READ FIRST- THIS IS A TWO PART ASSIGNMENT

Note: All multiple part assignments should be submitted as a single file and all sources of empirical support can be no older than 10 years.

Assignment:  NCFR CONTENT Areas Literature Review Project
(Addresses Course Objectives 1 & 3)  Below are the 10 Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) “Content Areas” of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), a professional organization whose mission it is to “To provide an educational forum for family researchers, educators, and practitioners to share in the development and dissemination of knowledge about families and family relationships, establish professional standards, and work to promote family well-being” (http://www.ncfr.org/). 

During the 8 weeks of this senior, seminar students will select and conduct a review of peer- reviewed literature related to each of the 10 CFLE Content Areas (Note: All articles must be retrieved from the APUS online library or another viable source of academic literature).  The phrase “peer-reviewed” refers to a publication that contains information reviewed and deemed academically sound and scientifically rigorous by the author’s peers in the field.  Students will select, from the larger body of child and or family development literature, one peer-reviewed journal articles per substance area.  Each article must be summarized and critiqued in a 1 ½ page paper (double-spaced – review text starting at the 1 inch margin).  

The format for this assignment should be:
Content Area Name
Research article 1 (include the title of the article)
Review

Use this format for your Content Areas.  Remember, all text must start on the left margin.

Due at the End of Week 4: Reviews for Content Areas 1-5 must be completed by the end of Week 4 and compiled into a midterm literature review packet to be submitted by the end of the week.  This assignment is due in your Student Folder by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday of Week 4.

Due at the End of Week 8: Similarly, by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday of Week 8, the reviews of Content Areas 6–10 reviews must be compiled and combined with Content Areas 1-5 and submitted as one comprehensive literature review.  This final comprehensive review must end with a 2-3 paragraph summary of what was learned while conducting the course-long review.  

NOTE: This comprehensive review forms the major writing assignment of this capstone course and as such, should exemplify advanced writing skills that demonstrate critical thought and detail.  It must be in compliance with university academic standards and formatting rules of the American Psychological Association (APA) – 6th Edition. 

An excellent web-source for reviewing APA format and fine tuning one’s APA skills can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ .  A link to this website is also located in the APUS online library.

NCFR/CFLE CONTENT AREAS

Content Area #1 – FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS IN SOCIETAL CONTEXT
e.g., Structures & Functions; Cultural Variations; Dating, Courtship, Marital Choice; Kinship; Cross-Cultural and Minority Families; Changing Gender Roles; Demographic Trends;
Historical Issues; Work-Family Relationships; Societal Relations

Content Area #2 – INTERNAL DYNAMICS OF FAMILIES
 e.g., Internal Social Processes; Communication; Conflict Management; Normal Family Stresses; Family Crises; Special Needs in Families.

Content Area #3 – HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
e.g., Prenatal; Infancy; Early and Middle Childhood; Adolescence; Adulthood; Aging.
 
Content Area # 4 –  HUMAN SEXUALITY
  e.g., Reproductive Physiology; Biological Determinants; Aspects of Sexual Involvement; Sexual Behaviors; Sexual Values and Decision-Making; Family Planning;
Sexual Response; Sexual Dysfunction; Influence on Relationships

Content Area # 5 – INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
 e.g., Self and Others; Communication Skills; Intimacy, Love, Romance; Relating to Others.

Content Area # 6 – FAMILY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
e.g., Goal Setting and Decision-Making; Development and Allocation of Resources; Social Environment Influences; Life Cycle and Family Structure Influences; Consumer Issues and Decisions.

Content Area # 7 – PARENT EDUCATION AND GUIDANCE
e.g., Parenting Rights and Responsibilities; Parenting Practices/Processes; Parent/Child Relationships; Variation in Parenting Solutions; Changing Parenting Roles Over the Life Cycle.

Content Area # 8 – FAMILY LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY
e.g., Family and the Law; Family and Social Services; Family and Education;
Family and the Economy; Family and Religion; Policy and the Family.

Content Area # 9 – PROFESSOINAL ETHICS AND PRACTICE
e.g., Formation of Values; Diversity of Values in Pluralistic Society; Examining Ideologies; Social Consequences of Value Choices; Ethics and Technological Changes; Ethics of Professional Practice

Content Area # 10 – FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION METHODOLOGY
e.g., Planning and Implementing; Evaluation; Education Techniques; Sensitivity to Others; Sensitivity to Community Concern.