Running Header: FCCLA RELATED LITERARY REVIEW

FCCLA Related Literary Review

Kristina Glen

University of Idaho
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The Family, Career and Community Leadership of America (FCCLA) is a Career and

Technical Student Organization (CTSO) where students are building skills to prepare for their

personal and professional futures. The framework for this organization was built on a foundation

that has seen several incarnations beginning as far back as 1943. In efforts to continuing evolving

this system that aides students into striving for better futures it is important to collaborate with

one another on the needs of the organization. Perceptions of FCCLA as Reported by Advising

and Non-Advising Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers and Say YES to FCS: A National

Campaign to Meet the Demand for FCS Teachers help to determine the needs and assessment of

what and how FCCLA can grow and further evolve into a stronger CTSO for our students

benefit.

During the Spring/Summer of 2016, Perceptions of FCCLA as Reported by Advising and

Non-Advising Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers written by Karen L. Alexander,

Kimberlee Davis, and Sharon R. Pierce with the purpose of examining why FCCLA participation

has declined while organization supported classes have increased, what are the benefits of these

clubs and what are the barriers to their participation. For their study, they spoke with Family

Consumer Science (FCS) teachers who were affiliated with FCCLA and FCS teachers who were

not due to various reasons. What were these reasons and how to overcome them to raise

participation in FCCLA was the focus between these two sets of teachers.

In their research, they found that teachers who integrated FCCLA activities into their

curriculum had a higher success rate of affiliation. It also showed that those teachers who were

not working in conjunction with FCCLA often used a handful of similar excuses to justify why

they were not successful in these intracurricular activities. Some of the top reasons were for lack

of time, the costliness of running of a chapter, and lack of student buy-in to the CTSO. They
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achieved these responses first with a paper/pencil survey given at a Family Consumer Science

professional development conference and then a few months later through an electronic survey.

Neither effort resulted in high participation of the surveys. Within the usable responses, the

researchers were able to collect data leading toward developing some possible avenues of

professional development to help address lack of affiliation in FCCLA.

Say YES to FCS: A National Campaign to Meet the Demand for FCS Teachers, written

by Gayla Randel and Sandy Spavone in 2016, explored why there is a shortage of FCS teachers,

who operate as FCCLA advisers and how initiatives can help both areas grow. The National

Association of State Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences (NASAFACS) is a group

that meets annually with members who hold differing roles within the world of Family

Consumer Science in middle and high schools. Their findings through surveys were thanks to

retiring FCS teachers, as well as those who were entering the program via a content test (not yet

a FCS degree). The results show there is a continual shortage of FCS teachers which affects the

number of possible FCCLA affiliations.

Their research examines the importance of the connection between FCS teachers, Family,

Career and Community Leadership of America (FCCLA) and the creating of leadership skills for

real-world, 21st Century skills in professional careers. In an effort to address the issue of the

staff shortage, the NASAFACS devised the Say YES to FCS movement to disseminate

information for recruiting Family Consumer Science teachers. They geared their recruitment

toward former FCCLA members, since they were already indoctrinated into the organization as

teens and would more likely adopt the mantle of being FCCLA chapter advisors. After having a

booth at a national conference the Say YES to FCS group were able to get hundreds of

commitments for those who were interested in becoming a FCS teacher. As the movement
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spread across several other entities, it showed much promise. It is too soon to tell if it will

actually raise the number of new FCS teachers joining FCCLA.

Both articles take an interest in recruitment into FCCLA. The difference is that one study

is geared towards those who are already teaching FCS and are recruiting students into FCCLA,

while the other is more about recruiting FCS teachers using FCCLA initiatives. Neither approach

fixes the problems, but they do a good job of identifying the issues behind FCCLA numbers.

Both Perceptions of FCCLA as Reported by Advising and Non-Advising Family and

Consumer Sciences Teachers and Say YES to FCS: A National Campaign to Meet the Demand

for FCS Teachers are interesting because they both apply to me. I am working in a FCS teaching

position yet Im not fully certified, as the need is large enough that alternative certification routes

have been opened to help me meet the certification requirement while on the job. I am also

struggling to gain participation in FCCLA by students. I am experiencing many of the same

concerns mentioned in the first article; time, costs and buy-in by students. I was relieved to learn

that I am not the only one having these thoughts or struggles in building a FCCLA chapter.
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References

Alexander, K. L., Davis, K., & Pierce, S. R. (2015). Perceptions of FCCLA as reported by advising
and non-advising family and consumer sciences teachers. Journal of Family and Consumer
Sciences Education,32(1), 8-23. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from
http://www.natefacs.org/Pages/v32no1/v32no1Alexander.pdf

Randel, G., & Spavone, S. (2016). Say YES to FCS: A national campaign to meet the demand for FCS
teachers. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education,,33(Special Issue 1), 20-26.
Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.natefacs.org/Pages/v33se1/v33se1Randel.pdf