• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.159-176
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate 1) how the middle school Home Economics teachers perceive the importance of the practical problem-focused instruction, 2) how often they perform the instruction, and 3) what they require for the implementation the instruction. Data were collected from 150 Home Economics teachers via e-mail survey and from 6 Home Economics teachers' face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, average, and standard deviation, and the results of such analyses as ANOVA, T-test, and correlation were reported using SPSS/win 10.1. The results of this research were as follows: First, even though the majority of the respondents recognized the high need for practical problem-focused instruction, only a small portion of the respondents reported that they performed that instruction in the classroom. There was no correlation between the perception of the need for practical problem-focused instruction and the degree of performance of practical problem-focused instruction. Secondly, the of performance of practical problem-focused instruction was significantly different depending on the years of teaching experience and the subject that the teachers majored in. Job satisfaction had positive correlations with the perception of the need for practical problem-focused instruction and the degree of performance of practical problem-focused instruction. Thirdly, the more teachers shared information and materials with colleagues, the better they tended to be at practical problem-focused instruction. On the other hand, insufficient time for their instruction and a deficiency in understanding the rationale of the instruction were pointed out as barriers to classroom practice. The respondents answered that long-term training programs on the philosophical foundation of practical problem-focused instruction, materials related to the instruction as well as additional credits for Home Economics are most critical to reduce the discrepancy between the teacher perception and the classroom practice of practical problem-focused instruction.