CONSTRUCTION THEORY

Construction Theory

Construction Theory

Family development theory focuses on the systematic and patterned changes experienced by families as they move through their life course. The term family as used here represents a social group containing at least one parent-child relationship. The family group is organized and governed by social norms (Hill, 1971, 119-396).

Hill's five principal theory construction strategies are:

The first systematic statement of the approach characterized family development as proceeding through life-cycle stages (family stages) such as early marriage, families with young children, the launching of children out of the home, and the empty nest (Hill and Rodgers 1964).

These family stages can be studied on three levels of analysis: the individual-psychological, the international-associational, and the societal-institutional.

Family development theory focuses on the systematic and patterned changes experienced by families as they move through their life course (Hill, 1971, 119-396).

There are strongly influenced by careers external to the family, such as educational and occupational careers.

Family development is a scientific theory because it offers general propositions and can be formulated as a mathematical model that describes the process of family development (Hill, 1971, 119-396).

Formative Stages

Formative evaluation seeks to strengthen or improve a program or intervention by examining, amongst other things, the delivery of the program, the quality of its implementation and the organizational context, personnel, structures and procedures. As a change oriented evaluation approach, it is especially attuned to assessing in an ongoing way, any discrepancies between the expected direction and outputs of the program and what is happening in reality, to analyzing strengths and weaknesses, to uncovering obstacles, barriers or unexpected opportunities, and to generating understandings about how the program could be implemented better. Formative evaluation is responsive to the dynamic context of a program, and attempts to ameliorate the messiness that is an inevitable part of complex, multi-faceted program in a ...