The value of family and consumer sciences programs in the public school curriculum: A local district-wide research project

The Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) program prepares students for college and career opportunities by focusing on life skills while also integrating and reinforcing academic core subjects. The purpose of this local district-wide descriptive research study is to investigate the attitudes of administrators, guidance counselors, and parents on the value of secondary education FACS programs.

Identifying the attitudes of the decision-making stakeholders could provide a foundation for creating a FACS program that better meets the demands of the current public education system.

Because administrators make decisions about educational programs such as FACS based upon preconceptions of the program, identifying attitudes of administrators will be helpful in promoting FACS programs. Some of the decisions being made by administrators include their willingness to fund programs, to allocate resources, to hire new faculty to teach in these programs, and to support student organizations associated with FACS. Guidance counselors’ impact scheduling of students by either encouraging or discouraging students to take FACS courses based upon their attitudes toward the value of FACS programs and courses. Parents influence their students’ attitudes and desire to enroll in FACS courses, and in turn, what career pathway a student will ultimately choose.

The results of this study indicate lines of communication to parents need to improve to better promote FACS courses. The integration of core subjects in FACS courses needs to be publicized more to promote the value of FACS courses and thereby build FACS programs. The relevance of FACS courses, both now and in the future, should be a critical focus of any communication. Further study is needed to explore various marketing techniques to parents. Obtaining additional perceptions of school administrators, guidance counselors, and parents on the value of FACS programs in the public school curriculum could aid in retaining and building strong FACS programs.