In the metascientific theory of Jurgen Habermas are perspectives going beyond the present way of viewing knowledge and inquiry. Applied to curriculum, this theory provides a conceptual framework for expanding the present technical model. The purpose of this study is to provide technical and interpretive data about home and family life which are critically analyzed to provide knowledge useful in the development of home economics curriculum. The development of curriculum research has been hampered by the attempt to apply a reconstructed logic of physical science research. Curriculum problems are practical problems which are moral rather than technical in nature. Curriculum researchers need to acknowledge the legitimacy of the different meanings which people attach to facts and situations. The predominant model for curriculum in vocational education is occupational analysis. Several states have undertaken an occupational analysis for home economics education. The study was an outgrowth of the researcher's concern for the lack of fit between the philosophy of home economics and the occupational analysis used in vocational education. A task-oriented approach is reductionistic. A paradigm shift is proposed for research and curriculum, from a quantitative empirical perspective to a comprehensive theoretical framework that incorporates the hermeneutic and critical sciences. (Author)