Rapid social, political and economic changes affect the composition of society that transforms over time. Social changes have a big impact on educational systems which have to be reformed in order to be adaptable and compatible with the challenges and problems of modern times. In society, many problems are discernible in different areas covered by the multidisciplinary concept of the discipline of home economics, which are interlinked and not homogeneous. With its multidisciplinary approach, the field of home economics education integrates knowledge from different disciplines and has an important role in addressing the problems of a changing society, which also reflect at the level of the family and the individual. The primary education process must ensure that pupils acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills needed to develop home economics literacy (HEL). Only individuals literate in home economics can improve the quality of their own lives by applying and transferring knowledge and skills to concrete everyday life situations, which in turn contributes to a better quality of life for the family and society. To achieve this, quality home economics education is needed, with objectives and curriculum content that reflect current social needs, taking into account the basic orientations and a common philosophy of the HE discipline.
The empirical part of the doctoral dissertation presents a research study, which was designed on the basis of the stated research problem and five research questions and was carried out in four parts.
The aim of the first part of the research was to define the content areas of home economics education on the basis of a content analysis of the curricula of the home economics subject or a comparable subject for primary education abroad and in Slovenia. The analysis included 17 curricula for the home economics subject and two other documents dealing with home economics education. The second part of the study sought to determine the views of teachers, pupils and parents on the importance and usefulness of home economics education and literacy. A Delphi methodological approach was used. The first round of the Delphi study involved 30 teachers, 34 9th grade pupils and 34 parents of 9th grade pupils. The second round of the Delphi study involved 16 teachers, 33 9th grade pupils and 29 parents of 9th grade pupils. In the third part of the study, HE literacy standards were developed based on the findings of the first and second parts of the study; they were used to design the HE literacy knowledge test. The content areas of the HE literacy were identified with their associated content. The aspects of HE that are included in all four content areas of the HE have also been defined. In the fourth part of the study, the level of HE literacy knowledge acquired and the pupils' HE literacy behaviour were tested by means of a knowledge test at the end of the 6th and 9th grades. 652 pupils in the 6th and 9th grades were included. Their parents' attitudes towards HE literacy and the frequency of their support for their child to get involved in tasks belonging to different home economics areas in their home environment were also investigated. 652 parents of pupils who participated in the HE literacy study were included.
The results obtained from the study are presented in six thematic sets. The first set analyses the curricula of the subject of home economics abroad and in Slovenia. It was found that Slovenia has a more diverse range of subjects, when compared to the other countries analysed. The Slovenian curriculum includes content relating to finance, textiles, nutrition, home and family, environment, consumption, health and healthy lifestyles, and social skills. Despite the diversity of content, content deficit was perceived in some of the home economics areas. These are the areas of health and well-being, nutrition, textiles, environment and home, which need to be supplemented with the identified missing content. A difference between countries in the age range of pupils receiving HE education was perceived. Slovenia is the only one of the 14 countries that teaches the HE subject solely in 5th and 6th grades, when pupils are aged between 10 and 12 years. All the other countries provide home economics education before and/or after this age – until the end of primary education.
The second set presents the views of teachers, pupils and parents on the importance and usefulness of home economics education and literacy. The main findings show that teachers, pupils and parents have positive attitudes towards home economics education and literacy. They believe that pupils should have acquired knowledge and skills in the different areas covered by home economics education by the end of primary school. The content of these areas is related to finance, environment, consumption, textiles, nutrition, health, well-being and healthy lifestyles, family and home. Teachers, pupils and parents also believe that throughout the whole process of home economics education, pupils should develop social skills. It was found that teachers, pupils and parents find it important that pupils acquire knowledge of the home economics subject during their primary education. They also acknowledge the contribution of home economics education and literacy to the quality of life of individuals, families and society.
The third set presents the formulated HE literacy standards that pupils should achieve in their home economics education by the end of primary school in order to raise their quality of life. The HE literacy standards have been developed based on the results of the analysis of the home economics subject curriculum abroad and in Slovenia, and on the views of teachers, pupils and parents regarding the needs for the acquisition of knowledge and skills in home economics education or literacy. These two phases of the study identified the different areas that are included in home economics education abroad and in Slovenia. For the purpose of developing the HE literacy standards, four HE content areas were first redesigned and redefined with their associated content, namely finance, textiles, nutrition, and home and family. All the content areas of home economics interlink or integrate the following: the aspects of healthcare and well-being, consumption, sustainable lifestyles and social skills, the development of which should be promoted throughout the home economics education. All of the above is illustrated in the model for the content design of the home economics education with HE literacy standards. The HE literacy standards have been used to design the HE literacy knowledge test.
