In our College, the Council on Accreditation of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences requires that the curriculum address the family as a system, interrelationships among individuals, family and society, and assessment of the impact of emerging issues on individuals and families. Several courses in the college include these concepts, but the purpose of this module is to provide a background for understanding the nature of a system and the purposes of systems thinking. 

Systems theory can map any kind of network to define the flow of information. This includes the study of systems whose emergent properties cannot be predicted due to a lack of plausible mechanisms, rigorous mapping techniques and/or robust mathematical treatment.  A family is a system, so is a school, a nation, or even an individual.

Due to the fact that the way we think determines how we see the world, it is important to think about thinking and to try to examine the world in ways to stretch our horizons.  Ways to approach this are the use of systems theory, Gestalt psychology, and Chaos theory. We see things in terms of our own perceptions of reality, so it is important to understand how this happens and the possible implications for ourselves and our futures.