IDENTIFICATION OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES COMPETENCIES
IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS
by
LINSAE ANTHONETTE SNIDER, B.S. in H.E.
A THESIS
IN
HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
HOME ECONOMICS
Approved
Accepted
August, 1980
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere appreciation is extended to Dr. Joan Kelly for her
professional guidance and encouragement throughout the study.
Appreciation is also expressed to Dr. Merrilyn Cummings and
Dr. Valerie Chamberlain for their direction and interest. In
addition, appreciation is extended to my family for their support
and encouragement.
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
LIST OF TABLES vi
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Statement of the Problem 4
Questions 6
Hypotheses 7
Scope and Limitations of the Study 8
Definition of Terms 10
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 14
Curriculum Theory and Philosophy 14
Definitions of Curriculum 14
Historical Overview of Curriculum
Development 16
Considerations in Development of Curricula 22
Use of Behavioral Objectives in Curriculum Development 26
Use of Competencies in Curriculum Development 30
Use of Learning Experiences in Curriculum Development 32
Use of Content in Curriculum Development 33
Development of Clothing and Textiles Curriculum for Secondary Schools 34
111
Curriculum Development in Secondary
Schools 34
Consumer Practices of Adolescents 36
Consumer Buying and Consumption Trends . . 38
III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES 41
Design and Development of the Instrument . . . . 41
Selection and Description of the Sample . . . . 45
Full-time University Clothing and
Textiles Faculty Members 45
Useful Homemaking Teachers 46
Selected Consumers 47
Collection of the Data 48
Treatment of the Data 53
IV. ANALYSIS AND INTREPRETATION OF DATA 55
Data from the Rating Scale 55
Analyses of Descriptive Data 57
Hypotheses Examined and Discussed 70
Summary 79
V. SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 86
Summary of the Study 86
Findings of the Study 88
Conclusions 93
Recommendations for Further Study 99
LIST OF REFERENCES 101
IV
APPENDICES 106
A. RATING INSTRUMENT 106
B. LETTER TO DEANS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS Ill
C. RESPONSE SHEET 113
D. COVER LETTER TO FULL-TIME UNIVERSITY CLOTHING
AND TEXTILES FACULTY MEMBERS 115
E. FOLLOW-UP POSTCARD TO FULL-TIME UNIVERSITY
CLOTHING AND TEXTILES FACULTY MEMBERS 118
F. LETTER TO AREA CONSULTANTS 120
G. COVER LETTER TO USEFUL HOMEMAKING TEACHERS 122
H. FOLLOW-UP POSTCARD TO USEFUL HOMEMAKING TEACHERS . . 125
I. COVER LETTER TO SELECTED CONSUMERS 127 J. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN TEXAS OFFERING
ACCREDITED VOCATIONAL HOME ECONOMICS TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS 130
K. RESPONDENTS' COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS 132
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1 RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS 59
2 RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING SELECTION COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS 65
3 RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING CARE COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS 66
4 RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS 68
5 RANK ORDER OF TEXTILES COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS 70
6 COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO CLOTHING SELECTION COMPETENCIES BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS 71
7 COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO CLOTHING CARE COMPETENCIES BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS 73
8 COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION COMPETENCIES BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS 75
9 COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO TEXTILES COMPETENCIES BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS 77
10 COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO ALL CLOTHING AND TEXTILES COMPETENCIES BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS 78
VI
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Home economics educators face a tremendous challenge to keep
abreast with current curriculum trends in a rapidly changing, complex
society. Two movements have contributed to this challenge. One de
velopment, which originated in the early twentieth century, has
added new dimensions to education in the United States. This deals
with the reformation of curriculum theory and development. Due to
an in flationary economy, an additional occurence has greatly affect
ed the lives of Americans in the past decade. It is associated with
the recent growth in concern for consumer goods.
According to Swanson (53), the crisis in education has long
presented confusion in curriculum development. Hughes has stated,
"...the problem of how best to originate knowledge for the purposes
of instruction is one which has been perennially puzzling for the
curriculum scholar" (33:4). Taba has pointed out that in the 1930's
the Commission of the Progressive Education Association laid the
foundations for a comprehensive theory in curriculum planning. She
stated:
The studies of this commission indicated the necessity for analyzing the nature of society and of its demands on individuals as a basis for curriculum development. But above all, these studies, especially those dealing with emotional life and adolescent development, lifted curriculum development out of the narrow realm of an exclusive concern for skills and content masters. (53:3)
Perhaps one of the problems encountered with curriculum develop
ment is a lack of understanding regarding the interrelationship of
curriculum components. McCutcheon (44) has noted that the real
problem in curriculum development is a general lack of understand
ing as to its purposes of orientation. It is the theory of
Entwistle (19) that learning best takes place among conversations
between two persons such as teacher and student, and that all cur
riculum development should revolve around this theory. On the other
hand, Hughes (33) has recognized that there are a number of possible
ways in which knowledge may be obtained, and that the curriculum
builder is faced with the challenge of deciding which method or
methods to select for the purposes of instruction in specific sub
ject matter areas. To some extent, Goldstein showed agreement with
this theory by stating, " . . . there are a number of ways in which
knowledge may be organized so as to help the individual create mean
ing out of events" (24:24).
According to Havinghurst, " . . . the curriculum should help
youth prepare themselves for life in the society of the next genera
tion of adults" (28:118). Havinghurst (28) felt that it was upon
this assumption that the tone and content of curriculum development
and writing was changed in the 1960's and 1970's. Several authors
(4, 28, 30, 33) have noted that reasons for this change have in
cluded the following: (1) the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of
1964 which called attention to poor educational achievement of low
socioeconomic and minority groups; (2) the concept of free and
open education; (3) the desire of educators to develop a curriculum
suitable to the well-motivated, middle-class as well as the alien
ated, deprived, and disadvantaged lower-class; (4) the increased
interest in eliminating sex bias and sex stereotyping in the class
room particularly in vocational programs; and (5) the recent legis
lation demanding handicapped individuals to be placed in the least
restrictive environment.
According to Wood (60), identifying the perceived needs and
interests of the youth of today is one means for developing a rele
vant curriculum. In their findings of a study on teenage consump
tion in the marketplace, Nickols and Powell (46) have indicated
that a major objective in supplying relevant materials to adolescents
is to provide youth with information regarding their habits, life
styles, interests, needs, and behavioral trends. Langrehr (36)
supported Nickols and Powell's assumption in a study dealing with
competencies gained in high school consumer education programs. He
stated, ". . .it appears that programs in which the curriculum is
based upon today's society and economic system may offer potential
for increasing satisfaction in the marketplace" (36:50). It is
important that educators survey the needs of adolescents as a means
of developing an appropriate curriculum.
Because of a growing interest and concern for curriculum
materials which have relevancy and meaning to students, many programs
have established state centers which develop instructional materials.
