Trends Affecting Families & Home Economics

Observers have charted changes in the issues emphasis that the discipline of home economics has undergone throughout the century. This appears to be attributable in large part to the increasing levels of education and sophistication of the mainstream of the American culture on one hand, and to the growth in the body of scholarly and practitioner knowledge and theory and the sophistication of application on the other. In this connection, Hertzler discusses the frame of reference from which issues surrounding the topic of food and nutrition have been discussed, noting that "[i]n the food and nutrition area of the field of Home Economics, three major interwoven themes have persisted over the century: nutrition science, food science, and nutrition education" (7:71). Inevitably, these themes overlap and converge, not only with one another but also with larger social and economic themes. For example, because of the dramatic change in the daily lives of women, who at the beginni

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e to make it worth their while. As Cetron and Davies observe, "63 percent of the new jobseekers entering the labor market between the years 1985 and 2000 will be women. They will have a choice of jobs that in many cases are likely to be better suited to the kinds of skill that traditionally have been women's specialties" (2:310). It may be noticed that Typing 101 may finally be worth something inasmuch as it is an important aspect of what has become known as computer literacy, but Cetron and Davies's central point is that what have been perceived as women's skills are likely to become highly desirable commodities, and those employers who wish to benefit from such skills "will be forced to offer women more than money" (2:310). The core of this point is developed by Naisbitt and Aburdene: But the largest potential source [of labor] of all is the estimated 14 million nonworking women caring for their families at home. The only chance of coaxing millions of these women back into the work force is companysubsidized day care and flexible work arrangements in the whole range of professional, technical, clerical, manufacturing jobs parttime, jobsharing, contract work, and homework
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Approximate Word count = 4316
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)

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