A Study On The Curriculum Of Home Economics In American Public Schools(1899-1917)

The opening of home economics courses not only affects the personal quality of family life,but also relates to the labor spirit and labor skills of a nation.Therefore,in recent years,our country has published a number of related documents in an effort to promote the development of home economics courses.Since 1899,home economics experts headed by Ellen Richards gathered at the Lake Placid Conference in 1899,and until the promulgation of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917,the United States was the first country in the world to establish a home economics curriculum.The full text uses historical analysis method,document method,and comparative method to study the concept and practice of American home economics curriculum during the period of 1899-1917,and explores the guiding significance for the establishment of our country’s political curriculum.The introduction part of the thesis gives a brief explanation of the reason for the topic,research value,related research and research methods,as well as a detailed explanation of the core concepts and research time limit.The main part of the thesis first sorts out the background of the establishment of home economics courses in the United States.Secondly,according to the relevant works of home economics scholars,the minutes of the Lake Placid Conferences Proceedings,the minutes of the annual meeting of the American Home Economics Association,and the papers published in the Journal of Home Economics,the concept of setting up the home economics curriculum is disclosed;at the same time,based on the investigation of the current situation of home economics textbooks and domestic education The analysis of these papers reveals the practical facts of home economics courses in primary and secondary schools.Finally,a comparative analysis of home economics courses in concept and practice revealed that early home economics scholars vigorously built home economics exchange platforms such as the Lake Placid Conferences,the American Home Economics Association,and the Journal of Home Economics.At the same time,they actively promoted the "Davis Regulations,""Smith-Liver Act," and "Smith-Hughes Act," and other laws have added funding for home economics education,successfully realizing the establishment of home economics courses in public schools in the United States.However,due to the fact that people with traditional housekeeping views such as Elmer Brown have penetrated into the power core of housekeeping exchange platforms and lacked systematic textbooks,the practice of housekeeping courses showed inadequacies such as lost purpose of housekeeping courses,content compression,and disorderly arrangement of courses.On the whole,the home economics course in this period is still in the exploratory and experimental period.Although there are many problems in practice,it has also completed the historical mission of entering the public elementary and middle school education system,which has brought us to actively establish a home economics research position and promote Enlightenment of experience in home economics courses,enriching the teaching methods of home economics.