• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.453-468
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• 2012

The number of Healthy Family Support Centers has dramatically increased during the past eight years since the Framework Act on Healthy Families was enacted. This phenomenal growth is largely credited to Certified Healthy Family Specialists (CHFSs). Despite their contributions, the job and working conditions of the CHFSs have rarely been explored from the insiders' perspective. In this study, we aim to delineate CHFSs' job and working conditions from their own narratives in order to improve an understanding of CHFSs' profession and work environment. We conducted in-depth interviews with nine CHFSs and a focus-group interview with five CHFSs. Our findings revealed that CHFSs took pride in their professions, internalized their professional mission of enhancing family strengths, and highlighted CHFSs' unique professional role in comparison to other human services professionals. In conclusion, CHFSs showed a strong professional identity consisting of rich professional knowledge, solid career goals, and integrated socio-political values. Contrary to the positive perception of the CHFSs' job, CHFSs expressed challenges in their working conditions in terms of small-scale organizations at local Healthy Family Support Centers, a heavy workload, hierarchical relationships with local government officers, and the unsatisfactory payroll and promotion system. This study contributes to a better understanding of CHFSs' job and their working conditions and provides insights on how to enhance professionalism among CHFSs and their work environment. As for policy implications, we suggest advancing qualifications for CHFSs, improving professional training programs for current CHFSs, and expanding small-scale organizations.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.21-35
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• 2012

Based on the premise that perspectives or the frame of cognition may affect the ways that family practitioners support or intervene in families, this study aimed to investigate the perspectives of Certified Healthy Family Specialists (CHFS) on family practice in the Healthy Family Support Centers. A total of 9 CHFSs gave information about their beliefs and perspectives on family practice in in-depth interview. Additionally, 5 CHFS participated in focus group interview and gave information about their values, beliefs, and perspectives on family practice. Through qualitative analyses, four perspectives were found to be explicitly or implicitly carried by CHFSs: System theory perspective, Strengths perspective, Family cognition perspective, and Public intervention perspective. These four perspectives are currently leading themes of family research and are prospected to prevail in family support and intervention practices in the Healthy Family Support Centers in South Korea. Based on the results of qualitative analyses, directions and range of influence in perspectives on family practice perceived by CFHSs were discussed. In this study, the subject of Healthy Family Project, the CHFSs' aims, and emphasis on family practice were dealt with, and developmental direction establishment related to the Healthy Family Support Centers and CFHSs in the dimension of practice and policy in the future were implied.