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There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Home Economics

The two major objectives of this creative project were to provide students a way to visualize and apply the elements and principles of design, and to aid in better comprehension and retention of the interior design principles. Both objectives were accomplished by: enables hands-on-experience in redecorating the interior to apply the principles of design, and (2) developing an appropriate unit plan, with accompanying lesson plans and activity sheets that can be used with the model house while teaching interior design.Applying new wall, window, and floor treatments will enable students to visualize as well as apply the interior design concepts. The unit plan provides activities as well as evaluations for the students to reinforce their knowledge of the interior design principles. / Department of Home Economics

This thesis is an account of the 'household and social science' course opened at King's College for Women in 1908 and its evolution up to 1939. The course was a significant departure for women's higher education in England as it was the first attempt to define a special university discipline based upon women's 'domestic' roles. However, historical accounts of women's higher education have either ignored or dismissed it, largely because of the predominance of'separate spheres' analyses in the historiography of women's higher education of the 1970s and early 1980s. Such accounts have presented the household science course in a negative light because of its 'domestic' image. This thesis thus offers a reassessment of the household science movement and those who supported it. The 'household science' concept owed its origin to the American 'home economies' movement which originated in the mid-nineteenth century. Chapter 1 provides a history of the home economics movement in America, tracing its evolution in the context of women's higher education until 1914. Initially home economics was seen as a 'vocational homemaking' course aiming to train women for home life. At the turn of the century, however, a 'scientific' model was developed by women scientists in order to promote research into social problems connected with the domestic sphere. These two models~the vocation and the scientific, have developed in tandem in American home economics. Chapters 2 and 3 consider the origins and early evolution of the 'household science' course in England, which was largely influenced by the American 'scientific' model. Chapter 2 first considers the concept of domestic education in the history of women's education and factors that precluded the development of a 'vocational homemaking' course in English higher education. The rest of the chapter analyses the origins of the household science movement in its social and intellectual context, in particular its connection with Edwardian preoccupations with 'physical deterioration' and infant mortality. Like their American counterparts, the founders of the course saw household science as a reform movement which aimed to promote research into domestic problems such as hygiene and nutrition, as well as to create a more useful and relevant university discipline for women's domestic roles, whether as housewife/mother or in 'municipal housekeeping' roles. Chapter 3 discusses the household science course from a disciplinary standpoint, looking at how the syllabus was constructed, the contemporary educational controversies it engendered, and its evolution up to 1920 when the B.Sc. degree was granted. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 examine the main factors which ultimately undermined the success of household science as a discipline. Chapter 4 evaluates career trends amongst KCHSS students from 1910-49, analysing to what extent the KCHSS administration was able to create a professional career structure for the household science discipline. The interplay between administrative policy, career trends, and professionalization is analyzed in relation to three career fields-social welfare, laboratory research, and dietetics. Chapters considers the professional conflicts between KCHSS and the domestic subjects teaching profession. Chapter 6 analyses KCHSS's failure to carve out a unique academic 'territory' or expertise and the various factors that affected this. The final chapter assesses how successful KCHSS was as an institution, looking at how students themselves experienced the course, their motivations for taking it, and its impact on their lives. Although household science was unsuccessful as a discipline, the course did give students a wide choice of career options, creating openings in less conventional spheres for women who did not want to teach and providing opportunities for the less-able student to follow a scientific career. The conclusion considers how the social climate of the interwar period affected the working out of the original household science ideals.

In Namibia, as in many other countries, curriculum changes have resulted from a “highly complex mix of ideological, political, social, philosophical, economic and other influences” (McGee, 1995, cited by Swarts). Over time some influences become stronger while others lose ground. Different conceptions exist as to what school curricula should be. These conceptions are sometimes referred to as “theories of curricular” or ideologies (ibid). Ideologies in general are “belief systems that provide value premises from which decisions about practical educational matters are made” (Eisner, 1994:47). They derive from broad, international perspectives and views. Some views are unproblematic in that they are generally agreed, such as all children should learn to read and write. Others are more controversial and problematic, e.g. whether sex education should be taught in school. As a result of exposure to other views and perspectives, there is overlap between ideologies and no ideology represents a clear-cut concise school of thought. Nevertheless they provide a theoretical basis for the Home Ecology syllabus. This paper will attempt to provide a critical analysis of the Home Ecology syllabus, the socio-historic and economic analysis of the learners for whom the curriculum has been designed and the analysis of the learning environment in which this curriculum is presented. The synthesis, which will link the sections together, and conclusion will draw the threads together. In providing this analysis it is imperative to provide a definition of what a curriculum is. In the broader sense, a curriculum is the offering of socially valued knowledge, skills and attitudes made available to learners through a variety of programmes. Forquin (1995) cited in Swarts (1996:23) has the following to say about curriculum: ‘The concept of curriculum, indeed, implies taking into consideration the whole of the course of studies and not just one aspect or one stage considered separately’. In examining official educational documents, especially curricular documents written after independence, there are signs of continuing traditional emphasis however, this is expected, as Fullan (1991) contends that change does not take place just because it has been decreed and written down in the book of reforms. Change takes time to work its way in.

This study investigated whether critical thinking can be fostered in home economics through teaching a problem solving approach in Family Management. Secondarily, it investigated teacher behaviours which may foster critical thinking abilities, the moral and ethical issues which the teaching of critical thinking addresses, and whether the students were able to use problem solving in real life situations. The research involved the students and teacher in a Family Management eleven class in rural British Columbia. All students in the class chose to participate in the study. The study was conducted during twenty-six classroom hours. The study used action research as the research methodology. The research included action/research cycles with time between for analysis and reflection. The phase of data analysis and reflection was called the reconnaissance. Data was collected through audio tapes of the classes, entries in the teacher's journal, a checklist, and collected student work. The data collected in the first reconnaissance phase established a description which served as a point of reference for comparing and analyzing later observations. Two cycles of action/research followed. Observations were made and data collected as the critical thinking concepts were introduced. The introduction of the macro-thinking skill of problem solving was combined with the micro- thinking skills of avoiding fallacies, observing, reporting and summarizing. The research found that there was an increase in critical thinking activities at the end of the study. Factors that were found to have effected this change were: the teaching of a problem solving process, the teaching of micro-thinking skills, certain teacher behaviours, and the classroom atmosphere. Home economics was found to play a unique role in providing practice in real life problem solving. Further research is needed to determine if the skills the students learned while problem solving in Family Management will carry over to everyday life. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The study herein described was made of the seventy-nine girls in the junior and senior high school (grades 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) of the Public School of Cranfills Gap, Texas. The study was made with the purpose of finding the interests of this group of girls in the activities required of them in their homes, so that the writer might use the information gained in building a more successfully functioning program of homemaking in the Cranfills Gap Public School.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the grooming problems of high school girls in Oakwood High School, and to compare the grooming problems of girls who have had a clothing course in Home Economics to those who have not.

The problem in this study is to make the appraisal of the practice of homemaking in the Dallas junior high schools.