Bryn Mawr College

Child and Family Studies

Students may complete a Child and Family Studies minor as an adjunct to any major at Bryn Mawr or Haverford, pending approval of the student’s coursework plan by the Child and Family Studies adviser in the student’s major department.

Steering Committee

Marissa Golden, Associate Professor of Political Science on the Joan Coward Chair in Political Economics
Philip Kilbride, Professor of Anthropology
Alice Lesnick, Director and Term Professor in the Bryn Mawr/Haverford Education Program, and Assistant Professor, Child and Family Studies Program          
Mary Osirim, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Sociology
Leslie Rescorla, Professor of Psychology on the Class of 1897 Professorship of Science, and Director of Child Study Institute
Janet Shapiro, Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research

The Child and Family Studies (CFS) minor provides a curricular mechanism for inter-disciplinary work focused on the contributions of biological, familial, psychological, socioeconomic, political, and educational factors to child and family well-being. The minor will not only addresses the life stages and cultural contexts of infancy through adolescence but also includes issues of parenting; child and family well-being; gender; schooling and informal education; risk and resilience; and the place, the representation, and the voice of children in society and culture.

General inquiries concerning the minor should go to the CFS Director Leslie Rescorla (lrescorl@brynmawr.edu). Specific questions can be addressed to the advisor for the CFS minor in the student’s major department: Leslie Rescorla (Psychology), Marissa Golden (Political Science), Philip Kilbride (Anthropology), and Mary Osirim (Sociology). Students in other departments wishing to enroll in the CFS minor should confer with Leslie Rescorla so that a departmental advisor can be selected.

Requirements for the Child and Family Studies Minor

The minor comprises six courses: one gateway course (PSYCH 206 Developmental Psychology, PSYCH 203 Educational Psychology, EDUC 200 Critical Issues in Education, or SOCL B201 Study of Gender in Society), plus five additional courses, at least two of which must be outside of the major department and at least one of which must be at the 300 level. Advanced Haverford and Swarthmore courses typically taken by juniors and seniors that are more specific than introductory and survey courses will count as 300 level courses. No more than two courses may be double-counted with each major, minor, or other degree credential.

Students will craft a pathway in the minor as they engage in course selection through ongoing discussions with their advisor. Sample pathways might include: political science/child and family law; sociology/educational policy; child and family mental health; depictions of children/families in literature and film; child and family public health issues; social work/child welfare; anthropology/cross-cultural child and family issues; gender issues affecting children and families; social justice/diversity issues affecting children and families; economic factors affecting children and families.

The minor also requires participation in at least one semester or summer of volunteer, practicum, praxis, community-based work study, or internship experience related to Child and Family Studies, with reflections to be recorded in a journal, which will be part of the student’s portfolio. Students are expected to discuss their placement choices with their minor advisor. For further information about field-based experiences, consult the Child and Family Studies website: www.brynmawr.edu/tricochildfamily/minor.html.

To foster the inter-disciplinary nature of child and family studies, students enrolled in the minor must also complete the following requirements:

• Attendance at a minimum of two CFS-related formal events per year, for which reflections/comments will be recorded in a journal, which will be part of the student’s portfolio.
  
• Attendance four times per semester for two semesters at a “brown bag” 1-hour seminar, comprised of individual workshop/discussion sessions facilitated by a range of individuals, including the students themselves, affiliated faculty and staff, and guest speakers.
  
• Participation during senior year in an annual CFS Poster Session during which students will share highlights of their CFS campus and field-based experiences.
  Courses that can be counted toward the Child and Family Studies Minor
  

(Note: it is important to check the Trico course guide for updated course information. In some cases, courses relevant to the CFS minor will have changed, or been added. Students should explore freely and consult with their advisor on curricular choices).

