-
The Morrill Act
The Morrill Act provided states with land to establish grant colleges which were intended to teach students about agriculture and mechanical arts. Land grant colleges would later become an integral part of teaching home economics, which at the time was referred to as “domestic science”. (https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/morrill-act) -
Ellen Richard Swallows
Ellen Swallow Richards (aka. The founder of FCS) was the first female to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1871. Not only was she the first woman to attend MIT, she was the first woman to study at a scientific school. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. She focused on improving sanitary practices and bringing clean water to communities. She thought that by improving practices within the home you can improve society.
(https://youtu.be/fyYAr2JLrHI) -
The Lake Placid Conference
The Lake Placid conference decided that the term “home economics” would replace the formerly known name of domestic science.
(https://www.lakeplacidhistory.com/home-economics-history/) -
The American Home Economics Association
Lake Placid Conference participants formed the American Home Economics Association (now referred to as American Association of Family and Consumer Science or AAFCS). This organization successfully advocated for financial support for home economics research and teaching. This funding would provide more educational opportunities.
(https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/WMankiller/id/6336/filename/6336.pdfpage/page/6) -
The Smith-Hughes Act
The Smith-Hughes Act created a strong focus on and allocated funding for occupational (or job) preparation in home economics courses.
(https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2574&context=va-teacher) -
Flemmie Kittrell
Flemmie Kittrell was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition. Building on her roots of home economics, she altered the way the field utilized and viewed scientific research. In 1940 she accepted the role of dean of women and head of the home economics department at Hampton University.
(https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/kittrell-flemmie-pansy-1904-1980/)
. -
The Vocational Education Act of 1963
The Vocational Education Act of 1963 diminished the funding that the field had been receiving from the Smith-Hughes Act because it redirected the funding to career pathways that were considered in-need at that point in time, which was not home economics.
(https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/vocational-education) -
The Vocational Amendment of 1968
The Amendment to the Vocational Education Act of 1963 broadened funding to all programs that prepare students for their occupational future, not just jobs that were considered to be in-need. -
Carl Perkins Act
The Carl Perkins Act granted funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and is still a huge source of funding for CTE today.
(https://cte.ed.gov/legislation/about-perkins-iv) -
Home Economics Transformed into Family and Consumer Sciences
Home Economics is now referred to asFamily and Consumer Sciences or FCS.
(https://www.aafcs.org/partnership/about-aafcs#:~:text=Family%20and%20consumer%20sciences%20(FCS,%26%20Consumer%20Sciences%20(AAFCS)