Initiatives
responding to the challenge
Family and Public Life Intiatives
At a time of growing concern over the decline and fragmentation of families, the need for conceptual tools is as urgent as the need for family literacy skills. Our Family and Public Life (FPL) initiatives respond directly to these needs.
Family Literacy and Education
These educational opportunities and resources are designed to help people of all ages learn how to recognize, discern, understand, and analyze family influences in the world around them. For higher education, our proposed multi-tiered structure combines professional learning, applied research, public engagement, and credentialing to establish a pathway for advancing family literacy across disciplines and generations, translating family research into critical skills, civic competencies, and actionable programs.
family literacy in education
family literacy in the professions
Family Literacy and the Professions
This initative will collaborate with professionals in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors who share a commitment to the family and want to explore how a deeper understanding of family influence in human affairs can strengthen their work. We will offer resources, training, and support to professionals in education, governments, and ministries of family, humanitarian affairs, media, communication and storytelling, nonprofit leadership, public policy, advocacy, and law.
Family & Public Life
Planned Initiatives
immersive professional development
Modeled after Harvard RPL Summer Institutes, family literacy summer institutes will offer intensive, week-long professional development for students, educators, and policymakers.
Curriculum Development
Family literacy courses for high school and universities will draw on foundational texts, empirical research,
multimedia content, country case studies, and relevant legal and policy frameworks to help students critically examine the role of the family in public life.
Internships &
Field-Based Experiences
Operationalization relies on experiential, field-based learning. This may include an internship or capstone project in a relevant public or professional setting, such as the United Nations or local, state, or federal agencies.
Professional Fellowships & Mentorship
Complementing summer institutes, family literacy fellowships could provide structured mentorships
for university students or early-career educators.
We’re committed to equipping the next generation with the skills and knowledge to make the most of their degrees and strengthen understanding of families in public life.
