Parenting classes, pre-marriage education, marriage enrichment programs, and family financial planning courses are a few examples of this human development profession.
Research from the Rand Corporation (from Rand research report Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (in its report Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return) shows that family problems are less damaging for people—and less expensive for society—when they can be tackled by prevention.
The Hatch Act specifies, in part, that the federal resources for research and education should focus on "agriculture in its broadest aspects" to include the "development and improvement of the rural home".
This early form of family life education centered around the field of home economics and training of practical home-based skills in areas such as food preparation and sewing.
The Children's Bureau was created to investigate and report on infant mortality, birth rates, orphanages, juvenile courts, and other social issues of that time.
The Children's Bureau also introduced parent education materials by producing infant and child care booklets for families in the early 20th century.
As the field evolved, home economics expanded to include psychosocial education to support healthy adult and child development, parenting, relationship enrichment and communication skills.
[5] The PAIRS approach to Family Life Education is detailed in "Building Intimate Relationships"[6] and in founder Lori Heyman Gordon's book Passage to Intimacy,[7] as well as in numerous published studies.