This study positions the first edition of The Theory of Coeducational Home Economics, published in 1986, as a milestone in the development of subject theory in home economics based on the concept of lifestyle culture (Tainosho, 2022). It clarifies the processes and outcomes that led to this publication and, based on these findings, identifies challenges related to cultural learning in the current Course of Study and explores implications for future home economics education. The study involved three stages. First, it reviewed and analyzed the development of Murata’s subject theory, which incorporated the culture of everyday life as a foundational concept. Second, paragraphs containing the term “culture” were extracted from the 2017–2018 editions of the Course of Study for elementary, junior high, and high school home economics, and the descriptions of cultural learning were analyzed. Third, the findings were synthesized and comprehensively examined. Based on the results, a conceptual framework for culture of everyday life learning in home economics was proposed. Within this framework, everyday life phenomena are identified as learning objects, their cultural value is examined, and their educational significance in home economics is clarified. Each learning object is supported by a learning context reflecting temporal and regional characteristics, which guides the selection of appropriate learning directions. Learning methods and processes aligned with this context are then proposed. In essence, culture of everyday life learning theory aims to achieve learning goals through home economics–specific methods and processes, enabling individuals to create their own culture of everyday life while responding to contemporary and regional contexts.

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In this study, we investigated self-advocacy and peer-advocacy awareness among 3,000 adults nationwide, and examined the relationship with lifestyle awareness. Our results confirmed that people with a sense of self-advocacy had higher levels of identity, life satisfaction, good health, and financial comfort, and lower levels of isolation and loneliness than those without. The reasons given for not speaking up included values such as personal responsibility, being a nuisance, being reserved, exclusionary thinking, shame, and leaving it up to others. It was also confirmed that people with a sense of peer-advocacy had higher levels of identity, life satisfaction, good health, and financial comfort, and lower levels of isolation and loneliness than those without. From the above findings, it became clear that self-advocacy and peer-advocacy have the potential to be practical tools for improving well-being. Therefore, the significance of cultivating self-advocacy and peer-advocacy in home economics education, which pursues “better lives” and “better society,” was rediscovered. Learning is required that allows students to reexamine their own values, which are obstacles to self-advocacy and peer-advocacy, and improve their self-advocacy and peer-advocacy skills.

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This study seeks to contribute to the establishment of educational programs that foster the qualities and abilities to inherit and create food culture. Accordingly, the current status and issues in specialized education related to food culture were clarified through a questionnaire survey of teachers in charge of such education. The results revealed that the inheritance, transmission, and creation of food culture are emphasized as the goals and aims of classes. Conversely, the survey on the image of students suggested that teachers are aware of the image of those who inherit food culture, but do not place much emphasis on that of those who create food culture.

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The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences of elementary school children in home economics “community studies” classes who developed sympathetic responsiveness (SR) through interactive activities with younger elementary school children, with those who did not. Six students showing significant changes in SR after the interaction were analyzed through behavioral records and post-activity narratives. Narrative analysis revealed that children whose SR improved perceived the experience more positively. Behavioral analysis further identified a characteristic of children whose SR improved: they “noticed the younger children’s difficulties and engaged in interactions that showed SR towards those difficulties.” A key future challenge is to develop lessons that enable all children to enhance their SR.

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