THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHING CONSUMER EDUCATION CONCEPTS IN CLOTHING AND TEXTILES TO SELECTED SECONDARY STUDENTS IN HOME ECONOMICS

摘要

The purpose of the study was to develop instruments to determine what teachers and experts think ought to be taught, what is taught, and what is known concerning consumer education in clothing and textiles programs in home economics in the public secondary schools of Bay County, Florida. The specific objectives examined, analyzed, and reported the findings of the assessment of consumer education as taught in clothing and textiles classes in a sample of secondary schools. The review of literature included background information regarding consumer education, consumer legislation affecting textiles and clothing, and consumer education research in the schools.;The test items were formulated in relation to those concepts identified in the Florida 1974 Free Enterprise and Consumer Education Act including: advertising, appliances, banking, budgeting, credit, governmental agencies, guarantees and warranties, home and apartment rental and ownership, law, motor vehicles, professional services, and taxes. A questionnaire was developed to ascertain what teachers and experts think students ought to know and estimated amount of class time spent regarding these identified concepts of consumer economics as related to clothing and textiles. This questionnaire was utilized in the test development as were the Florida Guides, Textiles and Clothing and Clothing Management, Production and Services. Sixty-five questions were developed and pilot tested with 45 secondary home economics students in Broward County, Florida. The test was revised on the basis of the item analysis made by the Office of Evaluation Services at The Florida State University.;Data were collected from 131 senior high school students in two public schools of Bay County, Florida. Seventy first semester clothing and textiles students were assigned to the experimental group whereas 61 home economics students who had not had clothing and textiles were assigned to the control group.;It was concluded that the test was reliable due to an analysis coefficient (K-R 20) which was .90 when administered to the experimental group and .89 when administered to the control group.;The t test was used to determine if there was a significant difference in the mean of the test scores of the experimental group and the control group. No significant difference was found between the mean score of the experimental and control groups. Students in both groups received an average score of 65 percent on the instrument. It appears that teachers are incorporating consumer education in all areas of the school curriculum as well as in specific clothing and textiles classes.