Personnel employed at the centers have as their purpose the develop
ment of curriculum guides and instructional materials suggesting
strategies for effectively meeting the needs of students. One such
center is the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center in
Lubbock, Texas. At the Lubbock center, located on the Texas Tech
University campus, a Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide was pub
lished in 1973. It was designed to aid educators in conveying
clothing and textiles content to students enrolled in useful courses
in high school homemaking programs. The Home Economics Instructional
Materials Center curriculum guide pertaining to clothing and tex
tiles was being revised in 1980. The present study was prompted by
the need to identify those perceived competencies which would be
useful to adolescents in clothing and textiles courses. The need
was verified by the current emphasis on the importance of developing
curricula which are relevant to the needs, interests, behavioral
trends, and lives of all youth.
Statement of the Problem
Since the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide published in
1973 at the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center at Texas
Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, was under revision, the need
existed to identify the level of importance of specific competencies
to be included in the revised guide and to be taught to adolescents
enrolled in useful homemaking courses. The main problem of the
study was to identify clothing and textiles competencies important
to adolescents enrolled in useful homemaking courses. These com
petencies focused specifically on the four following areas: cloth
ing selection, clothing care, clothing construction, and textiles.
To accomplish this, a rating instrument was completed by three groups
of respondents comprised of full-time university clothing and tex
tiles faculty members associated with institutions of higher learn
ing in Texas offering accredited Vocational Home Economics Teacher
Education programs, randomly selected useful homemaking teachers in
Texas, and two groups of consumers living in Lubbock, Texas. In
dividuals rated competencies set forth by the researcher on a five-
point scale ranging from very important to not important. Compe
tencies rated by respondents were rank-ordered within each of the
four categories of clothing selection, clothing care, clothing con
struction, and textiles for frequency in selection as being very
important. In addition, comments and suggestions for additional
competencies were gathered.
A secondary problem of the study was to analyze mean importance
rating scores assigned by the three groups of respondents. Sta
tistical tests were utilized to determine if there were significant
differences among the mean importance rating scores of full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking
teachers, and selected consumers assigned to competencies in the
four categories of clothing selection, clothing care, clothing con
struction, and textiles.
Prior to the development of the instrument, a review of litera
ture was undertaken to determine current trends and developments
in the area of clothing and textiles; to identify criteria for writ
ing competencies and behavioral objectives; and to ascertain theories,
philosophies, and methods of curriculum development appropriate for
the study. Findings from the literature reviewed were utilized in
developing the instrument and also were referred to in developing
relevant content for use in instructional materials.
Questions
Answers to the following research questions were determined in
the study:
1. What is the rank-order of clothing and textiles competencies
considered very important for adolescents to study in useful home-
making courses as rated by full-time university clothing and textiles
faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers?
2. What is the rank-order of clothing and textiles competen
cies considered very important for adolescents to study in useful
homemaking courses as rated by full-time university clothing and
textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected
consumers in each of the following four categories:
a. clothing selection
b. clothing care
c. clothing construction
d. textiles
Hypotheses
In addition to answering the above research questions, the
following null hypotheses were tested in the study:
1. There are no significant differences among the mean im
portance ratings assigned to clothing selection competencies by
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, use
ful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
2. There are no significant differences among the mean
importance ratings assigned to clothing care competencies by full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers.
3. There are no significant differences among the mean im
portance ratings assigned to clothing construction competencies by
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful
homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
4. There are no significant differences among the mean im
portance ratings assigned to textiles competencies by full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking
teachers, and selected consumers.
5. There are no significant differences among the mean im
portance ratings assigned to all clothing and textiles competencies
by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, use
ful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
8
Scope and Limitations of the Study
The study was conducted in the spring of 1980 with thirty-
two full-time university clothing and textile faculty members, 166
useful homemaking teachers, and twenty-eight consumers. Both
groups of educators were involved with the teaching of clothing
and textiles subject matter. It was assumed that the consumers
dealt with selected aspects of clothing and textiles in their
daily lives. All subjects in the sample were asked to complete the
instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to High
School Adolescents."
The development of the instrument was based on a review of
literature and a study of methods for preparing rating instruments.
The instrument was submitted to a panel of judges. Panel members
were asked to critique the instrument and to offer suggestions for
revision of the instrument. The instrument was also preassessed by
twelve graduate students enrolled in a home economics education
graduate course at Texas Tech University to obtain additional feed
back. In addition, the instrument was compared to the tentative
conceptual outline for the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide
under revision at the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center
at Lubbock, Texas.
In spite of these precautions, the scope of the study was
limited by the inherent imperfections of a written rating instru
ment. The possibility existed that respondents would interpret
individual items differently. Also, respondents may not have been
familiar with some terms in the instrument, such as competencies,
objectives, and levels of objectives. Educators and consumers may
also have varied in their degrees of familiarity with characteris
tics and concepts associated with a course of study in clothing and
textiles. Because of this, educators and consumers may have at
times interpreted items of the rating instrument differently.
The scope of findings in the study was limited by the nature
of the sample. The heads of home economics departments of all uni
versities in Texas offering accredited Vocational Home Economics
Teacher Education programs were contacted and asked to sumbit the
names of all full-time clothing and textile faculty members asso
ciated with their institutions. Ten area consultants in consumer
and homemaking education, who were employed by Texas Education
Agency, were also contacted and asked to supply a current list of
useful homemaking teachers in their respective areas. A table of
random numbers was used to select a random sample of ten percent
of these teachers. The researcher asked the manager of a fitness
center in Lubbock, Texas, to encourage male and female members to
represent consumers and complete the instruments. The researcher
requested permission from a member of a women's social sorority
also located in Lubbock, Texas, to distribute the instruments to
members for completion as consumer representatives. Consumer rep
resentatives to the study were limited to these two intact groups
10
and were not necessarily representative of consumers in Texas as
a whole. All conclusions of the study were limited to this sample.
Definition of Terms
The following terms were defined in order to assist in under
standing the study:
1. Behavioral objectives - statements which indicate expected
change in pupils' behaviors resulting from participation in learn
ing experiences.
2. Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to High School
Adolescents - a five-point rating instrument with rating choices
ranging from very important to not important distributed to full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers for the purposes of identify
ing clothing and textiles competencies important to adolescents and
for analyzing mean importance ratings assigned by the three groups
of respondents to all clothing and textiles compentencies and four
competency categories which included the following: clothing selec
tion, clothing care, clothing construction, and textiles.
3. Clothing care competencies - items included in the rating
instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to High
School Adolescents," pertaining to the upkeep, storage, and safety
of clothing and textiles supplies and equipment.
4. Clothing construction competencies - items included in
the rating instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important
11
to High School Adolescents," pertaining to procedures and methods
for using sewing equipment and materials and sewing quality articles,
5. Clothing selection competencies - items included in the
rating instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important
to High School Adolescents," pertaining to choosing, purchasing,
and analyzing clothing for self and others.
6. Competency - broad, terminal performance or behavioral
outcomes through which learning may take place in one or more of
the cognitive, psychomotor, and/or affective domains of learning.
7. Consumer - any person involved in the consumption and
utilization of goods.
