Training Translational Scholars within Family Science Programs

• Author: Ronald M. Sabatelli
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12262
• Published date: 01 October 2017
• Date: 01 October 2017

R M. S University of Connecticut

Training Translational Scholars within Family

Science Programs

This article addresses issues related to the train-

ing of translational scholars in family science

(FS) graduate programs. The article advances

the view that (a) FS students need more direct

socialization on how to message about and mar-

ket the brand of their programs and (b) the FS

brand should be organized around the central-

ity of translational expertise as one of the core

goals of the training mission of FS programs.

The article goes on to suggest that the training

of translational scholars in FS programs should

be organized around two interrelatedinitiatives.

The rst involves introducing coursework that

balances the focus on the production of schol-

arship with a focus on the translation of this

scholarship into policy and practice. The second

is for FS programsto build their capacity to train

translational scholars by creating“learning lab-

oratories” in partnership with other health and

social service programs, with the explicitgoal of

advancing collaborative practice and promoting

interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, transdisci-

plinary, and translational scholarship.

Scholars from many disciplines do research on

families. Not all of them identify as family sci-

entists, and not all of them identify themselves

as translational scholars. In addition, a large per-

centage of those who do family research were

Department of Human Development and Family Studies,

Box U-1058, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269

(ronald.sabatelli@uconn.edu).

Key Words: Familyscience, graduate student training.

not trained in or currently work in family sci-

ence (FS) programs. This article addresses the

training of translational scholars within FS pro-

grams, in order to highlight the issues involvedin

the training of graduate students in FS programs

and the unique features of the students trained to

be translational scholars from within these pro-

grams.

I completed my doctoral work in FS in 1980.

Since then I have worked continuously as a

professor within FS departments, rst at Univer-

sity of Wisconsin, in the Department of Child

and Family Studies, and now at the University

of Connecticut, in the Department of Human

Development and Family Studies. Some of

my colleagues over the years were trained in

FS programs, but most were trained in disci-

plines other than FS—in psychology, sociology,

anthropology, public health, and public policy

programs. I provide this brief historical account

of my professional life to provide context for

the following observation: The individuals I

have worked with over the years who have the

greatest difculty describing their backgrounds,

training, and disciplinary focus are those who

were trained in FS programs.

Discussion about the training of translational

scholars within FS programs must begin by

addressing two interrelated issues. Specically,

students trained in the discipline of FS must be

able to articulate the essence of FS programs in

order to differentiate the work done within FS

from the work done by scholars trained in other

disciplines who do family-focused research.

Further, they need to be able to articulate how a

focus on translational scholarship is one of the

766 Family Relations 66 (October 2017): 766–772

DOI:10.1111/fare.12262