A Japan-U.S.A. Comparison of "Family" Area in Textbooks of Homemaking Education : Changes of their Total Constructions

Abstract

Contents of textbooks of homemaking education between Japan and America were compared in this paper. Analysis on how the total constructions had been changing for more than thirty years, were attempted on the "Family" area. In America, the main interest of homemaking education was gradually changing from physical health to mental health, and from "Foods" to "Relationships" and "Family," and from "making something" to "making decisions." On the contrary, "Foods" and "Clothes" have been of more interest than the "Family" in Japan. "Family"is contained only in the "Home Life" area. Although "Family" is introduced at the beginning of textbooks, it has been neglected in teaching.