Big Demand for FCS Grads
11/15/2006 - Article taken from College of Professional Studies
Newsletter
Today’s Family and Consumer Sciences major is a natural evolution from
your grandmother’s home economics studies, with a variety of career
options open. “All the recent stats I’ve seen point to a very good
placement with our graduates,” noted Marsha Larson, HPHD associate
lecturer, “especially with the grads going into teaching.”
A Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction report shows the demand for
Family and Consumer Sciences teachers
will only increase in the near future,
with more than 20% of FCS teachers now age 56 and older. “FCS teachers are retiring
at higher rates than in almost any other teacher discipline,” said Marty Loy, HPHD
head. “I receive frequent calls from schools seeking candidates and from teachers in
other disciplines who need emergency certification to teach FCS.”
A shift in focus in FCS came about with the changing role of women in American
Society. “The profession moved from technical homemaking skills to broader family and
social issues,” said Kelley Ritter, HPHD assistant professor. “Family and Consumer Sciences was widely agreed upon as
best depicting this cultural shift.”
Today’s FCS studies address critical issues of family communication, parenting and child development, work-family
balance, nutrition and personal finance management.
The latest HPHD report cites 52% of graduates entering teaching and
48% choosing family life professions. Graduates of the teacher
certification option can teach in middle, junior high, or senior high
school, a technical institution or community college. The FCS major can
opt for community-based, non-formal settings such as a social service
agency or child care program.
“We focus on critical thinking, problem solving, work of the family and
practical reasoning,” Kelley added, “all within a broad discipline
approach.” It’s a discipline built on the solid foundation of the
University’s 103-year-old home economics program, the oldest in the
state.