The family and consumer sciences (FCS) teacher shortage is one need that can be mitigated by exposing high school students to professional trends and future work settings via service-learning. Such exposure can affect student recruitment by influencing high school students' knowledge and attitudes toward FCS careers. This study explored the…

With ever-changing government mandates, new standards for accountability, and the uniquely diverse classroom of this millennium, educators are scrambling to meet the needs of all students, such that each unique learner, regardless of background, special needs, or level of commitment to coursework can demonstrate content mastery. In this article,…

Recent changes made by the Council for Professional Recognition to the Child Development Associate (CDA) credentialing program create an opportunity to redesign high school child development programs. On April 1, 2011, the Council for Professional Recognition lifted the age restriction in the CDA credentialing requirements, now allowing students…

The purpose of this study was to investigate message T-shirts and school safety as rated by high school teachers (n = 47) and students (n = 275). Wearing message T-shirts displaying offensive statements/images may contribute to perceptions of a psychologically and/or physically unsafe school environment. Participants gave their impressions of 12…

According to the Jump$tart Coalition, Oklahoma is one of 24 states to adopt financial education requirements for students (Jump$tart Coalition, 2010). The Passport to Financial Literacy Act of 2007, Oklahoma House Bill 1476, requires Oklahoma students in grades 7 through 12 to fulfill established financial literacy requirements to graduate with a…

While family and consumer sciences (FCS) programs in secondary schools may be in jeopardy and, simultaneously, with the public outcry to improve essential skills for independent living, this study reaffirms the critical role school counselors play in assisting students in their high school course selections and, ultimately, their career choices.…

This study examined how boys' and girls' weight preoccupation varied by grade level, parent-child relationships, self-classified weight, entertainment media exposure levels, and gender. Seventh-grade girls (n = 190) and boys (n = 132) and 10th-grade girls (n = 99) and boys (n = 67) participated. Girls were more likely to report weight…

This study investigated the attitudes of college students toward various infant feeding practices using a questionnaire created by the authors on the basis of a review of the literature. Five hundred ten students enrolled at the University of Mississippi took part in the study. Findings indicated that respondents believed both high school and…

A high school fashion design teacher has much in common with the ringmaster of a three-ring circus. The challenges of teaching a hands-on course are to facilitate the entire class and to meet the needs of individual students. When teaching family and consumer sciences, the goal is to have a learner-active classroom. Revamping the high school's…

In 1988, the Texas Legislature established a pilot program for pregnant and parenting adolescents (Texas Education Agency, n.d.). This program was developed with the goal of enabling adolescent parents to become self-sufficient, responsible, job-oriented citizens. Although the program is not mandated by the state, Pregnancy, Education, and…

Service learning, a pedagogy that has many supporters, encourages learning with civic engagement. In addition, according to Department of American Studies, service learning as a required course component is beneficial because it establishes a common ground for dialogue and for synthesis of observations from the community site, and the class…

The goal of this study was to identify the relationship of at-risk youth workplace appearance to other job performance criteria. Employers (n = 30; each employing from 1 to 17 youths) evaluated 178 at-risk high school youths who completed a paid summer employment experience. Appearance evaluations were significantly correlated with evaluations of…

This article examines a number of issues facing family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers in today's middle and high school classrooms and reviews literature supporting the use of newspapers as a valuable teaching resource in light of these issues. Suggestions for using newspapers and newspaper industry resources to enhance the FCS curriculum…

As the demographics of schools change, school leaders and teachers are challenged with meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Schools and classroom instruction must change in response to the community and students they serve. The latest research on secondary school reforms concludes that efforts to create a caring, responsive…

Financial literacy is a national, state, and local concern these days. At one time, the financial unit in high school family and consumer sciences (FCS) classes was as simple as looking at budgets and doing checkbook exercises. However, after students at Meeker High School in Meeker, Colorado began to ask more in-depth questions and realized that…