The fourth set presents the results of the acquired level of HE literacy knowledge and HE-related behaviour of pupils in 6th and 9th grades. The main findings of the study show that 27.9% of all pupils in 6th and 9th grades achieve an unsatisfactory or sufficient level of HE literacy, 41.1% of pupils achieve a good level of knowledge and just 30.9% of pupils achieve a very good or excellent level of HE literacy knowledge, but emphasizing that only 4.4% achieved an excellent knowledge level of HE literacy. The analysis of the results shows that statistically significant differences in the level of HE literacy are not confirmed in reference to the gender of the pupils and their attendance of the elective subject. Differences in the level of HE literacy in reference to learning achievement were found to be statistically significant. The level of HE literacy is lower among pupils with sufficient or good achievement in comparison to pupils with excellent achievement. However, there are also statistically significant differences in the level of HE literacy by grade; the level of HE literacy is lower among 6th grade pupils than among 9th-graders. HE literacy includes not only knowledge and skills, but also behaviour, which the study measured as the frequency of different activities which pupils performed in their home environment. The results of the study show that pupils do not frequently perform activities related to HE literacy in their home environment. Girls are statistically significantly more likely to do HE literacy-related activities than boys, and 9th-graders are statistically significantly more likely to do HE literacy-related activities than 6th-graders. There are no statistically significant differences in HE literacy behaviour according to pupils’ achievement and their attendance of the elective subject.
The fifth set focused on the parents' attitudes towards HE literacy and the frequency with which they involved their children in tasks in different home economics areas of their home environment. The results of the study show that, regardless of the type of household and educational background, parents consider it important for their children to learn content related to finance, textiles, nutrition and home and family issues in the subject of home economics. It was found in the study that there were no statistically significant differences between parents of farm and non-farm households in their assessment of the importance of pupils' learning in the areas of finance, textiles, nutrition and home and family. However, in terms of parental education, it was found that higher educated parents were statistically significantly more likely than lower educated parents to think that it was important for their children to acquire knowledge and skills in the area of food and nutrition during home economics lessons. No statistically significant differences were found in the areas of finance, textiles and home and family. The study results showed that, on average, parents from farm households were statistically significantly more likely to involve their child in various textile tasks than parents from non-farm households, while no statistically significant differences were found in the other areas of the home economics. No statistically significant differences in the frequency of children's involvement in domestic tasks were found in any of the four home economics areas in reference to the parents' educational background.
The sixth set presents the differences in the level of pupils' knowledge in each area of home economics and HE literacy according to the parents' education, the type of household in which the pupil lives and the parents' attitudes towards HE literacy and their children's involvement in HE activities in their home environment. The results show that pupils whose parents have higher levels of education have statistically significantly higher mean HE literacy scores than pupils whose parents have lower levels of education, while they also have statistically significantly higher mean scores in the areas of finance, textiles and nutrition. On average, pupils from non-farm households were found to have statistically significantly higher mean scores in all four areas of home economics and HE literacy than pupils from farm households. The study found no statistically significant differences in the average estimate of the frequency of pupils' performing different tasks in their home environment in each area of the home economics and HE literacy, depending on the type of household and the education of the parents.
Based on the results of the study and theoretical orientations, an educational model for HE literacy and achieving adequate HE literacy was developed. The educational model will contribute to a higher quality of home economics and HE literacy education for children in the primary level of education. The findings of this study complement other research in the field of home economics education, as there has been no research that would measure HE literacy comprehensively and not only by individual areas of literacy at the primary school level in Slovenia. The results of the study and the models developed in the study also represent a scientific and applied contribution to the didactics of home economics education. The results of the study can be used in the formulation of educational policy in Slovenia. The results provide important information for a well-founded integration of home economics into the primary school curriculum, as parents, teachers and pupils alike express the need of appropriate HE literacy which would make a significant contribution to the quality of life of young people at the end of compulsory education. The educational model for HE literacy education and the achievement of adequate HE literacy emphasises the necessary elements of HE education, based on research findings, and stresses the importance of integrating them into the educational process, the fundamental aim of which is to develop responsible living of individuals who take care of themselves, society and the environment.
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