Founder of the FCS Field - Answers Ellen Swallow Richards
(One of the country's first environmentalists, first female grad of MIT, Advocate for women, Interest in
ecology, concern for individuals and families, founder of AHEA/FCS)
History of the FCS Field: 1862-1890 - Answers Morill Act of 1862 gave land to each state to establish a
university (Promoted agricultural, industrial and domestic economy) (Land-Grant Universities- Alabama
A & M, Tuskegee, and Auburn)
History of the FCS Field: 1909-1920 - Answers The Progressive Era
- American Home Economics flourished
- Progressives worked to shape field; make society better, safer place to live
- Various regulations established to clean up corrupt city governments, improve working conditions in
factories, and create living conditions for immigrants
- Cooperative Extensions and Vocational Education dedicated to dissemination of practical information
relating to agriculture, home economics, and rural communities.
- Vocational Education now referred to as CTE
History of the FCS Field: 1920s-1930s - Answers - Following WWII; US was the most industrialized
country in the world; economic prosperity prevailed
- Home economics and FCS became subjects that were part of the curricula in public schools, colleges,
and universities
- Great Depression
- As a result, federal feeding, housing, and work programs were established, leading to the work of
home economists being regarded as essential to health and wellness
History of the FCS Field: 1940-1950 - Answers - World War II pulled the country out of the Great
Depression
- Jobs opened up from women and Blacks
- Fabric of the country changed when the soldiers came back from war
- Changes in home, technology, housing, fashion, food, parenting, and entertainment
- Home economics profession responded to these societal trends
History of the FCS Field: 1960-1970s - Answers - Vietnam War
, - Civil Rights Movement
- In 1962, Florence Low served as president of AHEA; acknowledged racial tensions; eliminated
membership regulations limiting participation of Blacks
- Women's Liberation Movement
- Home economics questioned as valid profession
- As a result, profession became more career focused; more specialized knowledge and discipline
research
History of the FCS Field: 1980s-1990s - Answers - Increases in college attendance
- Change in the nature of families (divorce, fewer children, two earners, ect.)
- Electronic Age
- Increased interest in health and wellness; field continued to grow more specialized
- "Home economics" outdated; leaders in field developed new conceptual framework for describing
focus, mission and vision
- 1994- AHEA renamed AAFCS
History of the FCS Field: Today - Answers - An applied field bringing together knowledge from different
disciplines
- Focused on improving the quality and standards of individual and family life: educational programs,
influencing public policy, and communication
Areas of specialization in FCS - Answers Food and Nutrition, Hospitality, Textiles and Apparel, Interior
Design and Housing, FCS Education and Extension, Family and Community Service, Human Development
and Family Studies, and Consumer Resource Management
Family - Answers "The basic unit in which two or more people are sharing emotional, social, physical,
and economic resources."
Family as a social unit - Answers An informal network of elements that are interrelated in a more or less
stable fashion within a given time period, the separate parts of a system are generally coordinated, play
a functioning role in the greater environment and operate as a whole or in unison, the family is a task
performance group that meets the needs of members and other societal groups, families establish and
maintain boundaries, and marked by stability and change
Bronfenbenner's Ecological Model: Micro - Answers immediate surroundings (1st)
Bronfenbenner's Ecological Model: Meso - Answers How the Micro interacts (2nd)