Seonghee Hong, Ph.D.
Education
Ph.D., Family Science, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, 2022.
M.A., Child Development and Family Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2011.
B.S., Physics Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2007.
Bio
Dr. Seonghee Hong is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Human Development and Family Science Program in the Department of Social and Public Health at Ohio University, where she teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses spanning parenting, human sexualities, family diversity, helping skills, family life education, and research methods. Her background includes family science education, parent education, and work with children, adolescents, and families in both the United States and South Korea.
As a Certified Family Life Educator, she is recognized for her commitment to teaching excellence and was honored with a college-level award for face-to-face teaching. She is passionate about exploring innovative, evidence-based pedagogies that make learning more meaningful, and she draws on training in teaching diverse classrooms to design experiences that resonate across student backgrounds. Her classroom is known for its bright energy, where students consistently feel engaged, challenged, and genuinely supported as they connect course content with their own lives and future professional paths.
Research Interests
Dr. Hong’s research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education, especially innovative and effective pedagogy, as well as parenting and family life education. Her work also examines parental goals, technology use in family education, online parenting resources, and family relationships across developmental stages.
Publications
Walker, Susan, Sun Kyung Lee, and Seonghee Hong. 2021. "Workplace Predictors of Family Educators' Technology Acceptance Attitudes." Family Relations 70 (5): 1626–1642. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12583.
Walker, Susan, and Seonghee Hong. 2017. "Workplace Predictors of Parenting Educators' Technology Acceptance Attitudes." Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 45 (4): 377–393. Awarded Best Paper in Family and Consumer Sciences Education, 2017.
Hong, Seonghee, and Grace H. Chung. 2015. "The Impact of Adolescents' Perceived Parental Conflict on School Adjustment: The Mediating Effects of Parent-Adolescent Closeness and Depression." Journal of Korean Family Relations Association 19 (4): 101–120.
Hong, Seonghee, and Grace H. Chung. 2014. "The Impact of Adolescents' Perceived Parental Conflict on School Adjustment and Self-Identity: The Moderating Effect of the Father/Mother-Adolescent Closeness Gap." Journal of Adolescent Welfare 16 (4): 269–290.
Presentations
Hong, Seonghee. "Learning Diversity through Human Connection: A Cross-University, Scaffolded Teaching Model from Self-Reflection to Dialogue." Presentation at Spotlight on Learning Conference, Ohio University, Athens, OH, February 2026.
Lee, Soyoung, and Hong, Seonghee. "Empathy in Action: A Cross-University Collaboration for Diversity Learning through Inclusive Dialogue and Reflection." Peer-reviewed poster presentation at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD, November 2025.
Hong, Seonghee, and Lee, Soyoung. "Enriching Diversity Learning Experiences: A Proposal for a Collaborative Experiential Group Project in a Diverse Families Course Across Universities in Ohio and New Jersey." Peer-reviewed poster presentation at the Teaching Family Science Conference, Puerto Rico, June 2024.
Hong, Seonghee. "Proactive Parental Goal Pursuit Process Model: Moderation Effects of Social Support and Mediation Effect of Goal Pursuit." Peer-reviewed poster presentation at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, virtual, November 2023.
Awards
Excellence in Face-to-Face Teaching, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University, 2026.
Inspirational Teaching Award Nominee (student-nominated), College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University, 2025.
The Best Paper in Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 2017.
Education and Enrichment Section Student Proposal Award, National Council on Family Relations, 2016.