What is the Continuity Between the 2 Syllabi? (Upper Secondary and Lower Secondary)

In lower secondary - family and consumer education (FCE), the syllabus touches on both food studies and consumer studies. The information on nutrition in the lower secondary are very brief and basic. While in upper secondary - Food and Nutrition, the syllabus touches solely on food studies, which branches out from the lower secondary syllabus and it goes a lot more in-depth when compared to the FCE syllabus.

The FCE syllabus sets the foundation for students taking Food and Nutrition in upper secondary. Food and Nutrition students have to produce a coursework for their O levels. To produce a quality coursework, they need to have a strong foundation in the subject (which was reinforced in the lower secondary FCE syllabus) on top of their upper secondary topics in Food and Nutrition.

For instance, if the coursework question is on commodity carbohydrates, the student must be able to answer these questions:

1. What is a carbohydrate?
2. What are the 3 elements of carbohydrates?
3. What are the different types of carbohydrates? 
4. What are the functions of carbohydrate?
5. What are some sources of carbohydrates? 

Question like "what is a carbohydrate?" is an example of the basic information that are covered in the lower secondary while questions like "what are the different types of carbohydrates and their functions?" are covered in the upper secondary. Students must have the basic knowledge before they can understand the the more in-depth content.

In addition, when students have to do decision-making for the execution part of their coursework, they can recall the dishes they have cooked during their lower secondary FCE practical lessons. Teachers will impart simpler skills like cutting, peeling to the lower secondary students. These skills will come in handy (on top of the other skills they learn in upper secondary) when the students have to prepare skillful dishes for their coursework execution. Students can also use the meal planning principles they learnt in lower secondary to modify recipes to improve their dishes.

What is different from the N level and O level Food and Nutrition Syllabus?

 I feel that N levels is a stepping stone of O levels. An apparent answer to this question would be the difficulty level of the subject being the main difference. Students get to experience the bulk of the subject at N levels. However as they say the devil is in the detail, certain details in selective topic areas are excluded at N levels. More complex principles are covered at O levels and students are expected to be of higher academic capabilities to not only understand these principles but to also to also apply them.

For example, at N levels, students are only expected to only familiarize themselves with the principles of food science. At O levels, this is no longer the case. Candidates are required to display a clear understanding of the principles of food science. In accordance to this aim, topics covered in theory at N levels, do not include topics such as digestion, and the science of food processing. This leads to a difference in the format of their written paper as well. The allocation of marks between the three sections are differently distributed. There is a significant increase in the weightage of marks in open ended questions for O levels as compared to N level. This is because, open ended questions requires more critical thinking and students will be assessed on how they merge their comprehension of theory and demonstrate application.  This thus gives away the differences in duration of both papers where students in O level will require more time with their exam scripts due to the requirement of higher order thinking.

In coursework, investigation and information gathering in research and development coursework is not included in N levels as students have not been equipped with the knowledge or the principles that need to be applied unlike the O level students. Hence at N levels, in place of the investigation and information synthesis, emphasis is put on them making informed decisions, having good time management skills and exposure of different food preparation techniques in varied situations and cooking methods. They are not required to draw conclusions from experiments, however, they are expected to justify the decisions they make in coursework. Despite all these differences, as mentioned in the beginning, the essence of the subject is still both same in both N and O levels. In my opinion, N levels is a good preparation that students undergo to perform better at O levels at a proper pace.

What would you use from the Upper Secondary to Enrich the Lower Secondary?

We feel that we can use the investigative segment of the upper secondary coursework to enrich the lower secondary students. This is especially relevant in a practical lesson context. Apart from just cooking and baking, we want the students to learn and understand the science behind it.

For instance, instead of a usual cupcake-baking practical lesson in a lower secondary class, students will have to investigate which is the "best" flour to use to achieve the desired cupcake in terms of texture, flavour, aroma, etc. So the students will be split into different groups where they will bake their cupcakes with their assigned flour type. And towards the end of the class, the students will get to observe and taste the cupcakes made with the different variations of flour and decide which is the best flour to use to get that desired cupcake characteristics. We should not only limit the variable to the different types of flour, for example, we can vary the cooking time, amount of milk, amount of eggs, type of fat etc.

At the end of the lesson, students can present their product in this manner so they can observe the differences and draw conclusion.

Cr: http://time.com/3179770/the-science-behind-baking-the-most-delicious-cookie-ever/

We feel that by bringing the investigative lessons in for the lower secondary students will spark their interest and increase their curiosity towards food science. This will show the students that there are actually a lot of science behind cooking and how they can actually improve their dishes by looking into the ingredients they use or the cooking process. Students will be able to modify recipes according to what is desired. Eg. they may notice that by using oil instead of butter will give a more moist texture for cakes. This will enrich their learning experience in the kitchen.

