| CODE | HPN5008 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Current Issues and Perspectives in Home Economics | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Health, Physical Education and Consumer Studies | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will challenge students to explore current issues and perspectives with respect to Home Economics as a discipline (as taught in schools and higher institutions, and a foundation for diverse career paths) and to a number of main areas covered within Home Economics (such as nutrition science and health, sustainability concerns, financial literacy). They will discuss the cause of these issues and perspectives, as well as their manifestation and implications for the general public and policymakers. Via workshops and a seminar, students will seek practical solutions to different lifestyle choices and behaviours of concern and present solutions with the goal of fostering wellbeing of individuals, families and communities. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to challenge students to identify changing issues and perspectives with respect to the Home Economics discipline and a number of key areas which it focuses on, and to explore the various influencing factors. It will also guide students in seeking to discuss the multiple implications of these issues and perspectives in relation to the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities and to find effective solutions to share or use with these target groups. Students will be encouraged to consider their roles in this regard as future professional Home Economics educators interacting with different relevant stakeholders. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify ongoing and emerging changes locally and internationally with respect to Home Economics as a discipline; - Discuss common changes in lifestyle choices and behaviours and provision of products and services which influence wellbeing of individuals, families and communities; - Outline and reflect on the multiple influencing factors on the various lifestyle choices and behaviours and provision of products and services, with a focus on the different stakeholders and their own role as future professional Home Economics educators. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically assess the different Home Economics curricula and syllabuses and outline where particular attention has to be given in order to make teaching and learning relevant to current and future needs of different learners; - Work in groups to find solutions to problems individuals, families and communities might face now and in the future which could impact their wellbeing; - Develop and present practical messages and learning resources to assist students in schools and adult learners in the community to prevent, manage and overcome factors which may impact their wellbeing negatively and to source and use products, services and processes for a positive impact on wellbeing. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts - Pendergast, D., McGregor, S.L.T., & Turkki, K. (Eds). (2012). Creating Home Economics futures: The next 100 years. Bowen Hills, QLD: Australian Academic Press (essential) - Didham, R.J., Doyle, D., Klein, J., & Thoresen, V.W. (eds.) (2015). Responsible living: Concepts, education and future perspectives. Switzerland: Springer, pp. 197-216 (essential) Supplementary Readings - Behrman, J. (2017). Domesticating physics: introductory physics textbooks for women in Home Economics in the United States, 1914鈥�1955, History of Education, 46(2), pp. 193-209. doi: 10.1080/0046760X.2016.1273404 (Available via HyDi) - Debono, M. (2018). Investigating Home Economics literacy in adult education : Focus on Home Economists in Action鈥檚 community courses. Unpublished dissertation, University of Malta. - Gisslevik, E., Wernersson, I., & Larsson, C. (2018). Home economics teachers鈥� perceptions of facilitating and inhibiting factors when teaching sustainable food consumption. Sustainability, 10(5), p. 1463. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ejournals.um.edu.mt/10.3390/su10051463 (Available via HyDi) - Hakeem, R. (2009). "The world needs Home Economics, but doesn't recognize it... How to unveil Home Economics. Nurture, 3(1), pp. 1-10. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ejournals.um.edu.mt/docview/503603798?accountid=2793 (Available via HyDi) - Hustvedt, G. (2015). Threads of making: Home Economics and Engineering. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 107(3), pp. 69-70. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ejournals.um.edu.mt/docview/1708494354?accountid=27934 (Available via HyDi) - Kostanjevec, S., Lov拧in Kozina, F., & Erjav拧ek, M. (2018). The relationship between teachers鈥� education and their self-perceived competence for teaching Home Economics. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 76(2), pp.175-188. (Available via HyDi) - Maina, A.R., & Kitainge, K. (2018). Improving Home Economics Education: A review of factors militating inclusion of Home Economics studies in Kenyan Secondary Schools. Arts Social Sci J, 9(338). doi: 10.4172/2151-6200.1000338 (Available via HyDi) - McCloat, A., & Caraher M. (2018). The evolution of Home Economics as a subject in Irish primary and post-primary education from the 1800s to the twenty-first century, Irish Educational Studies, doi: 10.1080/03323315.2018.1552605 (Available via HyDi) - Pace, E.M., Aiello, P., Sibilio, M., & Piscopo, S. (2015), Applying the Theory of Simplexity in Home Economics education for the acquisition of transversal competencies to face complexity. Int Jour of Learning, Teaching & Educational Research. 11(2), pp.71-87 (Available via HyDi) - Piscopo, S. (2015). Are food convenience and sustainable consumption mutually exclusive? Home Economics Literacy to the rescue鈥� in R.J. Didham, D. Doyle, J. Klein, & V.W. Thoresen (eds.), Responsible living: Concepts, education and future perspectives. Switzerland: Springer, pp. 197-216 (in Reading pack provided by Lecturer) - Piscopo, S. (2016) Home Economics Literacy: What It Is and Where It's Going. 9th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, ICERI2016 Proceedings, 4-16 November, 2016, Seville, Spain, pp. 5130-5138. doi: 10.21125/iceri.2016.2225 (in Reading pack provided by Lecturer) |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Claudine Grech Spiteri Suzanne Piscopo |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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