8. Curriculum - intended means which guide educators in pro
viding relevant activities and experiences for learners both inside
and outside the school environment, for the purpose of attaining
objectives.
9. Full-time university clothing and textile faculty member -
a person who devotes 100 percent of his/her employment time to
clothing and textiles related areas in a college or university.
10. Home Economics Instructional Materials Center - a unit
established as part of the Texas Education Agency to prepare and
publish instructional materials for secondary vocational homemaking
programs in Texas.
11. Instructional materials - "any materials, printed, pic
torial, or audio, that are intended for the purpose of instruction"
(35:10).
12
12. Mean importance ratings - in analyzing the null hypotheses,
the average of the ratings assigned to competencies on the rating
instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to High
School Adolescents," by the respondents in the study.
13. Rating instrument - a written device for recording the
degree to which a dimension exists on a five point scale ranging
from very important to not important.
14. Selected consumer - individuals living in Lubbock, Texas,
during May of 1980 who were members of either Oron Fitness Center
or Perceptor Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi women's social
sorority and who were asked by the researcher to participate in
the study by completing the instrument. "Clothing and Textiles
Competencies Important to High School Adolescents."
15. Textiles competencies - items included in the rating in
strument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to High
School Adolescents," pertaining to the characteristics, production,
and trends of textile products.
16. Useful homemaking - subject matter consisting of food and
nutrition, clothing and textiles, human development, housing, home
management, and/or consumer education included in one or more of
the comprehensive sequence courses of Homemaking I, II, and III and/
or one or more of the specialized semester courses of Home and
Family Living, Consumer Education, Child Development, Home Manage
ment, Home Furnishings, and Home Nursing.
13
17. Useful homemaking teacher - an individual who has majored
in home economics education, earned a college degree in home eco
nomics from a university offering a Vocational Home Economics Teacher
Education program, fulfilled requirements for a vocational teaching
certificate issued by the Texas Education Agency, and taught some
phase of useful homemaking in Texas during the spring of 1980.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The literature was reviewed in order to obtain background in
formation for assistance in solving the problems of the study. The
major problem of the study was to identify clothing and textiles
competencies perceived as important to adolescents. A secondary
problem of the study was to determine if significant differences
existed among the mean importance ratings assigned by three groups
of respondents to clothing and textiles competencies. The review
of literature was divided into two sections. The first section
dealt with literature which pertained to current theories and philos
ophies in curriculum development associated with instructional ma
terials. The emphasis was on secondary vocational educational mater
ials. The second section of the literature review covered trends
in consumer buying behavior and consumption trends associated with
clothing and textiles curricula in secondary schools.
Curriculum Theory and Philosophy
Definitions of Curriculum Development
Curriculum development is a vital part of education. In order
for curriculum development to be effective, however, it must be used
constructively, usefully, and discretely. Tanner and Tanner have
stated, " . . . curriculum not only is the means through which culture
is transmitted, but also the means through which it is transformed"
(56:3). They further explained this by adding:
14
15
In a modern, literate, industrial society, the growing complexity of knowledge and life is such that society looks to the school as something that has come to be called the curriculum as necessary for enabling the rising generation to gain the needed insight and power to build a better society. (56:3)
Brown and Haas (8) have expressed similar opinions in their assump
tions that personal views and experiences of learners provide a
valuable basis for the development of curriculum. Murphy (43) has
also stated that curriculum should be designed to enhance student
learning, and that it is a task which requires orderly thinking.
According to Wood (61) , it can then be assumed that a well developed
curriculum includes those student activities and experiences which
occur under the guidance and direction of the school as a result of
the planned program.
According to Murphy, the process of curriculum development in
volves one large question, "What can and should be taught to whom,
when, and how" (43:232)? Although there are numerous federal, state,
local, and commercial materials available to assist in the develop
ment of curriculum, McCutcheon (45) has pointed out that it is the
classroom teacher who must make the ultimate curriculum decisions
about how and when to teach. As a result of a study conducted by
Hughes (34), he concluded that one of the major problems encountered
in curriculum development is how to best organize knowledge for the
purposes of instruction. According to Murphy, there are six ques
tions to be asked in developing curriculum in any subject matter
area. These include the following:
16
(1) What do you believe about the subject matter? (2) What are the needs of your learners? (3) What should be the objectives? (4) What content is needed and how should it be
organized? (5) What learning activities are needed and
how should it be organized? (6) How will you evaluate student learning?
(43:233-234)
Similarly, it has been suggested by Tyler that the following four
questions be asked and answers sought when attempting to design any
curriculum:
(1) What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
(2) What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
(3) How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
(4) How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained? (57:1)
Westbury (59) summarized these suggestions for curriculum develop
ment by indicating that the overall objective of curriculum develop
ment should be to prepare youth for life as adults.
Historical Overview of Curriculum Development
In research conducted by Larken (38) , it was found that as the
trend toward accountability increased, curriculum development be
came more expensive and more responsibilities for program outcomes
were expected. As a result of a study conducted by McCutcheon, she
concluded the following:
17
...also relating to the problem is the fact that teachers report a tendency to plan for approximately a week in advance. They view long-range lesson planning as a wasted effort due to schedule changes arising from snowy days, reshuffling of classes, and assemblies. Additionally, teachers believe the textbook does much of their long-range planning for them. Short-range planning may mitigate against conceiving of and keeping in mind the whole, the system's overall orientation. (45:115-116)
In research conducted by Baker (4), she found that there was a lack
of understanding by local school educators in the overall intent of
the schools which further confused the school's attempts to satisfy
demands of many agencies and groups. McCutcheon (45) agreed in that
she found that many school administrations admit to the existance
of a coherent plan for curriculum development, but few understand it.
Tyler supported this in his writings where he stated:
No doubt some excellent educational work is being done by artistic teachers who do not have a clear conception of goals but do have an intuitive sense of what is good teaching, what materials are significant, what topics are worth dealing with and how to present material and develop topics effectively with students. Nevertheless, if an educational program is to be planned and if efforts for continued improvement are to be made, it is very necessary to have some conception of the goals that are being aimed at. (57:2)
According to Darst (15) it should, therefore, be the responsi
bility of the developers of instructional materials to devise means
for assisting local educators to understand better the processes
associated with curriculum development. Burns and Brooks (9) have
18
indicated that developers of instructional materials should take
into consideration that there are a number of ways in which knowl
edge can and should be organized in the curriculum for the means
of fulfilling goals of the course, the requirements of subject
matter, and needs of the students.
Hogg and Giusti (31) have pointed out that the current turmoil
concerning the effectiveness of the curriculum of today has brought
about important changes in demands which are placed upon educational
leaders. Giroux (24) has revealed that since the early 1900's ques
tions have been raised concerning the role that schools and curricu
lum play in reproducing the values and attitudes necessary for main
taining a dominant society. In describing curriculum development of
the early 1900's; Saylor and Alexander wrote the following:
Several years ago we agreed that the major obstacles educators encountered in improving the high school could be attributed to the fact that many persons who taught there lacked full understanding of its functions, programs, and possibilities (l:v).
