Abstract
Family Science encompasses the scholarly study of families as well as applying best practices for intervention and education. Family Science programs are tied to distinct, although related, disciplines and academic units founded to address issues related to families. An exploration of the discipline across three centuries facilitates an understanding not only of the history but also the future promise of Family Science. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the history of the Family Science discipline and demonstrate how social, cultural, and academic forces shaped the study of the family. The epistemology and assumptions inherent in the discipline are a product of the context, norms, and stakeholders involved. Changes in the terminology used to describe the discipline itself (from Domestic Science to Home Economics, to Family Studies and Human Development, and finally to Family Science) indicate shifts in the theoretical conception of the discipline and the practical application of knowledge.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, B. N. (1970). Isolation, function, and beyond. Journal of Marriage and Family, 32(4), 575–597.
Allen, K. R., & Lavender-Stott, E. S. (2020). Preparing the educators who teach about families: Engaging family science in the university setting. Family Relations, 69(3), 442–460.
Allen, K. R., Lloyd, S. A., Few, A., & l. (2009). Preface and reclaiming feminist theory, method, and praxes for family studies. In S. A. Lloyd, A. L. Few, & K. R. Allen (Eds.), Handbook of feminist family studies. (pp. vii–ix & pp. 3–17). Sage.
Atkinson, P., & Hammersley, P. (1994). Ethnography and participant observation. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 248–261). Sage.
Bane, L. (1955). The story of Isabel Bevier. Chas. A. Bennett, Inc.
Benedict, R. (1959). Race: Science and politics. The Viking Press.
Bengtson , V. L., Acock, A. C., Allen, K. R., Dilworth-Anderson, P., & Klein, D. M. (Eds.). (2005). Sourcebook of family theory & research. Sage Publications.
Bernard, J. (1983). In B. H. Settles & M. L. Liprie (Eds.), [Video]. The development of women’s studies and family sociology in higher education: An interview with Jessie Bernard. University of Delaware.
Bernard, J. (1987). Preface and introduction. In M. B. Sussman & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Handbook of marriage & the family (pp. xii–xiv). Plenum Press.
Blume, L. B. (2014). Making connections: Toward a transdisciplinary family science. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 6(1), 1–4.
Blume, L. B. (2015). Enter act II: JFTR, 2014-18. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 7(1), 1–4.
Boorstin, D. J. (1965). The Americans: The national experience. Vintage Books.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Basic Books.
Boylan, A. M. (2002). The origins of Women’s activism: New York and Boston 1797–1840. University of North Carolina Press.
Brown, M. M. (1995). Philosophical studies of home economics in the United States: Our practical intellectual heritage, I & II. Michigan State University.
Buehler, C., & Few-Demo, A. L. (2018). Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10(2), 327–329.
Cassidy, D. (2009). Challenges in FLE: Defining and promoting the profession. In D. J. Bredehoft (Ed.), Family life education: Integrating theory and practice. National Council on Family Relations.
Christensen, H. T. (1964). Development of the family field of study. In H. T. Christensen (Ed.), Handbook of marriage and the family (pp. 3–32). Rand McNally & Company.
Cole, C. L., & Cole, A. L. (2012). The initiation of marriage and family therapy. In R. H. Rubin & B. H. Settles (Eds.), Groves monographs on marriage and family: Vol. 2. The groves conference on marriage and family: History and impact on family science (pp. 63–86). University of Michigan Library.
Constantine, L. (1995). On peopleware. Yourdon Press.
Dalrymple, J. (1981). Contributions of the United States Office of Education to home economics teacher education. In E. M. Ray (Ed.), Home economics education: Sixty significant years (pp. 187–225). McKnight Publishing.
Department of Labor. (1946). Women’s Bureau [Brochure].
Duvall, E. M. (1957, 1967, 1971). Family development. J. B. Lippincott.
Foster, L. (1991). Women, family, and utopia. Syracuse University Press.
Glick, P. C. (1987). video. In B. H. Settles & M. L. Liprie (Eds.), Demography and the family: An interview with Paul C. Glick. University of Delaware.
Gravassi, S. M. (2014). Locating the family field on academia’s map: Taking the path toward intentional leadership or inadvertently following the road to perdition? In Gravassi, S. M., Wilson, S.M., Ganong, L. & Zvonkovic, A., Furthering the conversation on the future of the discipline of family science: Comments on the articles of Hamon & Smith and Hans. Family Relations, 63(3), 335–342.
Gravassi, S. M., & Gee, G. (2018). Land- Grant universities for the future: Higher education for the public good. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hall, C. S., & Lindsey, G. (1957). Theories of personality. John Wiley & Son.
Hamon, R. R., & Smith, S. S. (2017). Family science as translational science: A history of the discipline. Family Relations, 66(4), 550–567.
Hans, J. C. (2014). Whither famology? Department trends across four decades. Family Relations, 63(3), 323–332.
Hill, R., & Hansen, D. A. (1964). Families under stress. In H. T. Christensen & H. T. (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (pp. 782–822). Rand McNally & Company.
Hunt, C. L. (1942, 1958). The life of Ellen H. Richards. American Home Economics Association.
Kelsey, L. D., & Hearne, C. C. (1949). Cooperative extension work. Comstock Publishing.
Kephart, W. M. (1982). Extraordinary groups: The sociology of unconventional life styles (2nd ed.). St. Martin’s Press.
Klein, D. (2018, November 7–10). How theory construction methods have shaped the sourcebook tradition [plenary on video]. National Council on Family Relations.
