Training Family Science Faculty in CORE Communication

Crystal Duncan Lane, Western Michigan University
Kimberly Doudna, Western Michigan University
Jou-Chen Chen, Western Michigan University

Abstract

As a whole and regardless of major, university graduates with interpersonal competence (also defined as soft skills) are viewed as more employable (Finch, Hamilton, Baldwin, & Zehner, 2013; Robles, 2012), yet interpersonal competence is not often recognized as a part of discipline specific knowledge (Chamorro-Premuzic, Arteche, Bremner, Greven, & Furnham, 2010). While important to employability in general, interpersonal competence is particularly crucial for those students in social science majors who intend to have a career serving individuals and families.

The Family Science (FS) program in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences directly addresses the need for interpersonal competence through the implementation of CORE COMMUNICATION (CC) training (Miller, 1971; Miller & Miller, 2011; Miller, Nunnally, & Wackman, 1976) in the FCS 3180 Intimate Relationships course.