Importance of Home Science Education for Students

Most people think that Home Science is confined to mastering household activities, but the fact is that the field of home science has advanced considerably since its origin. Today, Home Science is a vibrant field of study that covers home economics as well as other aspects such as sociology, psychology, community living, nutrition, and textiles.

A degree in Home Science opens up excellent career opportunities, while also equipping students with the skills needed to manage their home in a dynamic environment. If you are interested in home science as a field of study and the career opportunities that it offers, read on.

Scope of Home Science Education

Home Science education deals with all aspects of home and family management. It is both an art and science. It’s an ‘art’ because it helps you manage your resources in a skilful manner, and it’s a ‘science’ because it helps you improve your family life by offering you knowledge in the field. To give you a simple example, when you present a dish in an aesthetic manner it becomes an art. When you ensure that the meal offers a balanced nutritive diet, it becomes a science.

Home Science education empowers you with the skills to improve every facet of your home life – food, clothing, health, childcare, personal finance, religion, culture, arts, home beautification, etc. It enables you to take better care of your family while helping you lead a more enriched life.

It moulds you into a responsible person who can handle day to day challenges. It teaches you your rights and duties as a consumer. In this fast-paced world, lifestyle and environmental factors are diluting personal relationships. Children are growing up in an ever-changing environment that can affect their psychology. Home Science equips you with the ability to tackle these difficult life situations.

Home Science works at a basic level by improving your outlook towards others. It inculcates values that help you become responsible for your family and society.

Specializing in Home Science

Home Science is available as a subject in class 11th and 12th in some schools, covering three important aspects – food and nutrition, human development and family resource management.

You can enrol for an undergraduate degree in Home Science after passing out of Higher Secondary Education or its equal. As an undergraduate degree, it involves the study of subjects such as Physics Chemistry and Biology, hygiene, rural development, food, clothing, textiles, interior decoration, psychology, and sociology. Home Science is also available as a diploma program.

Some of the best colleges in Dubai offer Home Science courses, including
Manipal University (Dubai Campus), Dubai Women’s College, BITS Pilani (Dubai Campus), Ajman University of Science & Technology, Canadian University of Dubai and ETA College.

Once you get your degree in Home Science, you can opt for a Masters and PhD. You can choose from any of the five areas of specializations mentioned below:

• Food and Nutrition: Science of food, clinical and community nutrition
• Home Resource Management: Managing resources, interior decoration, and planning
• Science of Textiles: Science of fabrics, garment designing, and maintenance of fabrics
• Human Development: Psychology, child and elderly care, marriage and relationship guidance
• Communication and Education: Social science, media of communication, programme planning, and training

After a UG course in Home Science, you can also pursue a master’s degree in the fields of Social Work, Mass Communication, and Development Studies. Those aspiring to join the teaching profession can follow up their graduation in Home Science with a bachelor’s in education.

Job Prospects in Home Science

For a young student, home science opens up a vast array of career choices.

• Depending on your specialization, you have the option of working as a dietitian, food scientist, textile designer, interior designer, apparel designer, family counsellor, teacher, researcher and social worker.
• The hotel industry also has a high demand for the skills of a Home Science graduate in the areas of housekeeping and food catering.
• Students with a Masters in Home Science can take up teaching the subject in schools and colleges.
• They can also work with food brands as sales representatives, food analysts, and research assistants. In fact, many MNCs prefer Home Science candidates because of their sound knowledge in chemistry, nutrition, and other sciences.
• Home Science education equips you with the indispensable knowledge to become an entrepreneur. You can either start a school, set up your nutrition consultancy, or get into textile manufacturing.

Should Home Science Be Made Compulsory for Gender Equality?

The woman of the 21st century is balancing more than the house. She has a full-time career besides managing her home and family. In an ideal situation, where the woman is also working, the husband must chip in with the household responsibilities such as cooking food and taking care of the needs of the children. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most homes, even if they are nuclear families. It is the woman has to cook meals, teach the children, manage the household expenses, do the laundry, and ensure that she has enough energy to focus on her job.

Given this challenge of the modern-day woman, some academicians are of the opinion that introducing Home Science as a compulsory subject in the school syllabus, can help promote gender equality in home management. If young boys learn the skills of managing a home at a young age, they may be more willing as adults to partake in household chores when they have families. This would in some way help in promoting gender equality.

What do you think – is Home Science only for girls? Leave your feedback in the comments box below.

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