for other family
  members
• 6. Evidence of high family cohesion.
• 7. Evidence of considerable role flexibility.
• 8. Open and clear communication.
• 9. Use of resources in and outside family.
• 10. Lack of physical violence.
• 11. Lack of substance abuse.
• Figley and McCubbin (1983)

15
Survival During Hard Times

• 1. Know when you are in hard times.
• 2. Face hard times together.
• 3. Take your time.
• 4. Ask for outside help when your family is
  stuck.
• McFadden Doub (1983)

16
Chapter Six

• Family Interactions

17
Nontraditional Families

• 1. Separation and divorce
• a. Impact on children
• b. Impact on parents
• c. Financial problems
• d. Family management problems
• e. Personal problems

18
Nontraditional Families

• 2. Blended families
• a. Clarifying lines of authority
• b. Financial issues
• c. Loyalty issues
• d. Needs for effective communication
• 3. Other nontraditional families
• a. Grandparents or other extended family
• b. Adoptive
• c. Same sex

19
Role of Educational Conferencer in Working with
Nontraditional Families

• 1. Be aware of priority concerns
• 2. Be able to suggest resources and services
• 3. Be aware of severe time, energy and financial
  restrictions
• 4. Include noncustodial parents in conferences
  and programs
• 5. Listen

20
Role of Educational Conferencer in Working with
Nontraditional Families

• 6. Become familiar with your own family-related
  values
• 7. Be able to apprise parents and family members
  of potential impact of factors on family
  structure
• 8. Aid parents in becoming effective in various
  roles
• 9. Anticipate atypical behavior in parents and
  children experiencing turmoil and change

21
Multicultural Issues

• 1. Over-representation in special classes
• 2. Assessment
• 3. Suspensions/ zero tolerance
• 4. Poverty
• 5. Awareness and acceptance of cultural
  diversity and individual differences
• 6. Likenesses vs differences

22
Discussion School and Culture

• 1. In what ways do middle-class teachers,
  reflecting the schools values, single out for
  criticism differences in childrens behavior and
  values?
• 2. What changes should take place for the
  structure of the school to be flexible enough to
  accommodate the diverse abilities and interests
  of a heterogeneous student body?