Teaching About Work And Family Life

Teaching Workshop Teaching About Work and Family Life www.bc.edu/wfnetwork Stephen Sweet Ithaca College Judi C. Casey Boston College Susan Lambert University of Chicago Christopher Morett Fordham University Margaret Usdansky Syracuse University Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association Boston, MA August 2, 2008

About the Network

The Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network is the premier online destination for information about work and family. The Network serves a global community interested in work and family research by providing resources and building knowledge. Current, credible, and comprehensive, the Network targets the information needs of academics and researchers, workplace practitioners, state public policy makers, and interested individuals. It’s the place to find high quality research and reports, easy-to-read summary sheets and briefs, as well as work and family topic pages – all in one location.

2005-2007

Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes

Boston College

Ellen Ernst Kossek

Michigan State University

Carrie Leana

University of Pittsburgh

Shelley MacDermid

Purdue University

Patricia Raskin

Teachers College at Columbia University

Mary Secret

Virginia Commonwealth University

Stephen Sweet

Ithaca College

2007-2009

Christopher Morett

Fordham University

Susan Lambert

University of Chicago

Lonnie Golden

Penn State, Abington

Stephen Sweet

Ithaca College

Margaret Usdansky

Syracuse University

Curriculum Task Force of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network

Work and Family Modules

Modules currently available

Overview of Work-Family Issues in the United States

Work-Life Issues in the Workplace

Work-Family Policy in the United States

Surveying the “Best of the Best”: A Seminar Based on Research Articles Nominated for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Work-Family Research

Modules in development

Engaging Students in the Sloan Work and Family Research Network

Module: Overview of Work and Family in the United States

Class 1: Fundamental concepts in work and family

Class 2: Historical overview of work-family: Changes from pre-industrial to industrial arrangements

Key Concepts

Definitions of families

Diversity of employment and family contexts

Institutional interfaces, spillover, crossover, conflict, and enhancement

Multidisciplinary perspectives

Module: Surveying the Best of the Best: A Seminar Based on Research Articles Nominated for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Work-Family Research

A Resource for Instruction and Learning

Course Syllabi

A Resource for Teachers and Students

Class and Workshop Activities

Pedagogies of Teaching Work-Family

Methodology:

Content analysis of published work-family teaching activities

Sample:

All articles published in Teaching Sociology from 1990-2006 related to teaching Work-Family issues (N=26)

All exercises/activities in ASA Resource Manual: Teaching Work-Family (N=22)

Source: Sweet, Pitt-Catsouphes, Mumm and Casey (2007)

Work-Family Course Curricula Methodology: Content analysis work-family syllabi Sample: Syllabi accepted in ASA Resource Manual: Teaching Work-Family N=16 Note: Topics may be more frequently covered in classes than our observations indicate. Source: Sweet, Pitt-Catsouphes, Mumm and Casey (2007)

Putting the Teaching Activities to Work

What topics do you try to cover in your courses?

Does the Network have examples of strategies others have used?

A Premier Destination For Work-Family Resources

Work-Family Encyclopedia

Sample Encyclopedia Entry

Entries Cover:

Basic Concepts

Importance to W-F

State of Knowledge

Policy and Research Implications

Chris Morett Fordham University Sociology and Anthropology

Course syllabus

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT

Family composition: Trends in marriage, divorce, and fertility

The workplace: Job design and workplace culture

Consumption

Child care

Gender, the division of labor, and segmentation/inequality

Course syllabus

CONSEQUENCES (POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE)

Background

Benefits of multiple roles

Challenges of multiple roles: How work affects individuals, their partners, and their children

Course syllabus

Work-family strain and community: How do they affect each other?

Reflections on service-learning

The life-course perspective

Welfare reform, work, and family

Private and public policies to address work family conflict: America and abroad

Work and family later in life: Workers, parents, and spouses

The Opt-Out Revolution???

Prospects for the future, prospects for change

Teaching goals

Primary substantive content

Other important/interesting topics

Being sociological

Research: Locating and Generating Resources for the Encyclopedia

What topics would you like to see in the Encyclopedia? (and let’s see if they are already there!)

Would you have any interest in writing an entry

On family responses or outcomes?

On workplace responses or outcomes?

On methodology?

On policy?

A Portal to Work-Family Research

Advantages of the Literature Data Base

Full Text Access Multidisciplinary

Putting The Literature Database to Work

What issues are central to your research, teaching, or policy initiatives?

Can you envision using this resource with students? How?

Margaret Usdansky Syracuse University

Using Topics Pages in Work-Family Courses

A Source of Comprehensive Understanding

Using the Topics Pages

A Source for Definitions

A Source for Statistics

Identifying Legislation

Paths for Student Research

A Link To Social Networks Should you be listed among the “who’s who” of work-family leaders? Inquire to Judi Casey <caseyjt@bc.edu>

A Quick Means to Locate Facts

Putting the Statistics Database To Work

What statistical facts would be useful to have at your fingertips?

Can these be integrated into lectures?

What are the implications of having students use this resource?

A Source For State Policy information

State Profiles

Susan Lambert University of Chicago

Integrating Case Studies and Fieldwork into Courses on Work and Work-Family

A Means to Locate Organizational Practices

A Means to Find News and Upcoming Events

The Network News

Number of Schools Programming of Work-Family In Course Offerings Methodology Content Analysis of college catalogues Sample: Random sample of 50 Carnegie Colleges & Universities with a high enrollment of undergrads Measures: A formal Work-Family course Work-Family embedded within a course Source: Sweet, Pitt-Catsouphes, Mumm and Casey (2007)

What are the biggest challenges you face in integrating work and family topics in your courses? What pedagogical strategies can help overcome these hurdles?