Hogg and Giusti (31) have recognized that society has long been
in the midst of a powerful revival of a point of view involving re
quirements for the education of students. According to Hogg and
Giusti (31), as far back as the 1930's, disciplinarians were attack
ing Dewey and Kilpatrick because they sought to make education more
responsive to the needs of all individuals. Taba voiced support of
this opinion when she stated:
19
...under the stimulus of the various commissions of the Progressive Education Association, including the Eight Year Study, foundations were laid for a comprehensive theory of curriculum planning. The studies of these commissions indicated the necessity for analyzing the nature of society and of its demands on individuals as a basis for curriculum development. But above all, these studies, especially those dealing with emotional life and adolescent development, lifted curriculum development out of the narrow realm of an exclusive concern for skills and content mastery. (55:3)
As society has changed over the years, so has the basis for
curriculum development. According to Giroux (24), curriculum of
the early twentieth century was based on the following four assump
tions: (1) it served as a guide to action, (2) it was linked to
value judgments about standards of morality and questions concern
ing the nature of freedom and control, (3) it consisted of a set
of ideas used for structuring curriculum and was thought of as a
ritual or routine believed to be necessary for education, and
(4) it came to be seen as history. Tanner and Tanner (56) have
suggested that during the first half of the twentieth century, the
influence of progressive education brought about a profound change
in the conception of curriculum.
Tanner and Tanner (56) have emphasized that there was a need
for a radically new concept in curriculum development during the
1950's. Hogg and Giusti (31) noted that during the 1950's many
blamed Deweyism and life adjustment education of the 1930's and
1940's for the fact that the Russians were the first in space.
20
Havinghurst (29) revealed that during this same time parents and
community figures lead rebellions against this type of education.
Tanner and Tanner, who have explored curriculum development during
the middle twentieth century concluded:
Much has been made of the explosion of knowledge and its accompanying specialization. While the knowledge explosion has resulted in increasingly specialized functions of the school and the curriculum, it has heightened the danger that the school and the curriculum will become isolated and remote from life problems. A reaction to these developments was the clamor on the part of some radical critics of American education during the 1960's and early 1970's to abolish the school and replace it with informal, spontaneous arrangements where young people would learn directly from life. To assume that youngsters will be capable of learning whatever may be necessary directly from life not only assumes a romantic perspective of the younger generation, but also of the established society itself. Moreover, there is a failure to realize that as a society becomes more enlightened it looks to the school, more so than any of its other institutions, as a chief means of building a better future society. (56:3-4)
They further proposed:
...the need for a radically new conception of curriculum was the inevitable result of a number of forces - changes in our conception of knowledge; changes in our knowledge of the learning process as a result of the child-study movement, and the need to link formal school studies with the life of the learner and the changing demands of the larger social science. (56:10)
21
Hogg and Giusti (31) denoted this era of curriculum development as
serving well the needs of the disciplines, but lacking in regard to
serving the needs of individuals. In the process of rejecting
traditional conceptions of curriculum, Giroux (24) suggested that
the new curriculum of the 1960's and 1970's emphasized four inno
vative theories: (1) it operated in the interests of lawlike prop
ositions which were empirically testable; (2) it provided a model
or explanation for the concepts and techniques of curriculum theory,
design, and evaluation; (3) it provided for knowledge which is ob
jective and capable of being investigated and described in a neutral
fashion; and (4) it consisted of statements of value that are to be
separated from facts and modes of inquiry that can and ought to be
objective.
Hogg and Giusti (31), McCutcheon (45), and Baker (4) believed
that the primary goal of education in the 1970's should have been to
help youth make themselves into the kind of people they wanted to
be. Hogg and Giusti further noted that
...pleas are currently being made for changes that would give more freedom from imposed goals, rights of self determination and opportunities for developing individual potentials of all students. (31:146)
Martin summarized society's overall view of curriculum development
when he suggested:
Schools have been conditioned to believe that through education, they can solve all of society's
22
problems. Schools have undertaken burdens that they have neither the resources nor the talents to overcome. Our society has been deluded into believing that social problems can be remedied by education in schools. The assumption is false and dangerous. Schools reflect the larger society. While capable of much, they are neither as omnipotent as we might wish nor as futile as their radical critics claim. (40: 279-280)
Considerations in Development of Curricula
The developers of instructional curriculum materials must
consider numerous happenings when preparing materials. Tanner and
Tanner have suggested:
The incessant emergence of problems in our society requires new ways of dealing with knowledge and a constant quest for new knowledge for purposes of social problem solving.
The curriculum cannot be conceived of as a mere catalogue of fixed subject matters if the rising generation is to develop the capacity for building a better life for itself. This does not mean that the curriculum should bend to whatever ill wind may be dominant at any given time, but rather that the curriculum must be constantly evaluated and improved so as to insure the fulfillment of its mission for the rising generation. (56:4-5)
Among these considerations include not only such matters as relevant
materials, but also more importantly, materials which are appropriate
for the student, time, occasion, and budget.
According to Darst (15), there are numerous ways in which knowl
edge may be organized to help in creating meaning out of events.
Hughes has stated, "...the problem of how best to organize knowledge
23
for the purposes of instruction is one which has been perennially
puzzling for the curriculum scholar" (34:4). Recognizing that there
are a number of possible ways in which knowledge may be organized,
the curriculum builder is faced with the problem of deciding the
most appropriate method for organizing knowledge (34). The Committee
on Youth Education for Citizenship (13) conducted a study in 1979
with secondary school teachers in five states and found that the major
factor shaping curriculum was state legislative mandates. Teachers
from Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and California were
surveyed in regard to the amount of influence legislative mandates
had on planning and carrying out curriculum obligations. Teachers
from Texas responded differently than educators from the other four
states. Texas educators were far more likely to plan and initiate
their respective curricula around rulings by the state. Two-thirds
of the Texas respondents acknowledged that state mandates had some
effect in helping, directing, and reinforcing the curriculum in which
they were involved. The Committee on Youth Education for Citizen
ship (13) noted that when asked to rank the importance of mandates
in prompting curriculum development, one-third of the respondents
from all five states, ranked state mandates as being very important.
The highest percentage of this group was from Texas and Georgia.
The data indicated that teachers did not see the state mandates as
an imposition in curriculum development. According to the results
of the study, those who were involved in the study admitted by a
three to one margin that mandates helped their teaching and supported
a sound curriculum.
24
Murphy (43) has pointed out that curriculum development is not
only affected by legislation, but also by other processes as well.
According to Williams (60), students are much more likely to retain
knowledge if they can see the relationship between the content to
be learned and its usefulness to their lives. In order to ade
quately provide such relationships, the curriculum builder must
know the social realities, environment, and the learner as an in
dividual. Murphy (43) and Wood (61) have indicated that the curric
ulum builder must also have a sound philosophy of education as well
as be familiar with the class, the school, and the community.