Knowles, M. S. (1960). Historical development of adult education movement in the United States. In M. K. Knowles (Ed.), Handbook of adult education in the United States (pp. 7–28). Adult Education Association of USA.
MacAdoo, H. (1993). Membership structure, diversity key issues. NCFR Report, 38(4), 2.
McGavran, M. B. (1975). The role of domesticity transcended. In M. Fuller, L. M. Child, M. S. Chestnut, I. H. H. Quint, & M. Cantor (Eds.), Men, women, and issues in American history (Vol. 1, pp. 172–191). The Dorsey Press.
Meacham, J. (2012). Thomas Jefferson: The art of power. Random House.
Mead, M. (1928). Coming of age in Samoa. William Morrow & Co.
Menand, L. (2019, August 26). The Looking Glass: How cultural anthropologists redefined humanity: A brave band of scholars set out to save us from racism and sexism. The New Yorker.
Milardo, R. M. (2009). Editorial: Following a sociological imagination. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 1(1), 1–3.
Morrill Act of 1862, 7 U.S.C. § 301 (1862). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/301
N.C.F.R. (2021). N.C.F.R. History. https://www.ncfr.org/about/history
Nash, M. A. (2019, November 8). The dark history of land-grant universities. The Washington Post.
O’Neill, W. L. (1969). The woman movement: Feminism in the United State and England. Quadrangle Books.
Parish, S. L., Saville, A. W., Swaine, J. C., & Igdalsky, L. (2016). Policies and programs for children and youth with disabilities. In J. M. Jenson & M. W. Fraser (Eds.), Social policy for children and families: A risk and resiliency perspective (3rd ed., pp. 201–226). Sage.
Parsons, T., Bales, R. F., with Olds, J., Zeldicth, M., Jr., & Slater, P. E. (1955). Family as socialization and interaction process. The Free Press.
Peters, M. F. (1979). Notes from the guest editor. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 4(4), 655–660.
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537. (1896). https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/163us537
Rubin, R. H. (2012). African American families, ethnicity, and scholarship. In Groves monographs on marriage and family: Vol. 2. The groves conference on marriage and family: History and impact on family science (pp. 195–232). University of Michigan Library.
Rubin, R. H., & Settles, B. H. (2012a). Groves monographs on marriage and family: Vol. 2. The groves conference on marriage and family: History and impact on family science. University of Michigan Library.
Rubin, R. H., & Settles, B. H. (2012b). Family policy and advocacy. In R. H. Rubin & B. H. Settles (Eds.), Groves monographs on marriage and family: Vol. 2. The groves conference on marriage and family: History and impact on family science (pp. 87–105). University of Michigan Library.
Samuelson, F. (1977). World War I intelligence testing and the development of psychology. Journal of History: Behavioral Science, 3, 274–282.
Settles, B. H. (2005). USA families. In B. Adams & J. Trost (Eds.), Handbook of world families (pp. 560–601). Sage.
Settles, B. H., Rubin, R., & Sibbison, V. H. (2012). The groves way: History, process and family process. In R. H. Rubin & B. H. Settles (Eds.), Groves monographs on marriage and family: Vol. 2. The groves conference on marriage and family: History and impact on family science (pp. 1–38). University of Michigan Library.
Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 11. (1917). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/11
Smith-Lever Act, 7 U.S.C. 341. (1914). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/341
Stein, S. (2017). A colonial history of the higher education present: Rethinking land-grant institutions through processes of accumulation and relations of conquest. Critical Studies in Education, 61(2), 212–228.
Steinmetz, S. K., & Peterson, G. W. (Eds.). (2002). Pioneering paths in the study of families. The Haworth Press.
Sussman, M. B. (1983). [video]. The development of family studies in higher education: An interview with Marvin Sussman. In I. B. H. Settles & M. L. Liprie (Eds.), Demography and the family: An interview with Paul C. Glick. University of Delaware.
Sussman, M. B. (1987). Introduction: From the catbird seat: Observations on marriage and the family. In M. B. Sussman & S. Steinmetz (Eds.), Handbook of marriage & the family (pp. xxxi–xlii). Plenum Press.
Sussman, M. B., & Steinmetz, S. K. (Eds.). (1987). Handbook of marriage and the family. Plenum Press.
Taylor, A. C., & Bagd, A. (2005). The lack of explicit theory on family scholarship. In V. L. Bengtson, A. C. Acock, K. R. Allen, P. Dilworth-Anderson, & D. M. Klein (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theory & research (pp. 22–25). Sage Publications.
Wakefield, R. A., & Kates, A. M. (1981). The Washington Memo of the Coalition of Family Organizations, 3.
White House Conference on Families. (1980). White House Conference on Families: Listening to America’s Families, Action for the 80’s. A Summary of the Report to the President, Congress and Families of the Nation.
Wolman, B. B. (1960). Contemporary theories and systems in psychology. Harper & Row.
Zvonkovic, A. (2014). The perennial problem of the field of family studies in an academic environment in constant flux: Broadening the scope of our ragtag group of starfighters. In Gravassi, S. M. Wilson, S.M., Ganong, L. & Zvonkovic, A., Furthering the conversation on the future of the discipline of family science: Comments on the articles of Hamon & Smith and Hans. Family Relations, 63(3), 335–342.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Settles, B.H., Doneker, K.L. (2022). History of Family Science. In: Adamsons, K., Few-Demo, A.L., Proulx, C., Roy, K. (eds) Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methodologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-92001-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-92002-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)