Home Economics / Home Management · Lesson 1

Meaning, scope and careers; management process; values, goals, resources; decision-making; time and energy

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Principle of Management (definition, careers, management process, application, motivations, family resources incl. work simplification, decision-making, time and energy). JAMB Home Economics Section A (meaning, scope, careers, interrelationship with other subjects) and Section B topics 1–2 (principles of home management, resources).

WAEC: Principle of Management (definition, careers, management process, application, motivations, family resources incl. work simplification, decision-making, time and energy). JAMB Home Economics Section A (meaning, scope, careers, interrelationship with other subjects) and Section B topics 1–2 (principles of home management, resources).

NECO: Principle of Management (definition, careers, management process, application, motivations, family resources incl. work simplification, decision-making, time and energy). JAMB Home Economics Section A (meaning, scope, careers, interrelationship with other subjects) and Section B topics 1–2 (principles of home management, resources).

What you will learn

Explain the meaning, scope, objectives and careers of Home Economics.
Relate Home Economics to other school subjects.
Describe and apply the four stages of the management process.
Explain values, goals, standards, needs and events as motivations.
Classify family resources and state their characteristics.
Explain the decision-making process and types of decisions.
Make a time plan and apply work simplification.

Key points

Home Economics: managing the home scientifically; three WAEC/NECO subjects, one JAMB paper.
Careers: dietitian, caterer, fashion designer, interior decorator, teacher, hotel housekeeper.
Management process: plan, organise, implement, evaluate (cycle).
Values lead to goals; standards measure them; needs and events set priorities.
Resources: human, material, community; limited, interrelated, substitutable.
Decision steps: problem, alternatives, consequences, choose, act, evaluate.
Decision types: routine, central, satellite, chain, individual, group.
Time plan: list, estimate, prioritise, dovetail, rest, evaluate.
Work simplification: change motions, tools, arrangement, product or materials.
Lift with the legs, back straight; rest often.

Start here: What Home Economics is

Home Economics is the field of study that helps individuals and families use their resources wisely to improve the quality of daily living. It draws on science, art and management to deal with the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the houses we live in, the way we relate in the family and the way we spend money. The name joins two Greek-derived ideas: oikos (house) and nomos (management or law). In simple words, it is the scientific management of the home.

Scope

In Nigerian schools, Home Economics at senior level is examined in three branches. WAEC and NECO offer Home Management (this course), Foods and Nutrition, and Clothing and Textiles as separate subjects. JAMB has one UTME paper called Home Economics that combines the three: Section A Home Economics education, Section B Home Management, Section C Foods and Nutrition, Section D Clothing and Textile. This course therefore covers the whole WAEC Home Management syllabus and the JAMB topics together.

Objectives of Home Economics

To help families satisfy their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter.
To develop skills for managing time, energy and money.
To promote good health through nutrition, hygiene and safety.
To build healthy family relationships and responsible parenthood.
To train wise consumers who can resist cheating and waste.
To give self-reliant skills for jobs and small businesses.

Ideals

Textbooks describe the ideals of Home Economics as: a home that is healthy, happy and peaceful; family members who respect one another; wise use of resources; and service to the community. Mrs Okafor in Enugu, who plans meals within her budget, keeps a clean compound and teaches her children to share chores, is living out these ideals.

Importance

Home Economics matters to the individual (personal grooming, health, earning skills), to the family (stability, nutrition, saving) and to the nation (healthy workforce, reduced malnutrition, job creation through catering, fashion and hospitality businesses).

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Practice questions

1. The first step in the management process is

planning
evaluating
implementing
organising

Show answer

A: planning
Management: plan, organise, implement (with control), evaluate.

2. Which is a human resource?

money
a sewing machine
a market
skill

Show answer

D: skill
Skills, time, energy and knowledge are human resources.

3. A public primary health centre is an example of a

personal resource
non-renewable resource
community resource
human resource

Show answer

C: community resource
It is provided for and shared by the community.

4. A decision that leads to several smaller related decisions is a

minor decision
central decision
routine decision
habitual decision

Show answer

B: central decision
Satellite decisions cluster around a central one.

5. In Maslow’s hierarchy, the most basic needs are

physiological needs
esteem needs
self-actualisation
belonging needs

Show answer

A: physiological needs
Food, water, shelter and sleep come first.

Key words

Home Economics: Study of using resources to improve family living.
Home management: Using resources to achieve family goals.
Planning: Deciding in advance what, how, who and when.
Organisation: Arranging people and materials to carry out a plan.
Implementation: Putting a plan into action and adjusting it.
Evaluation: Judging how well a goal was achieved.
Value: Belief considered important that guides choices.
Goal: An aim a family works to achieve.
Standard: Measure of acceptable quality.
Resource: Anything available to achieve goals.
Human resource: Resource within a person: time, energy, skill.
Community resource: Public facility such as a clinic or library.

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