CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Secondary education is important for developing country like Nigeria as it is concerned with the provision of competencies required for useful living to those whose education is terminated at the secondary school level (FRN, 2004). The broad aims of secondary education within the overall national objectives of Nigerian education:
- Preparation for useful living in the society
- Preparation for higher education
In other to achieve the above stated aims of secondary education, the secondary school curriculum is structured to include Home Economics among other subjects, taught in secondary schools in Nigeria.
Home Economics which is an aspect of vocational and technical education is an interdisciplinary field of study which helps family and individuals to understand and adapt to the effects of social economic, cultural and technical changes. It is an applied science subject which is dependent on the integration of different academic disciplines such as the natural science, social science and art in solving problems of families and individuals within the families and individuals within the families (Lemechi 2002). According to Fleck (2000:4) the world shapes home economics and home economics contribute to the shaping of the world through its impact on millions of individuals and their families”. The American Home Economics Association (2005:10) has rightly defined Home Economics as “the study of laws, conditions, principles and ideas which are concerned on the one hand with man’s immediate physical environment and on the other hand with his nature as a social being and is the study especially of the relation between those two factors.
Advanced countries have realized the importance of Home Economics to both sexes since they know that both men and women have need for training and cooperation to improve the standard of living of their individual families. It is also a means of providing both academic and vocational training and work opportunity for people thereby reducing the unemployment rate of a nation.
There are about seven major areas of study which could help achieve lofty objectives of Home Economics and provide areas of specialization at the higher levels of Education. These are Foods and Nutrition, Home Management and family living, child development and care, clothing and textile, housing and interior decoration, and consumer education (Anyakoha, 2007).
Foods and Nutrition which is the major concern of this study is all about foods and its utilization in the body. One of the major characteristics of living things, plants and animals, man inclusive, is their struggle for existence. Right from the days of the early man, the search for Food is the major pre-occupation of mankind. He moves about looking for food. Thus, food is very important in the day-to-day life of man. Food can therefore be aptly defined as that which nourishes the body. It is any edible substance which after consumption, digestion and absorption by the body produces energy, promotes the growth and repair of the tissues and regulates all the body processes (Anyakoha, 2007). Foods are able to perform these functions because of the chemical substances they contain. These chemical substances are called nutrients. For any material to be called food therefore, it must contain at least one nutrient.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.