Department of Home Economics Education now a Faculty
The erstwhile Department of Home Economics Education under the Faculty of Science Education has now grown into a Faculty on its own.
The new Faculty has four departments namely the Departments of Integrated Home Economics Education, Clothing and Textiles Education, Food and Nutrition Education, and Family Life Management Education.
The Department of Integrated Home Economics Education offers basic knowledge in Home Economics in general; Department of Clothing and Textiles Education trains students to teach from the basic to tertiary levels of education. The programme also prepares students for other job areas such as Clothing/Fashion and the Textiles industry, hospitality industry, fashion journalism as well as being self-employed;
Department of Food and Nutrition Education focuses on training high-caliber Food and Nutrition specialists to provide quality Food and Nutrition Education in Ghanaian educational institutions and also work in other sectors of employment while Department of Family Life Management Education instills in students relevant family management behaviours to equip them for life.
The Dean, Faculty of Home Economics Education, Prof. Phyllis Forster affirmed, in an interview, that the Faculty sought to train students to build their capacity to teach well and contribute their quota to the development of Ghana. She added that the Faculty had restructured and introduced new programmes that would ensure equity, gender, and social inclusiveness.
Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Phyllis Forster
“We realised that we had sidelined some groups in society, some people with special needs. The visually impaired could not opt for Home Economics in the manner it was previously structured. This time around, in the way we have restructured our programmes in the new Faculty, they can also come and read programmes in the Faculty without hindrances,” she averred.
The Dean stated that the creation of different departments under the Faculty had allowed them to introduce more courses that are very current and market-driven to ensure that students after graduation do not become redundant if they are not employed by either the government or the private sector organisations.
She expressed worry in the unfortunate incidents of some people discouraging senior high school students who are academically good from pursuing Home Economics. She, therefore, entreated authorities to look at the subject seriously and accord it with the needed priority to bring development to the country.
Ms. Elizabeth Lani Ashong
The Head, Department of Integrated Home Economics Education, Ms. Elizabeth Lani Ashong, assured applicants of becoming knowledgeable and versatile in Home Economics, in general, to enable them to teach properly from the basic to the secondary school levels should they pursue Integrated Home Economics Education.
The Head, Department of Clothing and Textiles Education, Ms. Rosemary Quarcoo, also indicated that teaching at her Department is geared towards the new curriculum anchored on career technology. She disclosed that the programme acquaints students with the basic techniques in Clothing and Textiles production; exposes students to the methods of Clothing and Textiles research in order to develop their analytical abilities in resolving problems in Fashion and Textiles.
Ms. Quarcoo added that it develops adequate practical and entrepreneurial skills to enable the graduates participate fully in the social and economic development of the nation.
Ms. Rosemary Quarcoo
The Head, Department of Food and Nutrition Education, Mr. Guy Eshun, urged applicants to show much interest in the programmes the Department runs particularly, the newly introduced BSc Food and Nutrition Education. He said the programme is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills that would enable them to effectively teach Home Economics subjects such as Catering, Food and Nutrition and Basic Design and Technology in Junior High Schools, Senior High Schools and in Vocational/Technical institutions and function creditably in other areas of employment such as the public and civil service, food and beverage and the hospitality industries, Food and Nutrition research institutions as well as health institutions.
Mr. Guy Eshun
He pointed out that students would develop entrepreneurial and small business management skills to enable them to set up and manage their own businesses. He used a course like Food Microbiology, safety and preservation as an example where students would be trained in yoghurt, cheese, and other fermented food products making and indicated that students could set up their own businesses from the knowledge they would gain from such programmes.
The Head, Department of Family Life Management Education, Ms. Theresa Alexandra Amu, said her Department was poised to equipping students with skills and knowledge to be unique in their functions.
Ms. Theresa Alexandra Amu
“We have the Family Dynamics and Change which looks at the changes that go on in the family. We also have Child Care and Development which prepares students to be able to take care of pupils, understand, and manage them. We are not only preparing students for the teaching field but also preparing them for the world of work so they can function properly wherever they find themselves and we are looking forward to our students going out there into various sectors of the Ghanaian economy to perform,” she noted.
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