Getting my postgraduate King & Amy O’Malley Scholarship in 2011
I recently attended the World Home Economics Day celebrations of the Home Economics Institute of Australia (Queensland) division. It was really inspiring to see the new King & Amy O’Malley Scholarship recipients. I have received two of these awards and I know how hard they are to get and how much it means when you receive one. The board has recognised you as a visionary and you are the future of home economics. I am deeply encouraged! I am a member of the HEIA and also a member of IFHE. I encourage everyone to become a member of their local association – it keeps you connected to local people and ideas but I also strongly recommend becoming a member of the IFHE because it connects you to the world in profound ways. With this said, I noticed something at the HEIA brunch and this is what had prompted me to write this article.
I think that there may be a general misunderstanding about who I am and what I do – because I am not a teacher. A significant number of people do not see the important role that home economics specific research and professionalisation has for the quality of life of the home economics profession. Because we have traditionally been an interdisciplinary subject, we borrow our information from other disciplines – food and nutrition is a good example. Very little research has been carried out on home economics populations (teachers, students, clients) and the effectiveness that home economics has on teaching and learning about food and nutrition. This means that there is a severe lack of literature to inform, not just home economists, but everyone else (politicians, policy makers, nutritionists, doctors etc etc) about home economics and positive relationships and the empowering nature it has with food literacy. Mostly, it is anecdotal evidence. Good stories will not persuade governments to hand over money and resources.
Without the evidence-based research to back up our claims, it is very difficult to convince politicians about the essential work that we do – hence we are overlooked and do not receive funding or recognition. Take the physical health dimension as a comparison. I read a review of literature which found that 79% of research reported physical health studies… only 1% of research reported related to the spiritual health dimension. Physical health is easy to see and measure – spiritual health is not so simple to see and measure. Physical health gets all the attention – spiritual health gets marginalised. The same is happening with home economics. Home economics is equally as important as physical health. However, home economics is overlooked because there is very little research. This is the very problem that my doctoral work is tackling. My research is twofold: home economics is my target research paradigm and spiritual health and well-being my topic.
In this regard, I strongly encourage undergraduates and teachers to pursue home economics specific postgraduate work – we need the research! The more people who ask to complete postgraduate studies in home economics – the more demand on the universities to include home economics in their programs and employ qualified home economists – the more distinction and funding home economics receives – the more home economics teachers we have in schools. Simple… isn’t it?
For this reason, my work and the work of leaders in the field such as Donna Pendergast is extremely important. The world we live in now is very very different from twenty years ago. Today is fast paced, technologically facilitated, political and economically driven. If Home Economists do not keep up with the pace, we all suffer. One lecturer at my old university believes that home economics will always be here – and I agree with her – but it is not longevity that is at stake – quality of life for home economics is the issue.
My mission for many years now has been to boost the research base of home economics. Also, I advocate for home economics to non-home economists. No point in me preaching to the converted! We know what we do… yet, other’s have preconceived notions about home economics that are usually misinformed or incorrect – so they are the people who I target. Anyone who knows me knows that my mission in life is to educate others about home economics.
I am pleased to say – that I am having small successes all over the world. The HomeEcConnect website is doing a good job at getting the message out there. By Home Economists interacting with the HomeEcConnect social networks in a public space we are doing our part to secure a better quality of life for home economics. To those who already participate, I salute you. To everyone else who looks but doesn’t participate – it is time to jump on in!
Dr Jay Deagon's HomeEcConnect 