HOME ECONOMICS. Home economics is the organized body of knowledge which treats of food, clothing, shelter And household management in their physical, economic and social aspects as related to the life and welfare of the individual, the family and the com munity.
As a subject for formal instruction and a field for investigation home economics is con cerned with living places, the materials used in them, the arts by which they are maintained for families or other groups of people bound to gether by kinship, affection or necessity, and with the methods by which they can be made to contribute to the length, happiness and pro ductiveness of the individual life. The forms that instruction takes and the lines that inves tigation follows depend largely on the char acter and purposes of the educational institu tion into which the subject is introduced. It takes in one institution the form of applied science,. in another that of manual training, while in still others it appears as branches of vocational or normal training or of economics.
Though its subject matter had long received the attention and thought of students and writers, and though a large body of knowledge had accumulated as a result of housekeepers' experience, home economics did not find an established place as a recognized subject for formal instruction until about 1870, when it was introduced into the State agricultural col lages of the United States. In these institu tions which were founded for the benefit of regions where the interests of the home and those of the industry that chiefly supports it are very closely allied, it developed rapidly as an applied science side by side with agri culture, and benefited by the same investiga tional work in the sciences, particularly those have a bearing on nutrition and diet. It has drawn from these investigations suggestions for the means of improving the methods by which families are fed and clothed and protected from the elements, and has in turn reacted upon them and encouraged further research. By so doing it has added to its own content and its own cultural value, with the result that it is now often given a place in the courses of study of higher institutions of learning from which applied science, as such, is excluded.
As a branch of manual training, home economics first found a place in the elementary and secondary schools. When the curriculum of these schools was enlarged to include hand training, the particular exercises given to girls were naturally those connected with traditional home industries,— cooking, sewing and clean ing. Even weaving and other handicrafts that
had left the home were introduced for the understanding they give of the development of the home as well as for their value in training eye and hand. The rapid development of these subjects in the lower schools and the demand for instructors led to the establishment of teachers' training courses, and promoted seri ous investigations into the pedagogical value of the subject, and into the question of the forms in which it should be presented in order to meet the changing needs of public schools which represent the only formal education obtained by the vast majority of people. The import ance of this pedagogical problem at a time of rapid changes in social and industrial condi tions, all of which affected the home, tended to add still further to the subject matter of home economics.
Extension work in household arts for the benefit of those already engaged in home mak ing, and therefore unable to attend school, has for many years been a part of the courses in home economics in agricultural and other col leges. The value of this work was recognized and its possibilities for usefulness greatly increased when in 1914 Congress passed the Smith-Lever Extension Act which made Federal funds available for the promotion of extension work in agriculture and home economics in the various States under certain conditions which includegrants of funds from the States co-operating. The general adminis tration of these funds was given to the United States Department of Agriculture, and particu larly to the States Relations Service, which co operates with the various States through their agricultural colleges. At the time of the pas sage of this act a form of home economics in struction known as home demonstration was al ready being carried on by the Department of Agriculture. Practical demonstrations of the best methods of canning, cookery and doing other forms of housework were made for the benefit of the housekeepers of a given commu nity. This work, and also education through chibs, classes and lectures, has been greatly enlarged since the passage of the act. Origin ally limited to rural regions, the work has since been broadened to cover urban districts also.