Pre-conditions to Require Home Economics Education in the Elementary School

Abstract

Against to anti-home economics education for the elementary school program in Japan, the authors aimed to revail pre-conditions which are to be proofs of necessity for home economics education in the elementary schools. Precedure 1) To get generally acceptable home and family life education's objectives and concepts for elementary school level children, domestic and foreign materials were examined. 2) For elementary school level children, home and family life education are carrying out (1) in home life, (2) in other subject areas in school except home economics and (3) in home economics in Japan, today. The actual educational concepts of home and family life in (1) and (2) were picked up from the materials. 3) As the results from 1) and 2), following formulas are expected: A. 1) - ( (1) x (2) )= 0 B. 1) - ( (1) x (2) )>0 The authors' hypothesis was B. The result of B means necessity of home economics education in elementary school. Results and Discussion The authors' hypothesis was proved to be capable to require home economics education in elementary school by this study. The terms to support requirement of home economics in elementary school are: 1) Within 20 concept items which were considered as necessary home and family life education to elementary school level children, only one third items were involved in other educational opportunities farely well except home economics; and another one third items had appeared slightly. Then, at least one third of whole the 20 items should be required to become educational subject. Especially, "Foods" and "Consumer Education" within the lacked one third items were treated scarcely. 2) In addition, the one third of the 20 items which were involved in other educational opportunities except home economics farely well were carried out through pupils were just talking and hearing sitting in the class room. On the contrary, home economics is carried out through doing themselves using realia or picking up to solve actual problems in daily living. 3) Any educational contents which had not fixed subject time location in the school schedule raised educational effect scarcely; for instance, it was learned through "Moral Education" by 1958 that as moral education was considered to be involved in every subjects without fixed period in school schedule, the result was worse as none. That is why home and family life education requires a subject like home economics. 4) Even if two third of the whole 20 items had appeared in other subject areas, these subjects could not involve more contents than they were; because, the educational programs in Japan are called "over amount" in recent years.