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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 problem of this research study was to identify the status of home visitations as a part of Vocational Homemaking Education in Texas as perceived by useful homemaking teachers. The study had a twofold purpose. The first was to develop and validate a survey instrument which would address specific concerns related to home visitations and which may be used as a model for future research studies in Vocational Education. The second was to survey a random sample of useful homemaking teachers in Texas to identify the perceived status of home visitations. Findings indicated that useful homemaking teachers believe home visitations should continue to be a part of homemaking programs, although they are not satisfied with the current status of home visits. The teachers did not perceive home visits as they now exist to be important to the total homemaking program and believed the program would be effective without home visits. Nevertheless, a majority of the homemaking teachers indicated that they would make home visits even if no conference period were provided for the purpose of visits and that they currently make home visits at times other than the designated visitation period. Approximately 40 per cent of the teachers reported they expected to visit only 25 per cent or less of their students by the end of the school year. Scheduling home visits was identified as the major difficulty by a very high percentage of the homemaking teachers.

For the past few years the homemaking courses has shifted its emphasis from cooking and sewing skills to the solving of managerial problems of the individual and the family of today. Each person who is taking an active part in living is constantly purchasing and consuming goods and services and must realize that his welfare depends upon the relation between the satisfactions that he receives from the things he buys and the price that he pays for them. Since every one must purchase goods, the high school student needs to learn how to buy wisely. The executive committees of the homemaking divisions in the different states which are revising the courses of study realize that management of money from the consumer-buying view point is important and needs a place in meeting the needs and interests of the high school student of today. The problem in this study is to determine the adequacy of the objectives on consumer-buying in the homemaking courses in high schools of the Southern Region. This study is made for the purpose of determining the adequacy and extent of consumer-buying teaching objectives in homemaking education in the high schools of the Southern region. in order that way may reach a conclusion as to the adequacy of the objectives we must adopt a standard. We will consider the objectives and desired outcomes set forth by the Department of the Interior as that standard. We will reach our conclusion through a compilation of consumer-buying courses offered by the schools of these states of the Southern region and by a comparison of the objectives and outcomes of the state courses with those of the United States Vocational Education consumer-buying courses.

In 1976, Congress amended the Vocational Education Act to include, among other things, categorical funding for consumer and homemaking education. The purpose of this study was to discover why consumer and homemaking education received categorical funding in that legislation. This research was a policy formulation study. In order to formalize the study, the purpose was divided into specific research questions. They formed the structure of the study. The study consisted of three stages. The first stage involved a review of congressional meetings, a study of publications of interest groups and a review of historical accounts of pre-1976 legislation for home economics education. Stage two involved the development of interview questionnaires. Stage three involved interviewing key persons who worked on federal legislation for consumer and homemaking education. This stage also included a study of personal papers, unpublished documents and transcripts of closed meetings relating to federal funding for consumer and homemaking education. It was found that, in 1976, home economics educators not only had to encourage Congress to continue categorical funding, but they were divided about how to affect the continuation. One group wanted to prepare legislation that would closely meet the visions held by the members of Congress. While another group wanted to lobby for provisions favored by home economics educators. Categorical funding was obtained with neither method exclusively. It was obtained through the efforts of home economists, lobbyists, and congressional aides who analyzed proposed provisions and who, through compromise, prepared legislation that was acceptable to all parties. It is recommended that home economists continue to work with Congress and that they improve the image policy makers have of their program. These professionals should develop strong state-level power structures and extensive legislative networks. Furthermore home economics educators should work closely with professional associations to draft acceptable home economics legislation. / Ed. D.

This investigation is a study of educational and vocational goals of a selected sample of rural youth; relationship of the parents' goals for their children to the childrens' goals; and a study of the relationships of sex, farm residence, membership in certain youth organizations, and level of living to these goals. Subjects were 49 ninth and tenth grade boys and girls and their parents, living in the Appalachian region of Virginia. The sample of families were chosen by criteria for selection of youths rather than parents. According to student classification types 24 were boys, 25 were girls; 26 were members of the 4-H Club, Future Farmers or Future Homemakers of America; 19 were classes in the high, 21 in the middle, and 9 in the low level of living groups; and 20 lived on farms. Schedules relating to vocational and educational goals were administered to the students and their parents. Parents were asked to complete the questionnaire as they hoped their ninth or tenth grade child would answer. Results of the data collected revealed that plans for a college education were higher for girls, for non-farm, non-membership, and higher level of living youths. Most students had not decided what to study in college; and home economics and agriculture ranked low in popularity for high school and college. Educational and vocational goals of the youths were lower than their parents' goals for them, and there was often conflict between goals of parents and children. / Master of Science