Williams (60) has pointed out that once the curriculum initiator
has been familiarized with these factors, it is then possible to
develop curriculum that will motivate the students. According to
Williams (60), it is motivation that gives direction and intensity
to learning among students in any educational setting. Murphy (43)
suggested that what is believed about any subject matter is depend
ent on what is believed about the purposes of education in general,
and this directly influences what is believed to be important for
students to learn in the most efficient and effective manner.
Havinghurst (29) indicated that curriculum development should
stress the structure of the subject matter being studied as opposed
to having students temporarily store indiscrete bits of information.
He encouraged the support of a constructive and democratic cultural
pluralism. He further explained that cultural pluralism would
25
contribute to the following: (1) mutual appreciation and understand
ing of every subculture by the others, (2) freedom for each subcul
ture to practice its culture and socialize its children, (3) sharing
by each group in the economic and civic life of the society, and
(4) peaceful coexistence of diverse lifestyles, folkways, manners,
language patterns, religious beliefs and practices, and family
structures. In short, Havinghurst stated:
The curriculum should convey to all youth a body of shared knowledge and experience that helps them to grow up and live successfully in the post-industrial society. This applies especially to the middle school and high school teaching what is appropriate to the maturity of the students. (29:120-121)
Likewise, Hogg and Giusti (31) have proposed the following as
solutions in developing curriculum appropriate to all leaners:
(1) do not lessen or discount attention of one group; (2) do not
let the lowest common denominator be the level of highest expecta
tions; (3) allow each individual to develop to his or her fullest
potential; (4) give all students a conceptual base for more direct
involvement with the development of curricular experiences in which
they will be involved; (5) change teaching methods, not the course
content, because teaching methods should individualize instruction
for those of differing abilities; (6) use the new instructional
media; and (7) provide opportunities for students to learn competen
cies for becoming leaders which will enable them to trust, formulate
26
ideas, develop leadership traits, promote student involvement, and
inspire progress in themselves.
Use of Behavioral Objectives in Curriculum
Development
According to Murphy (43), subject matter content, learning
experiences, and all other aspects of curriculum development best
relate to one another when behavioral objectives are utilized in
planning and developing curriculum. Behavioral objectives should
be the basis from which all curriculum revolves. In regard to this,
the following has been stated by Camplese and O'Bruba:
If educators were to list evidences of modern thinking in education, an element common to most lists would no doubt be behavioral objectives. Probably no other concept has been the basis for so many articles, speeches, and general discussion among educators as has behavioral objectives. (11:221)
Nonetheless, Hogg and Giusti (31) reported that the U.S. Office of
Education personnel found, that after a four year study of adult
performance levels, that only 46.3 percent of all American adults
were functioning with any degree of real competence. According to
Hogg and Giusti: "This is disturbing when observed from the per
spective of American education goals which advocate that formal
education be conditioned by what the individual will be expected to
do in life" (31:147) Hogg and Giusti (31) have pointed out that
this indicates the need for more explicit use and explanation of
27
the use of behavioral objectives in the development of instructional
materials. Many education classes include units for the purposes
of developing skills in writing behaviorally stated objectives.
Such units are provided in home economics education courses.
Camplese and O'Bruba (11) surveyed a small group of experienced
teachers and a small group of undergraduate education majors to test
for significant differences in the number of years of teaching ex
perience and their use of and attitudes towards behavioral object
ives. The results indicated that there was an increasingly nega
tive attitude toward behavioral objectives as the number of years
of teaching experience increased. The study revealed that as edu
cators had more experiences in teaching, they were also more re
sistant to change, specifically in regard to using behavior object
ives. Camplese and O'Bruba concluded:
This rigid behavior displayed by the experienced teachers could have been formulated because their teaching behaviors have been successfully reinforced prior to the behavioral objective unit, while the pre-service teachers have not had the opportunity to have been rewarded and thus are more willing to accept anything that might bring success. It is also possible that the pre-service teachers are looking at teaching from a learner's standpoint, while the experienced teachers look at teaching from a teacher's standpoint and regard behavioral objectives as more busy work. (11:222)
Camplese and O'Bruba (11) have proposed that more emphasis be placed
on the area of behavioral objectives during teacher in-service
28
training. Teachers need a broader understanding not only of how
to write behavioral objectives, but also of how to use them.
Camplese and O'Bruba (11) have noted that unlike in the past
when behavioral objectives were written in terms of what the teacher
would do, behavioral objectives today are written in terms of what
the student should be able to accomplish as a result of the learn
ing experiences. According to Krawthwohl (35), behavioral objectives
are action phrases. The desired behavior change is stated in terms
of some measurable verb. Murphy (43) has suggested that behavioral
objectives be stated clearly and precisely enough so that they pro
vide direction for planning, teaching, and evaluating. Murphy (43)
has further stressed the need to state an outcome for the behavioral
objective. This is something the learners will be able to do at
the end of the instruction that they were not able to do before as
opposed to stating an activity the learners will undertake.
Behavioral objectives serve several functions in the develop
ment of curriculum for instructional materials. Murphy (43) has
suggested several purposes behavioral objectives fulfill in curricu
lum development. These included the following: (1) organizing sub
ject matter, (2) providing a basis for evaluation, (3) organizing
learning experiences, (4) helping to establish priorities, (5) giv
ing direction to the students, (6) providing opportunity for stu
dents to think at high levels of learning, and (8) helping to focus
attention where it needs to be focused.
29
According to Chamberlain and Kelly (12) behavioral objectives
have been classified into three taxonomies or domains of learning.
The cognitive domain which is the oldest and best known taxonomy
deals with mental processes, or knowledge and thinking types of be
haviors. In his research with the cognitive domain. Bloom (6) de
vised six levels of cognitive learning. Each level involved knowl
edge acquired from the previous level. The behaviors are thought
to be cumulative. Chamberlain and Kelly (12) have noted that no
more than one level at a time should be skipped when progressing
up the levels of learning. The six levels of cognitive learning
devised by Bloom (6) include the following: knowledge, comprehen
sion, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The knowl
edge level is the foundation upon which all other levels are built.
As one moves up the levels of learning, the mental behaviors become
more complex.
A second taxonomy of learning is that of the affective domain.
Krothwohl, Bloom, and Masis (36) conducted research in this area
which revolved around learning in the form of attitudes, feelings,
and emotions. Camplese and O'Bruba (11) and Chamberlain and Kelly
(12) have noted that of all types of learning, learning in the
affective domain is the most difficult to measure. Krawthwohl,
Bloom and Masis (36) have devised five levels of affective learning.
These include the following: receiving, responding, valuing, or
ganization, and characterization. According to Krawthwohl, Bloom,
30
Masis (36) and Chamberlain and Kelly (12), as the learner moves up
the levels of affective learning, he or she takes more and more
initiative in selecting values, goals, and standards as well as
dealing with attitudes, feelings, and interests.
The third taxonomy of learning is associated with measuring
physical skills in which the learner becomes proficient. Simpson
(53) called this domain the psychomotor domain for it involves motor
skills or use of the muscles within the body. Simpson (53), who
has researched the measurement of motor skills, has placed skills
of learning in five categories. These levels included the follow
ing: perception, set, guided response, mechanism, and complex overt
response. As learners move up the levels of the psychomotor domain,
they also gain more dexterity in using and manipulating motor
skills.
