Home economics began in the 19th century with the goal of professionalizing domestic work and "women's work". It grew to include both practical and technical teachings about managing a household. Key developments included the Morrill Act of 1862 establishing land grant colleges, the Lake Placid Conferences which established the term "home economics", and the founding of the American Home Economics Association in 1909. Throughout the 20th century, home economics expanded its scope and became a field open to both male and female students.

1. Teaching Technology &
Livelihood Education
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HOME ECONOMICS
BEED 29

2. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
Since the nineteenth century, schools have been
incorporating home economics courses into their
education programs. In its early years, home
economics began with the goal of
professionalizing domestic labor for women
whilst also uplifting the idea of "women's work".
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PP
Nineteenth Century

3. Home
It is "the art and science of home management," meaning that the discipline
incorporates both creative and technical aspects into its teachings. In the
United States, home economics courses have been a key part of learning
the art of taking care of a household. From its inception, collegiate home
economics was multidisciplinary and integrative with an emphasis on
science applied to the real world of the home, family, and community.
Economics

4. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
In the United States, the teaching of home
economics courses in higher education greatly
increased with the Morrill Act of 1862. Signed by
Abraham Lincoln, the Act granted land to each
state or territory in America for higher educational
programs in vocational arts, specifically
mechanical arts, agriculture, and home
economics.
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PP
Nineteenth Century

5. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
In the late 19th century, the Lake Placid
Conferences took place. The conferences
consisted of a group of educators working
together, originally, they wanted to call this
profession "oekology", the science of right living.
However, "home economics" was ultimately
chosen as the official term in 1899.
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PP
Nineteenth Century

6. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
In 1909, Ellen Swallow Richards founded the
American Home Economics Association (now
called the American Association of Family and
Consumer Sciences).
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PP
Twentieth Century

7. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
Practice homes were added to American
universities in the early 1900s in order to model a
living situation, with the first facility built for home
management practice constructed in the early
1920s at North Dakota Agricultural College.
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PP
Twentieth Century

8. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
At Cornell University, the first practice baby was
called Dicky Domecon, named after the phrase
“domestic economy”. Dicky was borrowed by
Cornell in 1920 when he was three weeks old.
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PP
Twentieth Century

9. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
In 1914 and 1917, women's groups, political
parties, and labor coalitions worked together in
order to pass the Smith-Lever Act and the Smith-
Hughes Act. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 and the
Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 created federal funds
for "vocational education agriculture, trades and
industry, and homemaking" and created the
Office of Home Economics.
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Twentieth Century

10. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
Throughout the 1940s, Iowa State College (later
University) was the only program granting a
Master of Science in household equipment.
However, this program was centered on the
ideals that women should acquire practical skills
and a scientifically based understanding of how
technology in the household works.
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PP
Twentieth Century

11. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
Throughout the latter part of the twentieth
century, home economics courses became more
inclusive. In 1963, Congress passed the
Vocational Education Act, which granted funds
to vocational education job training. Home
economics courses started being taught across
the nation to both boys and girls.
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PP
Twentieth Century

12. EVOLUTION
OF HOME
ECONOMICS
Despite many secondary education
establishments still referring to these enrichment
classes as "home economics", the name was
officially changed in 1994 by the American
Association of Family & Consumer Sciences to
"Family and Consumer Sciences" to more
accurately represent the profession and field as a
whole.
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Twentieth Century

13. HISTORY OF HOME
1901 - American methods of instruction were ensured by
bringing in hundreds of American teachers called Thomasites.
In 1901 vocational training in housekeeping and household arts
was made an important element of girls' education in the
Philippines
The history of Home Economics can be traced through these
significant changes or stages of development:
ECONOMICS IN THE PH
EP
P
1913 - Elvessa Ann Stewart, a graduate of the University of
Nebraska, went to the Philippines as a teacher in Home
Economics.

14. HISTORY OF HOME
1920 - Girls in grade 5 to 7 were required to devote 80 minutes
a day to home economics activities which included cooking,
sewing, housekeeping, sanitation, home nursing, infant care
food selection, embroidery, lacemaking.
The history of Home Economics can be traced through these
significant changes or stages of development:
ECONOMICS IN THE PH
EP
P
1929 - Elvessa Ann Stewart became the Superintendent of
Home Economics in the Bureau of Education in Manila.
1941 - Every secondary girl was required to have at least one
year of home economics before graduation.

15. HISTORY OF HOME
For 20 years, domestic training had flourished in Filipino
schools starting with sewing, cooking and housekeeping.
Today, Home Economics continues to be practiced by
professionals in many venues including secondary teaching,
college and university teaching and research and outreach
through cooperative extension programs. It has been given
emphasis in the K-12 curriculum.
The history of Home Economics can be traced through these
significant changes or stages of development:
ECONOMICS IN THE PH
EP
P

16. Societal Changes and
Development
Brought about by
Home Economics
Home Economics as a creative subject can
allow for experimentation and the
development of critical judgment relating to
food and meals.
Teaching the subject will contribute to an
awareness of what constitutes a healthy
lifestyle.
Teaching of Home Economics encourages students
to cook and develop a sense of pleasure in work as
well as good working habits, and to be conscious
consumers.

17. Areas of Home Economics
in the 19th Century
Cooking
Cooking is one of the earliest
disciplines in Home Economics.
Early home economics
programs taught women how to
cook a balanced meal, and
included food safety and
preservation.
Child Development
Home Economics students
were taught how to rear
children. This included learning
about the stages of child
development and how to
correctly respond to children at
each stage.
Education and
Community Awareness
Students were taught
educational skills, including
moral and ethical lessons.

18. Areas of Home Economics
in the 19th Century
Budgeting and
Economics
Home Economics students
learned how to budget because
women did all or most of the
family shopping.
Sewing and Textiles
Sewing was a significant part of
lesson plans because many
women sewed not only their
own clothes, but clothes for
their children.
Home Management and
Design
This area of study included
cleaning and organization,
which was significant because
homemakers were expected to
keep the house clean and
organized.

19. Areas of Home Economics
in the 19th Century
Health and Hygiene
Students who studied Home
Economics learned how to
properly care for sick family
members. This included
sanitation, keeping the sick
family member fed and
quarantined.