Family Law and Foster Care Cooperative Research Teams

• Published in: Marriage & family review Vol. 38; no. 2; pp. 23 - 43
• Main Authors: Henderson, Tammy L., Mcwey, Lenore
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Taylor & Francis Group 30-03-2006; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: College Students; Cooperative learning; cooperative research teams; Cooperatives; Family Law; Foster Care; Learning; Public policy; Qualitative research; research teams; Social Science Research; Teaching; Teaching methods; Teams
• ISSN: 0149-4929; 1540-9635
• DOI: 10.1300/J002v38n02_03

There are challenges associated with teaching family law and public policy; however, cooperative learning, a recognized teaching strategy that serves to enhance students' overall development, including academic, cognitive, and social growth, can be used successfully to teach this subject matter. In this paper, we describe how we taught students about some aspects of qualitative research methods, foster care policies, and pertinent family law concepts and practices; this was done through the initiation of a research team of undergraduate and graduate students. We explain the development of a cooperative research team, and the methods used to teach family law, using foster care as a context. The observed outcomes for students and faculty members are offered to readers.