Abstract
The purpose of this study aimed as to how the promotion of international understanding is dealt with in the textbooks of home economics used at upper secondary schools and proposed ways to utilize home economics education as a means of developing students' awareness in the area of international exchange. 1. The current course of study of home economics does not contain explicit reference to the global human community, although attention is given to invite students to look at the world in terms of family life, home economy, diet and housing. 2 . In home economics textbooks for upper secondary school students are generally inadequate in their references to international matters, although some of them contain fairly large number of keywords such as "international", "world", "earth" as well as different country names. 3. Learning about costumes, diet and housing of other nations of the world is very effective to develop understanding of cultures of these countries and to give them opportunities of taking a fresh look at their own cultural environment. Student should be encouraged to take interest in the relationship that exist between their own life and the international community at large, and this should become a major concern for home economics education. 4. Presence of students who have lived in different countries is a valuable factor to promote international understanding of students, those returned students should be given opportunities to talk about their experience and to make them an important fact or to benefit home economics education on the basis of their personal contact with different culture.
