Research Paper on Diversity of the Contemporary Families

Three Things Learned About the Diversity of the Contemporary Families

There is less control of marriage in the present families. In the traditional family where parents contracted marriage but in the modern family parents have less power on who one wants to marry as the partners agree between themselves.

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The man-woman relationship has changed- in the contemporary families man and woman are equal partners with equal right in marriage. The woman is not subjected to the dominance of man in marriage as it is viewed as slavery. A woman can now sue the husband if he violates her rights and she also can be sued on the same basis.

There is increased economic independence- men are no longer the sole breadwinners in the family as women have become more economic independence in the contemporary family.

My Thoughts on How We Might Think Family Normality While Considering the Strengths of Modern Family

In modern society, the typical family consists of a marital couple cohabiting with biological, or adopted and or with no children. The partners in the marriage have equal rights in the family and are both responsible for taking care of the children and performing domestic chores. Additionally, both partners are economic providers in the family.

Essential Things to Consider in My Future Career While Working With Diverse Contemporary Families

• When dealing with modern families, it is necessary to consider that every partner in marriage is subjected to equal rights; therefore they should be treated equally when handling their issues.
• The roles of a man and woman have changed; thus there are no specific roles for men and women.
• All partners in the marriage have the economic responsibility of providing to their families.

Strengths and challenges of:

Single Mom’s Parenthood

Strengths

There are various strengths associated with single mother parenthood. The first strength is that single mothers have the independence of doing things their way without being controlled by another person. Secondly, single-mother can form strong female friendships where they get support. Single motherhood also benefits children since they learn how to become independent and more responsible as they handle many responsibilities on their own. It is also believed that children raised by single parents develop healthy decision making and problem-solving skills since they cannot always rely on their parents to solve their problems. Additionally, single mothers can give their children undivided attention thus creating strong relationships with them.

Challenges

Single mothers face unique parenting challenges. A single mother is a sole provider in the family and case she does not have a job; it might be difficult to provide for her children. They also have many responsibly such as taking care of children, domestic chores and employment which is at times challenging to balance. Additionally, they may have strained relationships with their children because they might be too busy attending other responsibilities.

Same-Sex Parents

Strengths

Same-sex couples particularly the ones engaging in adoptive parenting end up forming stable relationships than some of the heterosexual marriages; therefore, they can give their adopted children the needed emotional support. Besides, same-sex relationships are likely to embrace equality than heterosexual marriages; thus their children are likely to believe in equality.

Challenges

Same-sex couples face challenges that are mainly based on prejudice and discrimination. Despite same-sex marriages being accepted in the society, some the people do not approve of them. Besides, some people think that same-sex parents cannot bring up children. Their families or relatives may reject them. Their children are also subjected to discrimination by other children in school which is hurting.

Theories Illustrating the Experiences of a Single Mum and Same-Sex Parenthood

Conflict Perspective Theory on Single-Mum Parenthood

From the conflict perspective, the family perpetuates social inequality in society as it maintains and reinforces the status quo (Lumen Learning, 2019). Conflict theorist argues that men benefit more from the family than women. The traditional patriarchal family contributes to the continued inequality between men and women. In these societies, the male roles are valued more than the female role as a result women were underpaid. This explains why some single-mums do not earn enough money to support their parents. From the conflict perspective, it can be argued that single-mums are more independent because they are not subjected to the traditional family system which was dominated by men. In the traditional family setting, women would go to work and yet do a domestic job. Domestic work is still a challenge to many single mums as they are unable to balance work and household chores.

Symbolic Interactionism Theory for Same-Sex Marriages

The symbolic interactionism theory examines the changing meanings associated with the family. According to this theory relationships are based on shared purpose, thus, shared activities build and strengthen the emotional connections among the members of the family (Lumen Learning, 2019). In same-sex marriages, adopting a child may be a collective agreement between the couple, thus taking care of the child becomes a shared activity that strengthens the relationship between themselves and with the child hence making a more stable family. Additionally, having dividing the same gender perspective result in more equality in marriage which the children can learn from.

