This curriculum is part of a coordinated exploratory vocational core program which includes Agriculture, Business, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health Careers, Industrial Arts, and Marketing, with Guidance (Career Counseling) as an integral part throughout the curriculum. These vocational areas are clustered into three programs: 1) Industrial Arts and Agriculture, 2) Business and Marketing, and 3) Family and Consumer Sciences and Health Careers.
Family and Consumer Sciences is an activity-oriented instructional course which allows individuals to explore careers and skills related to both consumer and occupational roles. The major subject areas are: 1) Independent Living Skills, 2) Families, 3) Child Care, 4) Textiles Technology, and 5) Foods and Nutrition.
This curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of students. The content provides students with a wide variety of activities. Although it is not necessary to do every activity or topic in a unit, it is recommended that the order of topics within a unit be followed to maintain continuity. Each topic contains more activities than most teachers will be able to use because of time limitations. Therefore, each teacher will need to select those activities that best meet his/her needs.
In order for the students to gain an awareness of the purposes of the student activities, it is important that the teacher review the objectives and the competencies of each topic with the students at the beginning and the end of each class session.
The hope of those who have developed and revised this curriculum is that it will be a viable, useful instrument assisting individuals in developing awareness of opportunities in the vocational program areas.