The Certified Family Life Educator - CFLE

Resources

Family life education provides skills and knowledge to enrich individual and family life. It includes knowledge about how families work; the interrelationship of families and society; human growth and development throughout the life span; the physiological and psychological aspects of human sexuality; the impact of money and time management on daily family life; the importance and value of parent education; the effects of policy and legislation on families; ethical considerations in professional conduct; and a solid understanding and knowledge of how to teach and/or develop curriculum for what are often sensitive and personal issues.

Certification recognizes a proven background and understanding in each of ten family life substance areas. While CFLEs may work specifically in one discipline, such as parent education or marriage enrichment, their understanding of the many areas that affect today's families enables them to be more effective in their efforts to educate and work with individuals and families. The Certified Family Life Educator designation recognizes the educational, preventative, and enriching nature of their work. CFLEs are held accountable to a governing board and are required to re-certify every five years.

Families in Society - An understanding of families and their relationships to other institutions, such as the educational, governmental, religious, and occupational institutions in society. For example:

Structures and Functions; Cultural Variations (family heritage, social class, geography, ethnicity, race & religion); Dating, Courtship, Marital Choice; Kinship; Cross-Cultural and Minority (understanding of lifestyles of minority families and the lifestyles of families in various societies around the world); Changing Gender Roles (role expectations & behaviors of courtship partners, marital partners, parents & children, siblings, and extended kin); Demographic Trends; Historical Issues; Work-Family Relationships; Societal Relations (reciprocal influence of the major social institutions and families, i.e., governmental, religious, educational, and economic).

Internal Dynamics of Families - An understanding of family strengths and weaknesses and how family members relate to each other. For example:

Internal Social Processes (including cooperation & conflict); Communication (patterns & problems in husband-wife relationships and in parent-child relationships); Conflict Management; Decision-making and Goal-setting; Normal Family Stresses (transition periods in the family life cycle, three-generation households, caring for the elderly, & dual careers); Family Stress & Crises (divorce, remarriage, death, economic uncertainty and hardship, violence, substance abuse); special Needs in Families (including adoptive, foster, migrant, low income, military, and blended families as well as those with disabled members).

Human Growth and Development Over the Life Span - An understanding of the developmental changes of individuals in families throughout the life span. Based on knowledge of physical, emotional, cognitive, social, moral, and personality aspects. For example:

Prenatal; Infancy; Early and Middle Childhood; Adolescence; Adulthood; Aging.

Human Sexuality - An understanding of the physiological, psychological, & social aspects of sexual development throughout the life span, so as to achieve healthy sexual adjustment. For example:

Reproductive Physiology; Biological Determinants; Emotional and Psychological Aspects of Sexual Involvement; Sexual Behaviors; Sexual Values and Decision-Making; Family Planning; Physiological and Psychological Aspects of Sexual Response; Sexual Dysfunction; Influence of Sexual Involvement on Interpersonal Relationships.

Interpersonal Relationships - An understanding of the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. For example:

Self and Others; Communication Skills (listening, empathy, self-disclosure, decision-making, problem-solving & conflict resolution; Intimacy, Love, Romance; Relating to Others with Respect, Sincerity, & Responsibility.

Family Resource Management - An understanding of the decisions individuals and families make about developing and allocating resources including time, money, material assets, energy, friends, neighbors, and space, to meet their goals. For example:

Goal Setting and Decision-Making; Development and Allocation of Resources; Social Environment Influences; Life Cycle and Family Structure Influences; Consumer Issues and Decisions.

Parent Education and Guidance - An understanding of how parents teach, guide and influence children and adolescents. For example:

Parenting Rights and Responsibilities; Parenting Practices/Processes; Parent/Child Relationships; Variation in Parenting Solutions; Changing Parenting Roles Over the Life Cycle.

Family Law and Public Policy - An understanding of the legal definition of the family and laws which affect the status of the family. For example:

Family and the Law (relating to marriage, divorce, family support, child custody, child protection & rights, & family planning); Family and Social Services; Family and Education; Family and the Economy; Family and Religion; Policy and the Family (public policy as it affects the family, including tax, civil rights, social security, economic support laws, & regulations.

Ethics - An understanding of the character and quality of human social conduct, and the ability to critically examine ethical questions and issues. For example:

Formation of Social Attitudes and Values; Recognizing and Respecting the Diversity of Values and the Complexity of Value Choice in a Pluralistic Society; Examining Value Systems and Ideologies systematically and objectively; Social Consequences of Value Choices; Recognizing the Ethical Implication of Social and Technological Changes; Ethics of Professional practice.

Family Life Education Methodology - An understanding of the general philosophy and broad principles of family life education in conjunction with the ability to plan, implement, and evaluate such educational programs. For example:

Planning and Implementing; Evaluation (materials, student progress, & program effectiveness); Education Techniques; Sensitivity to Others (to enhance educational effectiveness); Sensitivity to Community Concerns and Values (understanding of the public relations process).

For more information on Certified Family Life Education please visit www.ncfr.org

Texas Family Law Professionals please note: The Texas Council on Family Relations has adopted a "Standards of Practice for CFLE Parenting Coordinators". For more information please visit www.texascfr.org