Preparing Graduate Students to be Outreach Family Life Educators

Abstract

Upon graduation, many family science graduate students will have opportunities to work with lay audiences in educational settings outside the traditional university and high school classroom. To succeed in educating lay audiences requires a somewhat different skill set than that which students currently gain in many family science programs. Thus, for graduates in family life education to succeed well in educating the public requires different skills than teaching students in traditional classroom settings. This article reports the development, implementation, and evaluation of a course, called Outreach Class, as an example of what family science graduate programs can do to assure that students gain the skills they need. Evaluation data show the course is experienced as a positive, hands-on learning experience. It is suggested that through a course like this, students gain practical educational experiences that arm them to become more effective ambassadors of family science scholarship to citizens of the world. Upon graduation, many family science graduate students will have opportunities to work with lay audiences in educational settings outside the traditional university and high school classroom. Some may be involved in field agent or campus-based specialist work within the Cooperative Extension System. Others may work as family outreach experts in human service or media contexts. Those with an entrepreneurial spirit may develop their own family life education business. Still other students may assume traditional university positions that include some outreach expectations. To succeed in educating lay audiences requires a somewhat different skill set than that which students currently gain in many family science programs, even those that have family life education emphases. For example, although the author was trained by leading family life education mentors, he still found himself somewhat ill-prepared for the nature of family life education in outreach settings. needs and motivations of the general public in outreach family life education settings usually differ from the traditional family science college students, who are likely more concerned with earning an acceptable grade than benefit for their personal life. general public involvement in a family life education offering is more likely to be motivated by a personal or family need (e.g., see Knowles, 1990). Thus, for students of family life education to succeed well in educating the public requires a somewhat different skill set than teaching students held captive in traditional classroom settings (Duncan & Goddard, 2005). Students need practical, educational experiences in their college curriculum that arm students to become more effective ambassadors of family science scholarship to citizens of the world. This article presents information about a professional preparation course, Outreach Family Life Education (hereafter termed The Outreach Class), as a prototype of what could be done to address this need through university family life education curricula. broad goal of this