Three things to consider when working with single-mum and same-sex families

• When working with either single-mum or same-sex families, it is essential to recognize their strengths.
• Each family type has a unique set of challenges.
• It is necessary to know the social perspective that people hold about such these family types.

Family Systems Theory

According to Walsh, (2014), the family systems theory focuses on the parent-child bolds, and the recognition of multiple internal and external influences that affect the functioning of an individual and the family in the daily transactions through a lifespan and across generations. Thus according to the theory individuals can only be understood within the context of the family. In the family system, each person has a role to play and must follow the rules of the family. The roles or functions that exist within the family are referred to as processes. In my family, there were various family processes - family communication in one of the strongest aspects of my family. Our parents lead by example as they make most of the decisions together. It is expected that if one is leaving home, he or she should at least inform any of the family members if the parents are not present. In our family we each person is assigned specific roles to play. For instance, my siblings and I are supposed to help in house chores since the parents usually come home late from work. Due to effective role sharing in the family, there are fewer conflicts. However, we have some challenges in the family. The first challenge is that our parents work for a long hour hence we have little time with them. Sometimes we are not able to get the psychological support that we may need from them; thus there is emotional cutoff. Another challenge we face is that we live as a nuclear family. As a result, we have little interaction with the members of the extended family.

Two Things That Are Going Well

Time-Lapse Is Excellent Because We Can Process the Information

The time-lapse of the videos was not so fast which gave us the time to comprehend what was being taught. It also provided the learners with ample time to view and understand the demonstrations made by the lecturer. Additionally, we could easily replay the videos to listen and see the points that we could not understand.

Videos are Great

Using video have many benefits not only to the students but also to the teachers since it saves time and energy. Using videos is a practical teaching approach since it is more effective in enhancing sensory engagement and experience compared to using print materials. Through the videos, we could see and hear the concepts being taught making it easier for us to process the information in our everyday contexts. The videos shared in class can be retrieved and watched from anywhere at any time using a laptop, a tablet or smartphones. It is convenient to use the videos because when one wants to remind himself or herself about the topic taught they could access the learning material from anywhere. The videos used were also effective in boosting knowledge retention as one can stop and replay them as many times as possible. Additionally, it as possible to review the lesson taught after some time. The videos made it easier to discuss in class as one could easily pause or skip to discuss particular areas. Apart from the benefits associated with the video, it is essential to note that the videos shared were of excellent quality such that one could see what was being taught without much struggle. Additionally, all the videos were audible; thus we could hear what was being shown clearly.

One Area of Improvement

Less Group Work and More Individual Work

The class involved a lot of group work. While this is essential in promoting teamwork and understanding it enhance dependence among the students and does not give an individual the opportunity to test his or her abilities. By encouraging individual learning students will develop independent learning behavior which will lead to improved academic performance. Learning independently helps students in developing essential skills such as decision making, proper time management, self-discipline, and goal setting. One challenge that faces group work in class is a high possibility of outside pressure from other members of the group which may affect the effectiveness of learning.

While working in a group, a student can rely on others to work on tasks that he or she does not understand. However, this prevents him or her from realizing his or her weaknesses. But on the other hand, individual work in learning also helps students identify their weaknesses hence seek for ways to manage them. When studying individually, it becomes easier to concentrate since there is less interruption. But when working in a group students tend to start irrelevant conversations thus wasting time. Additionally, individuals are less productive when working in a group since they easily get carried away by gossip sessions and chatting. Individual class work also helps students to study on their own and gain a better understanding of the concepts taught in the classroom which will promote their confidence and performance.

Besides individual learning benefits has some benefits to the lecturers improvise individualized test for every student to help in understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Due to the advantages associated with individual work, I would like to recommend that group work sessions in the class should be reduced to create a better opportunity for individual work in class.

Reference

Lumen Learning. (2019). Social perspectives on the family. Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/sociological-perspectives-on-family/

Walsh, F. (2012). Normal family processes. Guilford Press