• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.31-51
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to review and draw lessons from the case of Family and Consumer Sciences(FCS) curriculums in Ohio and to provide implications to the designing of HE elective courses for high schools in Korea. For this, 19 curriculum documents that are available from the website of the Ohio Ministry of Education were analyzed. As a result of the analysis, the following conclusions were drawn: First, following the example of the Ohio Pathway which was developed in consideration of the characteristics of the field, college admission, student's interests, and the societal change, it is recommended that Korean HE curriculum consider developing HE Pathway that reflects the characteristics of Korean HE education system. Second, Ohio's FCS curriculum offers a well-structured system consisting of total 18 courses and contents within the four broad FCS Pathway themes. Thus, it is suggested that the Korean Home Economics Education Association organize a task force to develop 'HE Pathways'-'College majors'-'Elective career focused courses', and student-centered career exploratory elective courses focusing on the students' needs. Third, it is necessary for HE teachers and professors to newly develop basic elective courses which lays the foundation for understanding of Home Economics and help students to follow advanced HE elective courses. Lastly, there is a need for designing career-focused elective courses that can provide practical resources for the college admission process by interviewing college admission officers, education specialists, career counselors, college admission specialists, home economic professors and teachers.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.139-157
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to derive implications for Korean home economics curriculum to emphasize consumer competency of adolescents by analyzing the content components of consumer competency presented in 'consumer life' area of middle school home economics curriculum of 3 states in the U.S. The analysis results and implications are summarized as follows: First, the U.S. home economics curriculum is composed of various contents, including credit management, savings/investment/ insurance, taxes, and financial situation, and financial decision-making, to improve adolescent's understanding of finance. In the next revision of Korean curriculum, for financial stability in prolonged life after retirement, it is would be necessary to include contents on basic financial knowledge and technology for financial information utilization so that students can establish financial plans for different life stages in consideration of various variables such as changes in economic environment, etc. Second, the U.S. home economics curriculum was developed to help students make better purchase decisions by applying economic concepts such as prices and interest rates, economic trends and the impact of demand and supply, purchase methods and contract conditions, etc. However, Korean home economics curriculum only focus on purchase plan and purchase decision-making process. It would be necessary to foster consumer transaction competency by introducing economic concepts suitable middle school level. Third, to emphasize "consumer civic competency", Ohio was focusing on "claim of consumer rights" and Wisconsin was focusing on the "acceptance of consumer responsibility." In order to enhance adolescent's consumer civic competency, it would be necessary for Korean curriculum to balance the claim of right and the acceptance of consumer responsibility in the following term, and to emphasize the contents on consumer policies, laws and consumer advocacy to create a consumer environment where consumer sovereignty is realized.