The History of Home Economics

The history of Home Economics can be traced over 150 years ago. One of the first champion the economics of running a home was Catherine Beecher (1800-1878), sister to Harriet Beecher Stowe. Both Catherine and Harriet were leaders in the mid 1800s in talking about domestic science. Beecher argued for the importance of domestic life and sought to apply scientific principles to child-rearing, cooking, and housekeeping, and she also advocated access to liberal education for young women, although she opposed female suffrage on the grounds that women should leave the public sphere to men.

Catherine Beecher

Cr: http://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/images/americanhomecrop.jpg

Other forerunners of home economics were the cooking schools that began coming into being in the 1870s. Women such as Maria Parloa and Fannie Farmer, both of whom taught at the famous Boston Cooking School, offered instruction in preparing healthful, low-cost meals. At first they provided training mainly for professional cooks, but over time, they opened up their classes to an eager general public. 

Ellen Swallow Richards (1842-1911) was one of the major figures in the emergence of home economics as a profession. As a young woman who had grown up in modest circumstances in a small town in Massachusetts, she defied convention by leaving home to attend the newly founded Vassar College, from which she received a bachelor's and later a master's degree. She went on to be the first, and for many years the only, woman to earn a degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating, she taught at MIT as an instructor of sanitary education. She was also active in public health and social reform efforts in the Boston area. Throughout her career, she emphasized the influence of environment on health and well-being.

Ellen Swallow Richards

Cr: http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/esr/img/esr2.jpg

Beginning in 1899, Richards, along with Melvil Dewey and other educators and activist, organized a series of annual gatherings that became known as the Lake Placid Conferences, because the first of these, and several of the later ones, was held at Lake Placid, New York. Out of these conferences, a movement took shape that slowly defined itself and began pursuing specific goals. At the first conference,  participants agreed on the term "home economics", which was held to be sufficiently broad to cover a wide range of concerns, and they began energetic and successful efforts to promote the teaching of home economics in secondary schools and in colleges and universities.

In 1908, conference participants formed the American Home Economics Association. This organization effectively lobbied federal and state governments to provide funding for home economics research and teaching, including adult education work through agricultural extension services, leading to the rapid expansion of educational programs. Over the following decades, home economists worked as homemakers and parents, and also played significant roles in diverse areas of public life. Many pursued careers in business, including the food industry, textiles and clothing, hotel and restaurant management, and interior design. Home economists also often found jobs in public-sector and nonprofit organizations in such fields as public health, institutional management, social work, housing, and, of course, education. In addition, home economists contributed heavily to public debate on a variety of policy issues, including social welfare, nutrition, child development, housing, consumer protection and advocacy, and standardization of textiles and other consumer products.

References

Hearth.library.cornell.edu, (2014). Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition and History. [online] Available at: http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/h/hearth/about.html [Accessed 29 Aug. 2014].

Ellenswallowrichards.com, (2014). History of Home Economics | Ellen Swallow Richards. [online] Available at: http://ellenswallowrichards.com/?page_id=4 [Accessed 29 Aug. 2014].

Something to spice up your day!

Comparing FCE Syllabi Across the Years

	1995	2002	2008	2014
Aims  & Rationale	Preparing students for adult life	Provide students with skills and knowledge to think critically before making decisions ·         Nutrition ·         Textiles · Making informed choices	Provide relevant life skills to make informed choices ·         Making informed choices	Empower students to be health-conscious and discerning  consumers; enabling them to better manage their lives for the present and the future.  ·         Nutrition · Principles of consumer education ·    Financial planning ·         Better life skills

Across the years, all the syllabi aimed to equip students with home management skills. However, the emphasis varies from the different years. We observed that lesser emphasis has been put on textiles over the years. In fact, it has been taken out of the latest FCE 2014 syllabus. However, we do still see the relevance for simple lifestyle sewing to be incorporated into our lessons.

We came to a consensus that we prefer the 2014 syllabus because it provides a more holistic approach in terms of students' development. It not only touches on food studies and consumer studies, it aims to nurture and develop critical thinkers, problem-solver and creative learners with a spirit of enterprise, innovation, and aesthetic awareness; to make informed and discerning food and consumer-related decisions. By going through the syllabus, students will be able to develop positive attitudes and values for the well-being of the community (families and society) and demonstrate effective and responsible use of resources for the individuals and the community. Hence, we feel that it is the most comprehensive and students will benefit greatly.

Possible Task Questions for Integrated Coursework

1. Obesity is on the rise among teenagers in Singapore. Investigate the effect of heat on fat and demonstrate a low-fat one day menu for a teenager who is overweight.

2. Carbohydrates is an essential nutrient in our diet. Investigate the effect of heat on a carbohydrate food and illustrate the inclusion of a variety of carbohydrate food for elderly in the nursing home.

3. Vegetarians are prone to anaemia. However, with the appropriate choices of vegetables, they will be able to achieve a well-balanced diet. Investigate the effects of cooking iron-rich vegetables and demonstrate how they can be used to prepare a variety of vegetarian meal.