Innovative teaching in home economics : a food fair

Includes bibliographical references (pages 28-29)The erosions of Home Economics programs and decline in the enrollment of students in Home Economics classes have created a need for innovative programs that will provide marketable job skills for students and which will market Home Economics to the school and community. To meet this need a food production program was developed at the secondary school level.\ud Six Food Fairs were planned and produced at Drew Jr. High School from the years 1981 through 1983, and a manual was developed for use as an instructional device. During the 1983-84 school year, the researcher held two workshops for Home Economics teachers to acquaint them with the methods used for the Food Fair productions. Responding to a questionnaire, the majority of the teachers indicated an interest in Food Fair production and in using an instructional manual.\ud Two fairs were successfully reproduced at Drew in 1984 under the direction of a Home Economics teacher who used the manual. An International Food Fair was produced at Holmes Junior High School under the direction of the researcher using the techniques previously developed at Drew. The successful results of the fairs indicate that the manual is effective and could be used by other teachers at other schools. (See more in text.