Family Science

            Families, communities, and nations are strengthened by an emerging discipline known as family science. Even though individuals and organizations have studied families for many years, the field of family science has been around for only a few decades. Bits and pieces of family studies come from other sciences, such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology. Family science is related to numerous other fields, but it concentrates on a smaller area. For example, research in psychology and sociology centers on individuals and groups of people, but research in family science focuses on the unique relationships within a family.

            So, how do professionals with an education and background in family science strengthen families? There are actually many ways that this is done, but here are a few of them. They study the findings of research in order to understand how they apply to families. By doing so, they are able to recognize how healthy families function and what their relationships look like. They take an educational approach to teach this information to others in order to teach others how to develop healthy families and how to prevent problems within families before they occur. They are also able to use this knowledge to help individuals, couples, and families out of problems and onto safe paths.

            Professionals in the field of family studies do not go into the discipline to get rich because the careers in this science are not well paid. Just as the family doctor is in a lower pay grade than most other doctors, those who specialize in family science also sacrifice monetary gains to work in a field of great importance. Therefore, one can assume that they are working in family science because they are interested in strengthening families.

            Even though there are low-paid professionals in family science, professionals can increase their income by gaining more education. A pre-school teacher with a Bachelor degree may thoroughly enjoy the job and may adequately supplement the income of a spouse, but they would most likely not be able to adequately provide for a family. However, there are other jobs available with the same degree that would pay a higher wage. A Master or Doctorate degree would insure higher earnings.

            Since the family is the core unit of society, one would naturally think that the study and work of strengthening the family would be more valued by the society as a whole. Until that happens, one can only hope that there will continue to be professionals who care more about family relationships than chasing the almighty dollar. The work of these professionals does much to strengthen families, communities, and nations.