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Applied Final Project Part 1: Create Your Parenting Case Study Topic

Instructions

PART 1: CREATE YOUR PARENTING CASE STUDY TOPIC_

Using the planning table provided below, you will create a case study on a parenting topic of interest to you. Throughout the course you will conduct research on this topic, culminating in a Parenting Action Plan that proposes solutions to resolve your case.  

Step 1: Select a scenario that may be a cause for concern in parents.

You may use the list below or identify a scenario of your own with the permission of the instructor. Write your scenario of interest into the planning table provided below.

List of Scenarios

· Sleeping arrangements for newborn

· Immunizations for children

· Bedwetting

· Breastfeeding older children

· Special needs, such as:

· Down syndrome or other genetic disorder

· Learning disabilities

· Autism

· Attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder

· Physical-motor disability

· Language delay, speech, related issues

· Teen pregnancy

· Alcohol and substance abuse in teens

· Relationship problems in teens, dating, inappropriate, and/or risk-taking behavior

· Mental health issues (e.g. depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders)

· Behavioral issues in younger children

· Behavioral issues in teens

· Parental conflict and argument

· Military deployment

· Grandparents raising grandchildren

· Adoption/foster parenting

· Racial and cultural issues in parenting -Tiger moms, immigrant children, LGBTQ, biracial identity, religion

· Older child parenting and emerging adulthood (age 18-21)

· Use of media-cellphones, tablets, etc.

· Impact of domestic violence

· Bullying, cyberbullying

· Stepfamilies

· Impact of divorce

· Choosing daycare, preschool

· Healthy diet, eating disorders

· College/postsecondary readiness

Step 2: Select an age group to which the scenario applies.

After picking your scenario, select an age group (see planning table below) that you would be interested in learning more about. For example, if you are interested in “choosing daycare” as a topic, are you interested in daycare for infants, toddlers, or school-aged children? Note that your scenario may not make sense for some age groups. For example, you probably would not be interested in learning about daycare options for an 18-year-old.

Step 3: Select a socioeconomic status for your scenario.

Determine whether your scenario will apply to a family of lower, middle or upper socioeconomic status (SES) (see planning table below). SES can profoundly impact access to resources which, in turn, can impact outcomes. It is important to know what services are available and who can access them.  

Step 4: Family composition.

Using the planning table below, identify at least two details about the composition of the family. Who is living in the home? How many generations live in the home? What is the marital status of the parents? Are there siblings? Family composition can be a source of strength as well as a source of stress. Use this section to flesh out the details of the family in your scenario.  

Step 5: Identify the type of issue in your scenario.

Use the planning table to identify the type of issue(s) present in your scenario. Check all that you think could apply. This will help you to figure out where you can find information on your topic. For example, if you are dealing with a topic like behavioral issues that emerge in a child after military deployment of a parent, you might start looking for research in psychology journals that deal with military families, like “Military Family Therapy.”

Step 6: Identify possible sites of impact for addressing your scenario.

Using the planning table, identify possible sites of impact for your scenario. For example, if you are interested in “choosing daycare,” you would probably select “daycare” as a site of impact, but you might also select “home” if you are interested in how daycare impacts behavior in the home. You might also select “school,” if you think the quality of daycare has an impact on academic performance.

Step 7: Identify potential solutions to address your scenario.

Using the planning table, check off the potential solution(s) that could form the basis of your parenting action plan.

Instructions:  Choose and write down your topic and ideas about: The topic/title, why you think it is important, and where you think you will look for resources. 

Use the Planning Table below to create your chosen topic. Each section of the table below may be used to narrow down the specifics of your research paper. Each section will help to get you thinking about the aspects of your action plan. In the example below, the sections of the table appear in parenthesis to exemplify how these sections relate to your topic choice. Please note that these sections form a part of the final paper write up, and as such can be used while writing up your final paper. 

STEP 1: SCENARIO (write your chosen scenario below)	STEP 2: AGE GROUP OF INTEREST · Birth-3 yrs · 3-10 yrs · 10-13 yrs · 14-18 yrs · 18-21 yrs	STEP 3: SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS · lower · middle · upper	STEP 4: FAMILY COMPOSITION (include at least 2 of these details) · Parental involvement? · Single, married, divorced? · Siblings? · Who is living in the home? · Employment status of parents? · Other?
STEP 5: TYPE OF PROBLEM · Schoolwork or Homework Issue · Behavioral Issue · Social Issue · Physical/Emotional Issue · Other:________	STEP 6: SITES OF IMPACT · Home · School · Daycare · Parent Workplace · Public Spaces (e.g. playground, retail, grocery store, etc.) · Other:__________	STEP 7: POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS · Home Plan · School Strategy · Community Support Groups · Behavioral Health Plan · Medical/Health Plan · Special Programs/Supports · Other:_______

 STEP 8: Crafting your parenting case study.

Write a parenting case study that incorporates all of the information in the planning table (Steps 1-6). Your case study should be 1-2 paragraphs in length. You may want to add details now or as your research progresses to make your case study more interesting.

Example:

The current case study involves a child with significant learning disabilities who is 8 years old and from a middle-class socioeconomic status background. The child has a 10-year-old sister with no known learning disabilities or behavioral issues. Parents recently separated, but both parents are actively involved with the children. A parenting action plan will be developed to address the child’s problems with schoolwork. I will discuss the case in the context of home and school (i.e., sites of impact), providing solutions that may include a home plan to address the parental separation as well as special programs in school and community supports (i.e. potential solutions).

