Content area
Abstract
No scholarly work has been conducted on the practice and content of home economics programs in Zimbabwe overtime. To enrich the historical base of home economics in Zimbabwe, this study was designed to document the curricular changes and contextual factors that influenced the home economics teacher training program at Gweru Teachers College in Zimbabwe, between 1975 and 1995.
Data for this study were collected mainly through documents that were then supported by in depth interviews and informal observations. Former Gweru home economics lecturers and students were interviewed, and current lecturers participated in a focus group interview. All the interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim. The period under study was divided into four time periods: 1975–1980, 1980–1985, 1985–1990, and 1990–1995 so that trends could be established. The most comprehensive course syllabi for each time period was used as the gist of the content analysis.
Structural and administrative changes in the home economics program were more fundamental than conceptual changes which were found to be incremental. Politics and economic crisis prompted changes in the program more than the professional concerns for the subject. Suggestions for praxis and future research are given at the end of the study.