Use of Competencies in Curriculum Development
Because the domains of learning are closely related, it is
sometimes difficult to make a distinction between the three tax
onomies of behavioral objectives. In this case, competencies are
commonly used. According to Bell (5), a competency may involve
learning from any one or all three of the three taxonomies of
learning associated with behavioral objectives. Home Economics
teacher educators (14) have pointed out that like behavioral ob
jectives, competencies are written in terms of what the learner
should be able to accomplish as a result of the learning experience.
31
Hall and Jones (28) have indicated that competencies are written
in behavioral terms or with the use of a verb indicating the de
gree of measurement to take place at the conclusion of the learn
ing experience.
Several authors (3, 5, 18, 28) have pointed out the rela
tionship of educational objectives and competencies to one another.
According to Hall and Jones (28), competencies fall in the middle
of a continuum of educational statements ranging from goals, to
competencies, to subcompetencies, to objectives. Hall and Jones
(28) have further noted that this continuum of educational state
ments begins with a few, general, and broad statements and ends
with many, very specific, and formal statements indicating expect
ed learning outcomes. According to Ehrenberg (19), it can be
assumed that competencies are broad, general statements compared
to objectives, which are more specific in terms of expected learn
ing to take place in the educational setting. Hall and Jones (28)
further clarified this by stating the following:
There will obviously be ranges in the degree of specificity that any particular goal statement has and also ranges of the breadth that is covered by the learning behaviors being specified in a competency and subcompetency. However, the general idea is that competencies should be more specific than goals, subcompetencies more specific than competencies, and objectives more specific than subcompetencies. For any program there will probably be more competencies than goals, more subcompetencies than competencies, and more objectives than subcompetencies. (28:28)
32
According the Hall and Jones (28) and Bell (5), the differ
ences in levels of objectives and competencies can be denoted by
the choice of verbs used in the statement of each. Dodl (18) has
revealed that verbs used in one competency to indicate expected
learning usually encompasses the expected learning outcomes men
tioned by the verbs of several objectives.
Hall and Jones (28) and Murphy (43) have emphasized that
learning of skills and knowledge is of little value unless these
skills can be combined and interrelated. Bell (5), Dodl (18), and
Hall and Jones (28) have mentioned that a well written competency
statement is a description of those performances that are based on
acquisition, integration, composite building, and application of
a set of related skills and knowledge.
Use of Learning Experiences in Curriculum Development
In a study with high school educators. Murphy (43) found that
teachers most often got sidetracked in the area of selecting learn
ing experiences. Murphy (43), Williams (60), and McCutcheon (45)
have strongly suggested that for a learning experience to have a
purpose or reason, it must relate to the objectives of the course
or unit. Murphy stated, " . . . the purpose of a learning activity
is for students to develop and practice the behaviors they are to
learn and to discover relationships" (43:235). Several authors,
(34, 43, 45, 60) have noted that a variety of ways of learning need
to be included in learning activities. These involve reading.
33
writing, researching, analyzing, discussing, observing, listening,
tabulating, constructing, computing, and dramatizing. Such a variety
allows for meeting the needs of different individuals as well as
achieving different kinds of objectives.
On the other hand, Larken (38) has indicated that learning
experiences should provide much reading instruction because it is
her belief that high school students of today can not read what is
assigned to them. Therefore, the more reading students must engage
in, the more likely it is that their reading will improve.
Use of Content in Curriculum Development
Heideman (30) recently surveyed a group of college graduates
at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His findings revealed
that although students have acquired a formal education, many are
not prepared for survival outside of the school setting. Heideman
(30) has advocated that educators in public schools begin training
students during the early years of adolescence for skills of sur
vival in an ever changing society. According to Heideman (30), the
following skills should be integrated into every curriculum:
(1) communication, (2) persuasion, (3) evaluation, (4) planning,
(5) decision making, and (6) foreign language development. As our
society rapidly changes, knowledge becomes obsolete at a tremendous
rate. The integration of these skills would enable individuals to
cope with adverse changes and prepare them for dealing with the psy
chological and sociological pressures brought about by society as well,
34
Development of Clothing and Textiles Curricula
for Secondary Schools
Curriculum Development in Secondary
Schools
Alexander and Saylor (2) have remarked that curriculum de
velopment in seconday schools is no longer a meager task. Home
economics educators of today encounter many tasks, authorities,
and decisions in planning a curriculum for their students. Alex
ander and Saylor supported this contention in their writings when
they stated the following:
As the secondary schools have moved throughout 300 years from the required classical curriculum to today's comprehensive curriculum with its many subjects and complex elective system, the relation of the curriculum to the purpose of general and specialized education has been variously interpreted but increasingly fundamental in curriculum planning... The high school is a public institution for all youth of high school age, and so must several many kinds of youth and their special interests as well as their common needs be weighed and assessed. (2:263-264)
Martin (40) has conceded that high schools have for too long
been dependent on the philosophy that the high school should be
responsible for every aspect of life. At the close of World War I
in 1913, members of the National Education Association (NEA) (40)
published the Seven Cardinal Principles of Education. These prin
ciples set forth the seven main purposes of the high school. These
purposes dealt with the following concepts: (1) health; (2) command
35
of fundamental process; (3) worthy home membership; (4) vocational
education; (5) citizenship; (6) worthy use of leisure; and
(7) ethical character.
According to Martin (40), these Seven Cardinal Principles were
no more than an extension of the common school or any other place
where all persons could be controlled. It seems that the origina
tors of these Seven Cardinal Principles had only the elite in mind
and little consideration for the poor. Honeycutt (32) has noted that
since the principles were established, secondary school educators
have been influenced by proponents of the Seven Cardinal Principles
to support the concept that education should revolve around all
human activity. Martin (40) pointed out the obstacles associated
with developing adequate curriculum for adolescents in the 1970's
as follows:
It is a truism to say that motion pictures, radio, and television are powerful educators and that families, religious bodies, museums, private and public agencies, and the streets educate and that the press, magazines, unions, armed forces, businesses, and all the professions educate. To expect schools to shape attitudes and behaviors while all the other "educators" teach other values is to be at best naive about the extraordinary tenacity of a culture or at worst to exhibit an egocentric ignorance about the effectiveness of our work with children. (40:280)
Martin (40) has further ascertained that the American school serves
ninety-five percent of the entire adolescent population. This
36
indicates that the secondary school should gear its course of study
toward the needs and future goals of these adolescents.
Consumer Practices of Adolescents
Results of a nationwide survey conducted in 1976 by Nickols
and Powell (46) revealed that American teenagers spent $26.1 billion
dollars. This evidence supports the idea that adolescents are
major consumers in our society. According to Nichols and Powell:
Today's teenage consumers have more money available to them, exercise more influence on their families' purchase decisions, and acquire their own purchasing habits and product preferences at an earlier age. (46:14)
In Nickols and Powell's (46) study, 440 youth ranging from age 13
to 19 were asked to rank from a list of ten kinds of purchases the
five purchases they most frequently made. Girls ranked clothing and
personal grooming articles first and third respectively. Boys in
dicated clothing was their third most frequently purchased item.
