Gender Issues in the Study of Home Economics from the Perspective of

Grade VI Pupils of Tres Cruses Elementary School, Tanza, Cavite:

Basis for Intervention Programs

Home economics is a skill oriented subject that is capable of equipping learners with
skills that create room for self-reliance or paid employment which aims at reducing
unemployment and improving manpower development. Ekpenyong (2008) asserted that
among the areas of education employs to enhance development, Home economics has
persistently been identified as the right step in the right direction. It has passed the period
when it was regarded as only the acquisition of skill in household arts or just cooking which
prevents male’s interest in the subject. Today, Home economics has given the bounding of
focusing attention on the home/family to the large society it has broaden its cope in the line
with the dynamics of the present to forestall credibility in career establishment as well as
skills concrete enough to sustain individuals, family and the nation at large. It encompasses
all areas of food and nutrition, Home management, clothing and textiles, child and family
living, consumer education etc, hence integrating them into all aspects of life.

However, gender bias exists in the study of Home Economics. It refers to preference
for or favoring of one sex, one the other in study of Home Economics. One of the causes of
the gender gap in the study of Home Economics is the misconception that it is a woman’s or
female’s subject. Communities’ attitude towards sex roles and behavior also come to play in
this. If everything about food, clothing and house care come under the domain of the
female, it may be difficult for boys to have positive perceptions on the subject. Moreover,
most often boys abhor doing anything that will tarnish their ego before friends and such
males would rather not go into anything that would not gain peers approval. Therefore, if
Home Economics has this “females only”, the image will then affect male approval of the
study of Home Economics.

In view of this light, gender bias in Home Economics is a multifaceted and complex
issue. Nevertheless, the problem of gender bias in the study of Home Economics is not only
a national concern but that of the whole world at large. Thus, in order to address the
existing gender issues in the study of Home Economics, this action research will be
conducted with the aim of offering appropriate intervention programs to minimize gender
bias in the study of Home Economics.

Specifically, this will seek answers to the following research questions:

1. What are the perceptions of male and female Grade VI pupils of Tres Cruses
Elementary School towards the study of Home Economics?

2. How do male and female Grade VI pupils approach to study Home Economics?

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3. What are the differences and similarities between how male and female Grade VI
pupils perceive and study Home Economics?

4. Is there a significant gender gap between how male and female Grade VI pupils
perceive and study Home Economics?

5. What appropriate intervention programs can be proposed to minimize gender

issues in the study of Home Economics at the elementary level?

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 The Role of Edukasyong Pantahanan At Pangkabuhayan (EPP) in Enhancing the
Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Intentions of Grade VI Pupils in Tres Cruses
Elementary School, Tanza, Cavite: Inputs for Curriculum Intervention

One of the most serious and longstanding problems of the Philippines is providing
adequate employment opportunities for its young men and women. Even in times of strong
economic growth, unemployment and underemployment remains a significant problem for
people in the Philippines, especially among younger people. This has triggered policy
makers into giving greater importance to entrepreneurship and self-employment as ways to
foster economic progress and reduce unemployment. Entrepreneurship is regarded as one
of the best economic development strategies to develop country’s economic growth and
sustain the a country’s competitiveness in facing the increasing trends of globalization

The Philippine government has been seriously encouraging entrepreneurship. In the

Philippines, entrepreneurship is viewed as important to empowering the poor, enhancing
production, and as an impetus to innovation. Entrepreneurship education has become both
of a national priority and a global responsibility and it has become the impetus for
expansion into all levels of education from primary and secondary and into university levels.
At the elementary level, entrepreneurship is incorporated in the Edukasyong Pantahanan aT
Pangkabuhayan (EPP) and Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) curricula.

Wilson and colleagues (2007) mentioned that while students are still in their primary
school, the first aspirations of entrepreneurship intentions take shape and in this way affect
students’ career option in the future. In order to design effective programs/services that
stimulate entrepreneurial activities among primary school children, policy makers and
educators have to know the entrepreneurial attitudes and intention of the students.

Therefore, this study will seek to highlight the key role played by the
entrepreneurship education incorporated in EPP curriculum on entrepreneurial attitudes
and intention of Grade VI pupils from Tres Cruses Elementary School in order to confirm (or
disconfirm) conventional wisdom that entrepreneurial education increases the intention to
start a business.

Specifically, this action research seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of Grade VI pupils in terms of age, gender, parental education and
parental occupation?

2. What role does EPP subject play in Grade VI pupils’ perceived desirability of self-
employment and perceived entrepreneurial self-efficacy?

3. How does EPP subject influence Grade VI pupils’ entrepreneurial attitudes and
entrepreneurial intentions?

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4. Do pupils’ entrepreneurial attitudes impact their entrepreneurial intentions?

5. Based on the findings, what curriculum intervention can be proposed to enhance

entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions of Grade VI pupils?

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