Applied Final Project Part 2: Annotated Bibliography

Part 2: Annotated Bibliography 

Annotated bibliographies provide you with the opportunity to cite, summarize, and compare and contrast resources you will use in a project. You will cite each resource in APA style, write an approximately 150-word description that summarizes the central theme and scope of the resource, and compare and contrast it with other resources. For more information on annotated bibliographies, consult UMGC’s How to Write an Annotated Bibliography 

For this project, you are to identify at least 10 original sources of research from scholarly sources. At least 3-4 of your sources must have been published within the past 3 years.  

Depending on the assignment, the annotated bibliography may serve a number of purposes, including but not limited to reviewing the literature on a particular subject, illustrating the quality of research you have done, providing examples of the types of resources available, describing other items on a topic that may be of interest to the reader, and/or exploring the subject for further research.

Annotated Bibliography, specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:    • Summarize the central theme of the resource.    • Include a paragraph in which you do the following:          o Evaluate the author’s authority or background.          o Explain how this resource will work in conjunction with other cited works to illuminate the topic of interest.

Applied Final Project Part 3: Parenting Action Plan

PART 3: PARENTING ACTION PLAN 

You have crafted your case study. You have done your research on the topic. Now it is time to identify some solutions in the form of a Parenting Action Plan.

Your Parenting Action Plan should be about 2000-3000 word in length and follow APA style (7th edition). Be sure to use in-text citations and include a reference list.

Copy and paste your case study at the beginning of your document to provide the context for your research essay. (This will not count towards your word total.)

Your essay should be written in your own words and you should always cite any ideas that come from another source. Do not use quotations or copy verbatim from another author.   

Your action plan can build on your existing research essay, but the action plan itself will include a few additional components (denoted with an * below). The research you have done should be carefully woven into your action plan. In other words, don’t just copy and paste your research essay and tack on more words. Use the research to justify the actions you are proposing.

· Statement of the problem: A statement of the key issues that must be explored in order to resolve your case study.(This can be the same as the statement in your research essay)

· Incorporation of at least 10 credible sources from within the past 10 years that can be used to support a parenting action plan. At least 5 of these sources must be scholarly social science research articles, and at least 3 of the sources must have been published within the last 2 years.

· *Incorporation of parenting or developmental theories to provide a framework for the proposed action plan.

· *Description of potential sites of impact (Step 6 of the Planning Table).

· *Identify an action plan grounded in research that may address concerns posed by the case study (Step 7 of the Planning Table).

· Correct use of in-text citations and corresponding reference list (APA 7th edition).

· Use of APA 7th edition format (1” margins, standard font, double spacing, page numbers, etc.).

· Demonstration of strong writing skills.

Discussions

Discussion 1

discuss the role of nature vs. nurture on child development, including the impact of genetics and environmental factors like socioeconomic status, cultural norms, etc. 

In what ways do you think your parents influenced you? Were these influences more "nature" or "nurture?"

Discussion 2

What ethical issues are associated with the following parenting topics: genetic testing, designer babies, cloning, prenatal screening, and older people having babies? Select two topics to discuss and provide your viewpoints, but remember to substantiate your views with supportive evidence.

You may use the weekly resources or any properly cited external resource to support your response.

Discussion 3

1. Which student groups are experiencing the achievement gap? Discuss factors that may contribute to educational inequality.

2. How can society and/or individuals support parents in gaining the cultural capital that children need to succeed academically?

Find resources outside of the classroom. Your sources must be credible. Be sure to include in-text citations and a reference list where appropriate to support your responses. 

Discussion 4

Consider the following scenario: 

 

You are a working single parent of a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter. Your son has an 11 PM curfew on weekends, but recently, he has been ignoring curfew and coming home after midnight. When you try to address this with him, he either ignores you or gets angry and starts screaming at you. When he's at home, he tends to shut himself away in his room. His latest report card shows that his grades are slipping. You are getting very concerned, but you work full-time and parent by yourself, so you are getting frustrated as well. 

 

At the same time, your daughter has been telling you that she doesn't feel well and doesn't want to go to school. After some prodding, she shared that she has been getting teased at school and bullied online. 

After reviewing the learning resources for this week, come up with a strategy for dealing with your children that is supported by the literature on adolescent discipline. What are some of the things that you need to take into consideration? What actions would you implement to try and address the problematic behaviors you are witnessing? What actions would you avoid?

Discussion 5

Based on your readings and resources for this week, identify one type of nontraditional family. Discuss the issues that may be encountered by raising children in this type of family structure and identify what the research says about outcomes for children growing up in this type of home. In addition to your weekly learning resources, find at least one recent news article (within the past 6 months) about the non-traditional family type you have chosen and discuss how your news article aligns or provides insight into the non-traditional family of interest. HINT: to find a news article, open Google or your preferred search engine and type in keywords like "parenting," "families," and your non-traditional family type. Once your search returns results, click on the "news" tab and you should see recent news stories. 

Discussion 6

1) Are modern parents doing a good job of raising their children? 

This is a much trickier question that it seems at first glance. In order to respond, you need to ask yourself two crucial questions. First, what does it mean to be a "modern" parent - what are the challenges that modern parents face that make parenting especially hard in the 21st century? Second, you need to define what "good parenting" is. What is the metric we use to define success as parents? 

The responses to this question are likely to be quite diverse, but that's okay. An excellent response will address the two crucial questions, which lead to an answer that incorporates at least 3 of the weekly learning resources (include citations and references). In addition, find and incorporate at least one credible news article or journal article that supports your response. This article should be no more than 2 years old.