In research conducted in Colorado by Brown and Haas (8), ninety high
school seniors rated 118 consumer tasks from most essential to
least essential, ninety-five percent of the respondents gave prior
ities to shopping practices.
Langrehr (37) has pointed out that since the mid 1960's some
states have been requiring that secondary schools offer consumer
education. Langrehr further explained, "The rationale for these
37
programs was that the consumer would be better prepared to meet
the demands of the marketplace" (37:41). Nickols and Powell noted
the following:
...educated consumers are an essential ingredient in a modern economy. Without being informed of market alternatives or being aware of one's goals and preferences, the adolescent consumer will probably be dissatisfied with purchases. (46:16)
According to Scitovsky (51), it is assumed that the consumer is rational
and aims to maximize his or her satisfaction. Nichols and Powell
have supported this only under the assumption of the following:
...understanding the economic system, becoming aware of sources of consumer information, and how to use them, developing skills in decisionmaking, and accepting consumers' rights and responsibilities are all aspects of consumer education. (46:16)
Recent studies were conducted by Langrehr (37) using high
school subjects in the state of Alabama, where consumer education
is not required for graduation, and in the state of Illinois, where
a course in consumer education is mandatory for high school gradua
tion. The subjects were tested to determine the amount of consumer
knowledge learned by each group. Scores of the subjects of the
study required to take a consumer education course were significantly
higher than the scores of students not having this requirement.
This showed that persons having consumer education were more knowl
edgeable in regard to purchasing selections. This further supported
38
the trend for more and more states to require concepts in consumer
education be taught at the secondary level. Lengrehr concluded,
"It appears that consumer education programs may offer potential
for increasing society's satisfaction with the present economic
system" (37:50).
Carman (23) has supported Lengrehr in that he has assumed
that consumer education may be able to assist persons in learning
how to use the marketplace to satisfy their needs. As a result,
negative feelings toward the marketplace may be reduced if not
eliminated. Nickols and Powell (46) have revealed that many
secondary programs in secondary education have access to curriculum
materials dealing with consumer education concepts. Nickols and
Powell (46) believed that these materials can and should be in
corporated in clothing and textiles curriculum.
Consumer Buying and Consumption Trends
Langrehr (37) had noted that citizens in the United States
have for some time been concerned about the rising cost of living.
Due to this fact, American consumers feel dissatisfied because they
find it difficult to maintain the standard of living they enjoy and
prefer. Scitovsky (51) blamed this feeling on the level of arousal
Americans are forced into assuming. He has explained that con
sumers purchase for one of the two following reasons: (1) to save
time and effort and (2) for comfort and pleasure. The level of
arousal determines the amount of motivation prevailing, which in
39
turn affects buying behavior, needs, and deprivations. According
to Scitovsky (51) motivation increases arousal and in turn moti
vates behavior that, by satisfying the need, lowers the arousal.
A lowered arousal and motivation in buying and consumption of
consumer items have forced consumers to consider goods and their
pros and cons before actually purchasing. Ellis, a Wall Street
retailing analyst, has remarked, ". . .a growing number of con
sumers really are aware that shoddy merchandise is no bargain"
(10:82).
Time Magazine (10) reported of findings from a 1979 national
survey which revealed new trends in American buying behavior.
Time Magazine (10) further indicated that the results showed that
American consumers are buying less, or fewer items, as compared to
a decade ago. However, American consumers are paying more for the
goods they purchase and are seeking better quality in their pur
chases. The author of the article in Time Magazine (10) perceived
that the assumption behind this trend was that higher prices will
yield savings in the long-run. In the apparel and accessories area,
Americans are avoiding fads and ultra-stylish merchandise, and in
stead are dressing more conservatively so that garments can be worn
for years as opposed to months. The findings of the survey showed
that the fastest selling items included the following: 14 karat
gold jewelry instead of costume jewelry; timeless women's suits
instead of one-season dresses; silks instead of polyesters, cashmere
40
and Shetland wools instead of cheap synthetics and mink instead of
fox, coyote, and lynx (10). Moreover, more consumers are choosing
brand names over other less advertised brands. In fact, many dis
count outlets are now carrying a high quality line of merchandise
(10). Retail merchants who were interviewed by a correspondent of
Time Magazine believed that an eleven dollar item will sell before
a two dollar item. Frankfurt (10) attributed these changes in
consumption to two factors. One of which is the fact that more
women have entered the work force. These persons have less time
for shopping and errands and, therefore, buy quality to save time.
The second factor contributing to this change in buying behavior is
what Frankfurt (10) called the "maturity market." Thirty-four per
cent of the American households are headed by persons between the
ages of forty-five and sixty-four. Besides the fact that these
persons are hard workers and do not want to waste their earnings
on inferior merchandise, this group of persons also has the highest
family income in the nation and, therefore, can afford to buy
quality.
CHAPTER III
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
The problem of the study was to identify clothing and textiles
competencies perceived to be important to adolescents enrolled in
useful homemaking courses. This was done in order to aid in deter
mining the importance of specific competencies to be included in
the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide under revision by the
Home Economics Instructional Materials Center at Texas Tech Univer
sity in Lubbock, Texas. Those competencies perceived to be very
important to include in the home economics curriculum as determined
by full-time university clothing and textile faculty, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers were rank-ordered in rela
tion to each other, as well as within each of the specified cate
gories of clothing selection, clothing care, clothing construction,
and textiles. In addition, the study was designed to determine if
significant differences existed among each of the mean importance
ratings assigned by the three groups of respondents to the clothing
and textiles competencies. Procedures of the study are discussed
in this chapter.
Design and Development of the Instrument
Based on a review of the literature and a study of methods for
preparing rating instruments, an evaluation device was developed by
the researcher entitled, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important
41
42
to High School Adolescents." The instrument was a four-part,
thirty-seven item rating instrument, designed to obtain the level
of importance respondents placed on specified clothing and tex
tiles competencies for inclusion in useful homemaking courses.
The competencies were divided into the following four areas:
clothing selection, clothing care, clothing construction, and tex
tiles. A sample of the finalized instrument appears in Appendix
A.
At the beginning of the instrument respondents were requested
to check their present status. Categories for selection included
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty member, useful
homemaking teacher, and consumer. No attempt was made to obtain
the respondents' names or places of employment.
Based on an investigation of resources pertaining to clothing
and textiles subject matter for adolescents, the areas of clothing
selection, clothing care, clothing construction, and textiles were
chosen as the four major categories of competencies to be included
in the rating instrument. These categories were determined to be
most frequently utilized in clothing and textiles content for ado
lescent students. Under these four categories, a total of thirty-
seven competencies were listed. The first thirteen competencies
were associated with clothing selection, the following seven com
petencies dealt with clothing care, while the next ten competencies
related to clothing construction, and the remaining seven competen
cies involved textiles related information.
