This lecture lays out my expectations for the school subject‘Home Economics’under the next National Course of Studies in Japan. It is based on my long-time belief and hope for‘Home Economics.’ I believe that the subject‘Home Economics’should be necessary in the school curriculum and needs to transform its teaching goals, contents, methods and processes in order to ensure‘Children’s Independence’which must be an original or unique aim and role of‘Education.’ Despite the form or shape of‘home’to change in the future, I believe the role or function of‘home’must be basically unchangeable. It is thus very important that‘home’as the basic unit of the individual life has its functions of consuming, preservation environment, raising children, leisure or rest, learning, food, clothing, and housing. Though I know‘Home Economics’has long been concerned with‘Children’s Independence’, its concern has been directed mainly to various skills needed for independent life like cooking, clothing, housing, gardening, and manipulating personal computers. However, as the general aim of‘Education’shall be‘Independence or autonomy’, the role of‘Home Economics’should be examined not by those skills but by its philosophy or social ideas of‘Independence in Human Life’. ‘Education as the fact’ is not the same as ‘education as the philosophy or ideal’. The former means ‘Achieving Independence’of younger generation including that among animals, birds or fish, the latter means some kinds of the ideal like the‘Whole Person’,‘All Abilities-Developed Person’or‘The most Self-realized Personality.’ In my opinion, ‘Independence’includes the meaning that children must have an ability to judge freely and by herself or himself as‘the sovereign’politically and to accept the others’freedom to judge independently. I have called this‘the freedom of children to create their own society’, not to be forced to adapt to any adult’s society. The term ‘Education’has a critical difference in this point from ‘indoctrination’or‘training’, and, in the former, we can guarantee the dignity of children’s character or humanity. The subject‘Home Economics’needs to focus and examine its contents in order to be more directly connected with the original educational goal of‘Independence’than with skills for it, even though the form of‘home’is to change in the future

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According to the Central Council for Education report in January, 2008, Home Economics (homemaking course) and Technology (manual training course) need to emphasize cooperation with other subjects in a teacher education course as well as at school sites. An exchange with students who specialize in other subjects improves the thinking power of the students and subject specialty (Arai : 2010, Nagai : 2004) , although this effect in detail is not clear. In this study, I constructed the class of home economics which studies about a hamburger for the students who major in home economics, social studies and science (a total of 18 students : 8 boys and 10 girls). The objective of this study was to change students’ views toward home economics through exchange of the students who specialize in three subjects. As a result of this exchange, students reported more affirmative image about home economics. Additionally, students were able to find similarities and differences between home economics and the other subjects by the exchange. This findings suggests that students in other subjects improved their understanding about their own specialty subjects as well as home economics

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The purpose of this research is to clarify perspectives of teachers without the license of home economics education (LHEE) by comparing those with the LHEE. Perspectives of teachers with the LHEE were better than those of teachers without the LHEE. Additionally, the teachers with the LHEE thought that problem solving ability was more important, and they utilized resources such as homes and community which were the basis of students’ livelihood. However, teachers without the LHEE had almost no time to research materials for teaching some subjects in addition to home economics education, and they were able to take the line of least resistance such as worksheets. The quality of home economics education was influenced by difference between teachers with the LHEE and those without the LHEE. In order to ensure study opportunity, the boards of education need to prepare support system for teachers without of the LHEE, and reform teachers’ license system immediately.

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This study examined the skills of clothing composition practice. I investigated students’ consciousness and problems when making pocket tissue cases. As a result, those with negative images on sewing had not acquired basic skills. It was difficult for them to understand the making process and thus to produce a good work. I also summarized the problems and guidance of the production for making pocket tissue cases.

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