Graduate Distance Education in Family Relations: A Case Study

• Author: Kathleen W. Piercy,Thomas R. Lee
• Date: 01 January 2006
• Published date: 01 January 2006
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00357.x

Graduate Distance Education in Family Relations:

A Case Study

Kathleen W. PiercyThomas R. Lee*

Abstract: This paper discusses graduate distance education in family relations and related disciplines, using a case

study approach. Challenges that occur in distance graduate programs are outlined and illustrated by examination of

a new master’s degree program in Family and Human Development. The program delivers courses by satellite

broadcast and interactive television and requires two on-campus meetings. Graduates gave the overall program high

marks, with instructor/instruction factors most important in their ratings of most and least favorite courses. We

examine the implications of various strengths and weaknesses of the program for graduate program development

and teaching pedagogy and offer suggestions to address logistical and pedagogical challenges of distance education

in family relations.

Key Words: education, family relations, professional development, teaching pedagogy.

Introduction and

Literature Review

Although many family studies programs have a rich

history of graduate education, little has been written

about graduate program development and teaching

pedagogy. Most discussion of graduate education in

family relations has focused on career development

issues, such as preparing graduate students to teach

(Blaisure & Walcheski, 1997; Lamke, 1998), men-

toring graduate student research (Benson & Piercy,

1997), and the preparation of graduates for the job

market (Futris et al., 1999). There is a need to

increase our understanding of graduate education in

human development and family relations, especially

as ways of delivering such education are changing.

The Council of Graduate Schools (1998)

recently noted that because of changing needs of

professions and employers, the master’s degree had

undergone significant refinement in the latter half of

the 20th century. One result of these changes has

been an increased number of applied master’s degree

programs in a variety of disciplines, including family

studies (Hans, 2002).

Another recent focus of higher education has

been the offering of advanced degrees for adults

living at a distance from major campuses or with

schedules that do not permit on-campus class atten-

dance. Courses, certificates, and degree programs are

delivered online through the Internet, through use

of videocassettes, or via interactive television. The

U.S. Department of Education (2003) reported that

during the 2000–2001 academic year, 56% (2,320)

of all 2 and 4 year Title IV-eligible, degree-granting

institutions offered distance education courses. By

1995, 7,500 graduate, technology-based distance edu-

cation courses were offered by institutions of higher

education (Council of Graduate Schools, 1998).

Confluences of demographic trends and tech-

nological advances have increased the numbers of

advanced degrees offered at a distance. For more

than a decade, real growth in graduate education has

come from ‘‘nontraditional’’ students who are most

likely to be female, part-time, and older in age.

These students often gauge the value of their

*Kathleen W. Piercy, Associate Professor, Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development, Utah State University, 2905 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT

84322-2905 (kathyp@cc.usu.edu). Thomas R. Lee, Professor, Department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development, Utah State University.

Family Relations, 55 (January 2006), 67–79. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2006 by the National Council on Family Relations.