Home economics

See The Wikipedia articles, Home economics and Family and consumer science (under merge proposal as of August, 2014)

The content below has not been fact-checked. The lede had a date error, the probable result of a transcription of 1899 to 1989, that's been fixed.

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Home economics, in its early beginnings, is a discipline whose basic mission is that of helping individuals and families improve their lives. The nomenclature "Home Economics" was adopted at the first Lake Placid Conference in 1899, by a committee composed of eight educators and scientists. It was derived from the Greek word "oikonomia", which means household management.

In 1902, during the fourth Lake Placid Conference, the home and family was established as the focus of study in home economics. The subject matter for home economics was then defined to include "(a)four forms of knowledge-laws, conditions, principles and ideals-and (b)three kinds of content to know-one's immediate physical environment, one's nature as a social being, and especially the relation between the two" (Florencio, 1995; East, 1980).

To date, home economics remains true to its basic mission to "improve individual and family life amidst changing social, political, economic and physical conditions" (Gabriel, 1998). In 1996, the University of the Philippines-College of Home Economics faculty collectively defined home economics as “the study of families and the management of resources available to them for the satisfaction of basic needs in changing environments” (UP CHE, 1996).

Home Economics is unique in its holistic view of daily living. The issues and concerns about daily living of individuals and families are approached both from its physical or material and relational dimension of life and their interaction (Florencio in Gabriel, 1988). This comprehensive view of home economics gave rise to several sub-disciplines and professional careers, which include home economics education, family life and child development, clothing technology, interior design, food science, nutrition, and hotel and restaurant administration. These sub-disciplines remain rooted to the home economics discipline because of its focus on serving families, individuals and consumers in their day-to-day lives (Gabriel).

References:

East, M. (1980). Home economics: past, present and future. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

Florencio, C. (1995). Families and home economics (Not by bread alone but neither without it). Monograph Series No. 1. Quezon City: UP CHE.

Gabriel, F. (1998). The role and contribution of home economics to national development. The U.P. Home Economics Journal. 25(25-33).

Related Article: McGregor, S. (2006). Sustaining home economics in the 21st century: Root system as metaphor. Keynote address during the First International Home Economics Congress.

## External links on Home economics

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* Lake Placid Conference Proceedings, 1899- (The 1899, 1900, and 1901 conferences are covered in the "1901" book.)

## Resources

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This resource was started by a user who wrote:

Living on Your Own 101
"Not everyone takes Home Ec in high school. Even those that do don't always learn or remember everything that might come in handy someday. This is for all those guys (or girls) that end up with loads of pink shirts or want to eat something other than ramen or hot pockets."

Material from that user is organized on subpages under resources shown below, along with other relevant Wikiversity resources.

* Food
* Medicine

If you're not feeling well, chances are, you're not in the mood to hit the books. Check out webmed.com to see if your symptoms are a sign of something you should see a doctor about soon, even if they seem like no big deal.

* Sewing
* Household equipment
* Cleaning

* How to clean a toilet

* Hygiene