Bryn Mawr College Courses and Seminars

ANTH 212    Primate Evolution and Behavior, not offered 2012-13
ANTH 253    Childhood in the African Experience, not offered 2012-13
ANTH 281    Language in the Social Context, not offered 2012-13
ANTH 312    Anthropology of Reproduction, not offered 2012-13
ANTH 341    Cultural Perspectives on Marriage and Family, not offered 2012-13
EDUC 200    Critical Issues in Education, Fall and Spring, 2012-13
EDUC 250    Literacies and Education not offered 2012-13
EDUC 266    Schools in American Cities, Spring 2013
EDUC 275    Teaching English Learners in U.S. Schools, Fall 2012
EDUC 301    Curriculum and Pedagogy, Fall 2012
EDUC 302    Practice Teaching Seminar, Spring 2013
EDUC 310    Defining Educational Practice, not offered 2012-13
EDUC 311    Field Work Seminar, Spring 2013
POLS 375     Women, Work and Family, Fall 2012
PSYC 203     Educational Psychology, Fall 2013
PSYC 206     Developmental Psychology, Spring 2013
PSYC 209     Abnormal Psychology, Spring 2013
PSYC 220     Autism Spectrum Disorders, Fall 2012
PSYC 256     Culture and Development, Spring 2013
PSYC 340     Women’s Mental Health, Spring 2013
PSYC 346     Pediatric Psychology, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 350     Developmental Cognitive Disorders, Fall 2012
PSYC 351     Developmental Psychopathology, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 352     Advanced Topics I Developmental Psychology, not offered 2012-13  
SOCL 201     Study of Gender in Society, not offered 2012-13
SOCL 205     Social Inequality, not offered 2012-13
SOCL 217     The Family in Social Context, not offered 2012-13
SOCL 225     Women in Contemporary Society, Fall 2012
SOCL 258     Sociology of Education, not offered 2012-13
SOCL 266     Schools in American Cities, Spring 2013 
SOWK 302   Poverty and Inequality
SOWK 352   Child Welfare Policy, Practice, and Research
SOWK 306   Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity
SOWK 336D Public Education: Issues in School Social Work Practice
SOWK 338   Education Law for Social Workers
SOWK 354   To Protect the Public Health

Haverford College Courses and Seminars

ANTH H209   Anthropology of Education, not offered 2012-13
ANTH H263   Anthropology of Space: Housing and Society, not offered 2012-13
BIOL H217     Biological Psychology, not offered 2012-13
COML H289  Children’s Literature,Spring 2013
EDUC H200   Critical Issues in Education, Fall/Spring 2012-13
EDUC H210   Perspectives on Special Education, Fall 2012
EDUC H260   Multicultural Education, not offered 2012-13
PSYC H213    Memory and Cognition, not offered 2012-13
PSYC H215    Introduction to Personality Psychology, Fall 2012
PSYC H224    Social Psychology, Spring 2013
PSYC H225    Self and Identity, Spring 2013
SOCL H235    Class, Race and Education, Spring 2013

Swarthmore College Courses and Seminars

ED 14             Introduction to Education, Fall/Spring 2012-13
ED 17             Curriculum and Methods Seminar, Fall 2012
ED 21/Psych 21 Educational Psychology, Fall 2012
ED 23/Psych 23 Adolescence, Fall 2012
ED 23A          Adolescents and Special Education, Fall 2012
ED 26/Psych 26 Special Education, Fall 2012
ED 41             Educational Policy, not offered 2012-13
ED 42             Teaching Diverse Young Learners, Fall 2012
ED 45             Literacies and Social Identities, not offered 2012-13
ED 53             Language Minority Education, Spring 2013
ED 61             Gender and Education, not offered 2012-13
ED 64             Comparative Education,not offered 2012-13
ED 68             Urban Education, Spring 2013
ED 70             Outreach Practicum, not offered 2012-13
ED 121           Psychology and Practice Honors Seminar, not offered 2012-13
ED 131           Social and Cultural Perspectives Honors Seminar, Spring 2013
ED 151           Literacies Research Honors Seminar, Fall/Spring 2012-13
ED 162           Sociology of Education, not offered 2012-13
ED 167           Identities and Education Honors Seminar, Fall 2012
HIST 079       Women, Family, and the State in China, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 27        Language Acquisition and Development, Spring 2013
PSYC 35        Social Psychology, Spring 2013
PSYC 39        Developmental Psychology, Fall 2012
PSYC 41        Children at Risk, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 42        Human Intelligence, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 43        Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 50        Developmental Psychopathology, not offered 2012-13
PSYC 55        Family Systems Theory and Psychological Change, Fall 2012
PSYC 135      Advanced Topics in Social and Cultural Psychology, not offered 2012-13