Federal Legislation and System Change: The Responsiveness of Consumer and Homemaking Education to the Education Amendments of 1976. Final Report.

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which federal policies, as defined in the Education Amendments of 1976, have affected the content and objectives of Consumer and Homemaking Education (C&HE) programs. The study was conducted during 1978 through 1981 in 10 states. More than 500 federal, state, and local educators and administrators were interviewed, and 100 local programs were observed. In addition, an analysis of federal and state expenditures and enrollment data was conducted. The study drew the following four conclusions: (1) targeted programs with special needs and secondary "Adult Living" classes are most responsive in terms of content, student population, and sex equity; (2) Subpart 5 (that deals with C&HE), as written, does not ensure that states use federal money to provide C&HE programs to those who need them most; (3) federal funds have their greatest potential to prompt responsiveness when they support outreach programs for adults, inservice training staff, and administrative staff, and are given to programs that specifically reflect federal priorities; and (4) C&HE has an appropriate role within vocational education as an adjunct to wage-earning programs. From these conclusions a general recommendation was made that the upcoming legislation should clarify Congressional intent and limit the federal role in C&HE to providing support for only those activities which are most consistent with federal priorities. (KC)