On October 31, 2024, PBS NewsHour published an article on Family and Consumer Sciences written by Victoria Pasquantonio, an education producer. [1] The article explored the day-to-day activities of one educator, Christina Lloyd, in Center Ridge, Arkansas. Ms. Lloyd is the Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Nemo Vista High School and shared with Victoria her work with students to develop their leadership, entrepreneurial, and career-ready skills.
That focus on leadership and career-ready skills is something woven throughout Family and Consumer Sciences courses and has been since the vocation—now a discipline, occupation, and industry sector—was developed by the founder of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Ellen Swallow Richards. [2] Although it was called home economics back then, the development of strong leaders with expertise in all aspects of an individual’s life—both inside the home, at work, and in the communities they live in—has been the main focus of Family and Consumer Sciences throughout its over 100-year history.
In Victoria’s article, she also highlights the unique challenges that Family and Consumer Sciences courses have faced in recent years. Around the 2000s, an organization now named Advance CTE worked on developing an outline of the common groupings of industry and careers taught as part of career and technical education, making it easier for states to report to the Department of Education how many students were enrolling in and completing programs in career and technical education. Unfortunately, even though Family and Consumer Sciences is named in federal law related to this required reporting, Advance CTE chose to exclude Family and Consumer Sciences from the framework. Just recently, this year, Advance CTE again decided to continue to exclude Family and Consumer Sciences, stating that including it was counterproductive to the multidisciplinary approach of Family and Consumer Sciences. [3]
However, this exclusion has resulted in some states not providing funding for Family and Consumer Sciences courses. These courses are hands-on, teaching students skills like food and nutrition, hospitality, product development and sales, financial literacy, and more. Funding is needed to pay for the materials and supplies necessary to ensure a successful course. In her article, Victoria notes that “Those who teach and champion these classes worry that the difficulties of calculating enrollment could hurt funding — and that schools in communities lacking a strong Family and Consumer Sciences connection could be lost.” Additionally, “Most states base their CTE programs and funding models on which industries are in demand in their state as well as national recommendations created by Advance CTE.” As a result, Advance CTE’s decision to exclude Family and Consumer Sciences has real financial consequences for communities throughout the United States.
Family and Consumer Sciences is a critical pathway for students to learn about and pursue careers as educators, counselors, government service agencies, and more. Many specialize in fields such as Apparel and Textiles or Milling and go on to have successful careers in these related industries. However, the dismantling of these career pathways due to the exclusion of Family and Consumer Sciences from the Advance CTE framework has resulted in employee shortages in multiple areas, including the well-known and documented teacher shortages [4], milling and baker shortages [5], and hospitality labor shortages [6].
However, positive change is on the horizon. Just this year, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a proclamation in support of Family and Consumer Sciences, stating that the industry develops and delivers “programs that build stronger families, workplaces, and communities.” [7] The Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), the national career and technical student organization for students in Family and Consumer Sciences, has reported year-over-year growth in enrollment, and the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences has reported growth in professional enrollment in states including Puerto Rico, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Oregon. [8]
Federal data, as reported by the Food and Agricultural Education Information System (FAEIS), [9] also shows gains in Family and Consumer Sciences enrollment. Since 2020, enrollment in Apparel and Textiles, Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies (often referred to as personal finance education), and Family and Consumer Sciences General has all increased.
As Family and Consumer Sciences continues to grow, it will need additional funding to support program supplies and development. For schools wishing to integrate Family and Consumer Sciences into their career and technical education programs, these educators provide a unique cost benefit. Family and Consumer Sciences educators can teach a wide range of courses that fall under Family and Consumer Sciences and other career and technical education areas, resulting in real efficiencies in hiring and maintaining educator staff.
In the article, Lloyd notes that “If you make yourself present in the community, the community will back you.” And so, Family and Consumer Sciences will continue to need the engagement and support of the community, as well as state and federal agencies, to ensure this valuable industry can continue to support the development of career-ready students entering the workforce.
[1] “Pushing past home economics stereotypes, these FCS teachers prepare students for a modern workforce,” Oct 2024, Victoria Pasquantonio, PBS NewsHour, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/pushing-past-home-economics-stereotypes-these-fcs-teachers-prepare-students-for-a-modern-workforce
[2] Family and Consumer Sciences: Overview of a 100-year-old industry sector, 2024, Alliance for FCS, https://www.aafcs.org/allianceforfcs/home
[3] Family and Consumer Sciences in the National Career Clusters Framework, 2024, Advance CTE, https://careertech.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/FCS_in_the_Career_Clusters_Framework_10_2024.pdf
[4] UMF Education faculty recognized by MaineAEYC for contributions to the early childhood field; University of Maine Farmington; March 2024; https://www.umf.maine.edu/2024/03/umf-education-faculty-recognized-by-maineaeyc-for-contributions-to-the-early-childhood-field/
[5] What it will take to combat the baking industry’s labor shortage; Baking Business.com; Feb 2024; https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/60988-what-it-will-take-to-combat-the-baking-industrys-labor-shortage
[6] How the Hospitality Sector is Adapting to a Talent Shortage; Talroo; April 2022; https://blog.talroo.com/how-hospitality-sector-is-adapting-to-talent-shortage/
[7] https://gov.mt.gov/Documents/GovernorsOffice/Proclamations/View?doc=240214MFCSEducatorDay.pdf
[8] Membership Growth 2020-2023, AAFCS, https://www.aafcs.org/membership/joinrenew
[9] FAEIS data, https://faeis.cals.vt.edu/data-center/