Textbooks

Children, Families, Schools, and Communities by Joan Giovannini (CC BY-NC-SA).

This book is an introductory text in the field of Child and Family Studies. It provides a lens for understanding the evolving definition of “family” through socially constructed and ecological theory frameworks. It promotes strategies for culturally sustaining and deeply collaborative relationships between families, schools, and communities through the use of home-grown advocacy strategies based on community-driven data.

Contemporary Families in the US: An Equity Lens 2e  by Elizabeth B. Pearce (CC-BY)

This universally accessible text provides students with a foundational understanding of the changing experiences and needs of contemporary families in the United States. It emphasizes the multi-directional influence of social structure as well as the impacts of difference, power, and oppression. Using an intersectional lens and placing the diversity of families at its core, the text prepares students with a range of majors and career paths to use their sociological imaginations, identify privilege and oppression, practice inclusion and take part in increasing equity for families, whether at the professional level, the personal level or both.Resources for students and instructors include chapter learning objectives, key terms with definitions, chapter activities, and reflective questions for application and discussion. In addition, instructors have access to chapter questionnaires for formative assessment, larger summative assignments, and a crosswalk to identify the location of specific topics. Published in 2025 by Open Oregon Resources with Contemporary Families in the U.S. Instructor Course Packs and an interactive website at Contemporary Families in the U.S. OER Commons Group.