---
title: "Home economics"
chunk: 2/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_economics"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:55:23.657157+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

In 1945, just days before the Liberation of World War II, Ada Gobetti stated, "The most difficult problem will be that of the housewife. It will be one of the most difficult to resolve if one wants to create a new society."  She wanted women, family, work, and society to form a new relationship through education and organization of the housewives. Although people were not taught formal classes of home economics, during the 1950s and 1960s home economics manuals had been fully published. These manuals were compulsory for children to read in school. These manuals focused heavily on how to be a good housewife during a new era of transformation and how to adapt to new behaviors and habits.
Starting from the Gentile reform of 1923, home economics was taught in the lower middle school and in the new unified middle school established in 1963. The name changed to Technical Applications, differentiated into male and female, which was taught until 1977 when it changed to the title of Technical Education, which no longer differed in relation to the sex of the pupils.

=== South Korea ===
In South Korea, the field is most commonly known as "consumer science" (소비자학, sobija-hak). The field began in schools taught by Western missionaries in the late 19th century.  The first college-level department of family science was established at Ewha Womans University in Seoul in 1929.

=== Sweden ===
In Sweden, Home economics is commonly known as "home- and consumer studies" (hem- och konsumentkunskap).
The subject is mandatory from middle years until high school in both public and private schools but is regarded as one of the smallest subjects in the Swedish school system.
For many decades, the subject was only called "hemkunskap" and had a strong focus on the traditional common tasks of a home, family and practical cooking and cleaning. After the 2011 Swedish school reform, the curriculum have been restructured with more focus on the topics of health, economy and environment which includes Consumer economics as well as Consumer awareness.

=== United Kingdom ===

In 1852 Louisa Hope and others created the Scottish Ladies Association for Promoting Female Industrial Education. The intention was to ensure that females would learn sewing and in time other domestic subjects in separate gender based education. The Church of Scotland had decided in 1849 that it wanted female "schools of industry". Women were seen as centres of moral and religious values for families and upper class ladies in the new association saw it as their role to provide it.
In 1853 Hope published, The Female Teacher: Ideas Suggestive of Her Qualifications and Duties where she notes that women should be "keepers at home" and men should see to his "labour and his work until the evening". Education of females would elevate the "lower classes" and this was the "aim of the Scottish Ladies Association for Promoting Female Industrial Education".
Hope organised a petition of 130 signatures of "principal ladies of Scotland" demanding improved sewing lesson for girls in Scottish schools. The petition was supported by letters sent to newspapers and this was of underestimated influence. By 1861 grants were available to support this objective and in 1870 70% of schools were including sewing in their curriculum according to inspectors.
Thereza Charlotte, Lady Rucker (1863 – 1941) was a promoter of household science teaching. She helped establish Domestic Science as a university subject but only at one university in England.
In the UK, Home Economics was a GCSE qualification offered to secondary school pupils, but since 2015 been replaced with a course entitled Food and Nutrition which focuses more on the nutritional side of food to economics.
In Scotland, Home Economics was replaced by Hospitality: Practical Cooking at National 3, 4 and 5 level and Health and Food Technology at National 3, 4, 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. The awarding body is the SQA.

=== United States ===

==== Nineteenth century ====