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 advisor in the student’s major department.
Director
Leslie Rescorla, Psychology
Assistant Director
Alice Lesnick, Education
Steering Committee
Marissa Golden, Political Science
Mary Osirim, Sociology
Janet Shapiro, Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research
Nell Anderson, Civic Engagement Office
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 address the life stages and cultural contexts of infancy through adolescence but will 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 CFSminor 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.
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.
To foster the inter-disciplinary nature of child and family studies, students enrolled in the minor must also complete the following requirements:
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):
ANTH 212 Primate Evolution and Behavior, not offered 2012-2013
ANTH 253 Childhood in the African Experience, not offered 2012-2013
ANTH 281 Language in the Social Context, Spring, not offered 2012-2013
ANTH 312 Anthropology of Reproduction, not offered 2012-2013
ANTH 341 Cultural Perspectives on Marriage & Family, not offered 2012-2013
EDUC 200 Critical Issues in Education, Fall/Spring 2012-2013
EDUC 250 Literacies and Education Spring, not offered 2012-2013
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 2012-2013
EDUC 311 Field Work Seminar, Spring 2013
POLS 375 Women, Work & Family, Fall 2012
PSYC 203 Educational Psychology Fall, 2012
PSYC 206 Developmental Psychology, Spring, 2013
PSYCH 209 Abnormal Psychology, Spring 2013
PSYC 220 Autism Spectrum Disorders, Fall 2012
PSYC 256 Culture and Development, Spring 2013
PSYCH 340 Women’s Mental Health, Spring 2012-2013
PSYC 346 Pediatric Psychology, not offered 2012-2013
PSYC 351 Developmental Psychopathology, not offered 2012-2013
PSYCH 352 Advanced Topics I Developmental Psychology, not offered 2012-2013
SOCL 201 Study of Gender in Society, not offered 2012-2013
SOCL 205 Social Inequality, not offered 2012-2013
SOCL 217 The Family in Social Context, not offered 2012-2013
SOCL 225 Women in Society, Fall 2012.
SOCL 258 Sociology of Education, not offered 2012-2013
SOCL 266 Schools in American Cities, Spring 2013
SOWK Poverty and Inequality
SOWK Child Welfare
SOWK Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity
SOWK Public Education: Issues in School Social Work Practice
SOWK Education Law for Social Workers
SOWK Public Health
Haverford College Courses and Seminars
ANTH H209 Anthropology of Education, not offered 2012-2013
ANTH H263 Anthropology of Space: Housing and Society, not offered 2012-2013
BIOL H217 Biological Psychology, not offered 2012-2013
COML H289 Children’s Literature, Spring 2013
EDUC H200 Critical Issues in Education, Fall/Spring 2012-2013
EDUC H210 Perspectives on Special Education, Fall 2012
EDUC H260 Multicultural Education, not offered 2012-2013
PSYCH H213 Memory and Cognition, not offered 2012-2013
PSYCH H215 Introduction to Personality Psychology, Fall 2012
PSYCH H225 Self and Identity, Spring 2013
SOCL H235 Class, Race & Education, Spring 2013
Swarthmore College Courses and Seminars
Ed 14 Introduction to Education, Fall/Spring 2012-2013
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 2012-2013
Ed 42 Teaching Diverse Young learners, Fall 2012
Ed 45 Literacies and Social Identities, not offered 2012-2013
Ed 53 Language Minority Education, Spring 2013
Ed 61 Gender and Education, not offered 2012-2013
Ed 64 Comparative Education, not offered 2012-2013
Ed 68 Urban Education, Spring 2013
Ed 70 Outreach Practicum, not offered 2012-2013
Ed 121 Psychology and Practice Honors Seminar, not offered 2012-2013
Ed 131 Social and Cultural Perspectives Honors Seminar, Spring 2013
Ed 151 Literacies Research Honors Seminar, Fall/Spring 2012-2013
Ed 162 Sociology of Education, not offered 2012-2013
Ed 167 Identities and Education Honors Seminar, Fall 2012
HIST 079 Women, Family, and the State in China, not offered 2012-2013
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 2012-2013
PSYC 42 Human Intelligence, not offered 2012-2013
PSYC 43 Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, not offered 2012-2013
PSYC 50 Developmental Psychopathology, not offered 2012-2013
PSYC 55 Family Systems Theory and Psychological Change, Fall 2012
PSYC 135 Advanced Topics in Social and Cultural Psychology, not offered 2012-2013