DOMESTIC SCIENCE The teaching of domestic subjects in public elementary schools is nearly as old as the school itself. Stimulated by Government grants, awarded on results, the numbers receiving some sort of instruction in domestic subjects rose from 844 in 1874 to 59,812 in 1882. In 1898 records show that cookery was taught to 181,973 girls, while in 1924-25 the number receiving instruction in do mestic subjects was 488,584 It is easier to obtain pupils than to create teachers, and as late as 1907 Board of Education reports contain adverse criticism of teachers, methods and results. The failure of early attempts to include cookery in the ordinary teachers' training course was a foregone conclusion. The last decade of the nineteenth century, however, saw the establishment of a number of important domes tic science training colleges and the enlargement and improvement of others, both in London and the provinces. All those recog nized by the Board of Education offer a minimum two year teachers' course which may be supplemented by additional spe cialization, and only students trained in such courses are eligible to teach domestic subjects in public elementary schools.
In the practice of the higher schools there is no sort of uni formity : most grant-aided secondary schools find room in their time-table for domestic subjects, others do not always do so. Of the 25 schools controlled by the Girls' Public Day School Trust, which between them provide for nearly 1 o,000 or about 7% of the total of secondary school girls, less than one-third make adequate provision for such teaching. But the tendency is all in the direc tion of providing it, if circumstances permit, and it is significant that the Headmistresses' Association, in pressing for the reform of the First School examination (see EXAMINATIONS), suggests that group IV. (music, art, housecraft or other crafts) should be
allowed to rank equally with the languages and mathematics and science groups towards a pass in the examination, urging that if the subjects of group IV. as they now stand, are not held of equal value with those of other groups, this inferiority lies in the syllabus and is not inherent in the subjects.
The most noteworthy attempt to remove the stigma of infe riority from the teaching of housecraft was the foundation in 1908 of the Household and Social Science Department of King's College for Women. There seemed no doubt that the somewhat mechanical methods in vogue and the stress laid on manipulative skill apart from scientific principle, were responsible for the failure to attract girls of brains and ability. The new course, with a curric ulum which included, besides physical and biological science, instruction in hygiene and economics, was recognised by the University of London, at first by the award of a diploma to successful candidates, and since 1920 by a B.Sc. degree. A course on similar lines has been recently instituted by the University of Bristol, in co-operation with the Gloucestershire Training College of Domestic Science. Another development which will bring the domestic science colleges into closer touch with the universities is the new scheme by which, from 193o, the Board of Education will discontinue and the universities will take up the conduct of examinations for teachers in training. (H. RE.)