Using the Sloan Work and Family Research Network to Teach Work and Family Studies

Integrating the Sloan Work and Family Research Network in Research, Teaching and Practice Judi Casey Boston College Stephen Sweet Ithaca College 3 rd International Community, Work and Family Conference Utrecht Netherlands April 16, 2009 1:45-3:15pm

About the Sloan Network

The Alfred P. Sloan Work and Family Research Network is the premier online destination for information about work and family.

Introductions

How would you best describe the focus of your work?

Researcher

Teacher

Workplace practitioner

Policy maker

Advocate

Counselor

Other?

Practice: What types of work-family information are you looking for?

Locating experts or leaders?

Finding research data?

Documenting best practices?

Establishing a business case?

Following coverage in the media and popular press?

Tracking legislation or advocacy efforts?

Other?

Research and Teaching: What resources could facilitate your work?

What types of information could facilitate your efforts as a researcher?

In what types of courses, do you integrate work and family topics?

What types of readings do you assign?

In what types of classroom activities do you engage?

Programming, Curricular and Pedagogical Challenges

Breadth and Scope of Area of Study

Diversities of families, workers, and workplaces

Multi-disciplinary perspectives

Wide-ranging methodologies

Vistas of policy initiatives

Complexity

Linkages between institutions, history, and policy

Global comparative concerns

Students’ Limited “Real Life” Experience

Of family and work roles , demands , resources , and constraints

What Departments Teach Work-Family Content Sweet, Stephen, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Joshua Mumm, and Judi Casey. 2008. “Teaching Work and Family to Undergraduate Students: Catalyzing Pedagogical, Curricular, and Programmatic Innovations.” Teaching Sociology 36: 58-65

Curriculum Task Force of the Sloan Network

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

Christopher Moret Fordham University

Susan Lambert University of Chicago

Lonnie Golden Penn State, Abington

Stephen Sweet Ithaca College

Margaret Usdansky Syracuse University

2005-2007 2007-2009

Using the Sloan Network to Access Scholarly Research, Statistics, and Detailed Summaries

Orienting Work-Family Inquiry: The Work and Family Encyclopedia

Quick Access to Facts

Blazing Paths: A Source of Comprehensive Understanding

Helping Students Frame Their Research and Analyses

Margaret Usdansky uses Topics Pages and the Literature Database to guide student projects.

From Margaret’s syllabus….. Assignment 1, Identifying and Defining Your Topic and Main Argument: The Topics Pages on the Sloan Work-Family site are a useful source for selecting a topic and formulating a main argument. Take a look at the site before you begin. You are not limited to the topics identified by Sloan but are free to draw on them. To begin, peruse the Topics Pages or other sections of the Sloan web site to come up with ideas for your paper topic. Once you’ve identified a likely topic, search the Sloan data base or other data bases discussed in class to identify two scholarly empirical articles relevant to your topic. Avoid topics for which you have trouble identifying relevant empirical articles as you will ultimately need 10 articles for the completed paper…… Margaret Usdansky (Syracuse University)

A Portal to Work-Family Research: The Literature Database

A Resource for Instruction and Course Design: Syllabi

A Resource for Class Activities

A Resource for Course Components: Work and Family Modules

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

Engaging Students in the Sloan Work and Family Research Network

Modules currently available: Modules in development:

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

Using the Sloan Network to Locate Experts and Establish the “Business Case” for Family Responsive Policies

Who’s Who in Work and Family Should you be listed among the “who’s who” of work-family leaders? Contact: Judi Casey, [email_address]

A Link To Social Networks

Sloan Network LinkedIn Group:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1271477&trk=anet_ug_hm

Sloan Network Facebook Group:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sloan-Work-and-Family-Research-Network/21749107883

Twitter:

http:// twitter.com/SloanNetwork

A Means to Locate Organizational Best Practices and Case Studies

Establishing the Business Case with Students

Susan Lambert assigns her students to engage in field work, interview workers, and link their analyses to the Workplace Flexibility Case Studies available on the Sloan Network

Susan Lambert (University of Chicago)

Family-Friendly Employers

Using the Sloan Network to Access U.S. State-level Public Policy and Legislation

A Source For U.S. State-level Public Policy Information

Using the Sloan Network to Stay Updated on Work-Family News and Events

News and Upcoming Events

Join Us! Become a Sloan Network “Affiliate”

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2. Affiliates receive the monthly “Network News” with:

interviews with work-family leaders

news and updates from the Sloan Foundation

reports about work-family issues in countries around the world

information about selected publications recently added to the Literature Database

announcements for conferences and calls for papers

3. Affiliates also can obtain access to selected full-text articles from the Literature Database (with password). Contact [email_address] for the password.

The Work and Family Blog

Becoming Part of the Sloan Network Community

Opportunities to Contribute to the Sloan Work and Family Research Network