HOME ECONOMICS AND SEX DIFFERENTIATION IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM

In the debate about the case for a common curriculum in secondary education, home economics has perhaps been somewhat later than other subject areas to put forward a rationale for the inclusion of home economics. There is considerable uncertainty about the best strategy to be adopted: ‘…home economists in education will need to be vigilant in order to ensure that the subject is given its rightful place in any major revision of the middle school curriculum…’ (A. R. Mathieson). This paper is an attempt to define potential strategies for home economics as a secondary school subject, particularly in the light of recent interest in sex differentiation and sex typing in the secondary curriculum.