ABSTRACT

Professionalism and Home Economics

Professionalism in Home Economics is essential to the growth and development of the home economist. An understanding of the philosophy and epistemology grounding the profession is critical in an era impacted by technological and global changes. In Educational institutions, these changes have been observed in the form of rebranding and re-envisioning the profession to future proof Home Economics for the 21st century. Critical to this future proofing is the name change. This small scale exploratory research seeks to unearth the home economist philosophical standpoint on the changing profession.  How do they see themselves as professionals? What does the profession look like in the 21st Century? Data will be collected via interviews and focus group sessions. A cross case thematic analysis will be used to analyze the findings.

Key Words: Philosophy, Home Economics, Future Proofing, Epistemology, Professionalism

Hope Mayne, Ph. D.

University of Technology, Jamaica