43
Written directions for completing the rating instrument were
provided. Five columns appeared to the right of the competencies.
Respondents were directed to check one of the five columns for each
competency. Five levels of importance were given for each compet
ency. These included very important, moderately important, some
what important, slightly important, and not important. Possible
scores for each competency ranged from five to one, with a score of
five being assigned to very important and a score of one being
assigned to not important. Therefore, the highest and lowest possi
ble total scores for the four categories were as follows: clothing
selection, sixty-five and thirteen; clothing care, thirty-five and
seven; clothing construction, fifty and ten; and textiles, thirty-
five and seven. The range of scores for the total list of compet
encies was 185 and thirty-seven. Following each category of the
rating instrument, spaces were provided for respondents to write
any additional competencies they believed should be included in the
instrument.
To establish validity and to obtain suggestions for strengthen
ing the instrument, it was submitted twice to a panel of judges
consisting of three faculty members in the Department of Home Eco
nomics Education at Texas Tech University. The judges were asked
to critique the instrument and offer suggestions for revision. In
particular, they were asked to assess the competencies listed in
each of the four competency categories of the rating instrument to
44
determine if all important aspects of the clothing and textiles
areas were being included. On the basis of the judges' sugges
tions, necessary revisions were made to refine the instrument and
to improve content validity. Revisions were made in the wording
of some competencies and the number of competencies included in
the finalized instrument was increased from thirty-five to thirty-
seven. The instrument was then submitted to the Director of the
Home Economics Instructional Materials Center at Texas Tech Uni
versity. The director suggested that the competencies be compared
to the tentative conceptual outline for the Clothing and Textiles
curriculum guide under revision by the Home Economics Instructional
Materials Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. As a
result of the comparison, no additional revisions were made.
The instrument was also preassessed by twelve home economics
education graduate students. They completed the instrument as the
final sample of educators and consumers would be asked to do. As
a result of this preassessment, no additional refinements were
made to the instrument.
The reliability of the instrument was computed through the use
of the split-half correlation between odd and even items using the
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The Spearman-Brown
''Prophecy Formula" was used to step up the half length correlation
to expected full-length value. A coefficient of reliability of .95
45
was obtained for the rating instrument. The coefficient indicated
that the instrument was sufficiently reliable to justify its use
for the purposes intended.
Selection and Description of the Sample
The sample for the study consisted of 226 respondents. Three
separate groups of individuals comprised the sample. These groups
were full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members
associated with institutions of higher learning in Texas offering
accredited Vocational Home Economics Teacher Education programs, a
randomly selected group of useful homemaking teachers in Texas, and
two groups of selected consumers living in Lubbock, Texas. Each
group is discussed in the following sections.
Full-time University Clothing and Textiles Faculty Members
One group of the sample consisted of all full-time university
clothing and textiles faculty members associated with the nineteen
institutions of higher learning in Texas offering accredited Voca
tional Home Economics Education Programs. A list of these univer
sities appears in Appendix J. The nineteen deans or department
heads of these colleges or departments of home economics were sent
letters asking for their assistance in sending the researcher the
names and professional titles of the full-time clothing and tex
tiles faculty members within their college or department. Postage-
paid return envelopes and response sheets were included for the
46
deans' and department heads' replies. These materials were mailed
on March 3, 1980. Copies of the initial letter and response sheet
mailed to these persons are included in Appendices B and C.
Fifteen of the deans and department heads returned the re
sponse sheets by the requested deadline date of March 10, 1980.
Telephone calls were necessary to request replies from the remain
ing four deans and chairpersons who had not responded. One chair
person responded to the follow-up telephone reminder for a total
return rate of 84.2 percent. The potential group of full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members whose names were
submitted by deans and department heads consisted of fifty-seven
members from sixteen universities in Texas offering accredited
Vocational Home Economics Teacher Education programs. The final
sample of full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members
was comprised of thirty-two educators for a return rate of 59.6
percent.
Useful Homemaking Teachers
A second group comprising the sample included a randomly se
lected group of useful homemaking teachers in Texas. Area con
sultants for each of the ten areas of consumer and homemaking edu
cation programs in Texas, as designated by Texas Education Agency,
were sent letters asking for their assistance in sending the re
searcher a current listing of the names and mailing addresses of all
useful homemaking teachers within their respective areas. A
47
postage-paid envelope was included for consultants' convenience in
returning replies. This correspondence was mailed on March 3, 1980.
A copy of the initial letter mailed to the ten area consultants of
consumer and homemaking education in Texas has been included in
Appendix F.
Seven of the ten area consultants mailed listings of the names
and addresses of useful homemaking teachers within their respect
ive areas by the requested deadline date of March 10, 1980. Because
the remaining three areas had no consultants employed at the time,
it was necessary to telephone the Director of the State Department
of Consumer and Homemaking Education in Austin, Texas, to procure a
list of useful homemaking teachers in the three remaining areas.
The population of useful homemaking teachers included those from all
ten areas of consumer and homemaking education programs in Texas.
In the ten areas of consumer and homemaking education in Texas,
2494 teachers were associated with useful homemaking programs. A
table of random numbers was utilized to acquire a sample of ten per
cent of this total population. The sample comprised of 250 useful
homemaking teachers in Texas. The final sample of useful home-
making teachers totaled 166 respondents for a return rate of 67.2
percent.
Selected Consumers
The third group comprising the sample for the study consisted
of two groups of consumers living in Lubbock, Texas. The researcher
48
asked the manager of Oron Fitness Center in Lubbock, Texas, to en
courage members of the club to volunteer to complete the instru
ment, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to High School
Adolescents." These respondents appeared to be middle class males
and females. Thirty copies of the rating instrument were delivered
to Oron Fitness Center on May 5, 1980, and collected on May 12, 1980.
A total of eight instruments were completed for a response rate of
26.7 percent.
A second group of consumers living in Lubbock, Texas, who re
sponded to the instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies
Important to High School Adolescents," were members of Preceptor
Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Signa Phi, a women's social sorority. The
researcher requested permission from a member of the organization to
attend a monthly meeting and distribute the rating instruments. The
respondents were all female and seemed to be middle class. Members
of the Preceptor Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Signa Phi responded to
the instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important to
High School Adolescents," on May 12, 1980. A total of twenty instru
ments were completed for a response rate of 100 percent. The final
sample of selected consumers living in Lubbock, Texas, consisted of
twenty-eight respondents.
Collection of the Data
Copies of the instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies
Important to High School Adolescents" which was developed by the
49
researcher were sent to full-time university clothing and textiles
faculty members associated with sixteen of the institutions of
higher learning in Texas offering accredited Vocational Home Eco
nomics Teacher Education programs. One copy of the instrument
along with an explanatory cover letter was mailed to fifty-seven
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members on March
25, 1980. The accompanying cover letter explained the purposes of
the study, the importance of the group's input, and directions for
returning the completed instrument. A copy of the cover letter
which accompanied the instrument has been included in Appendix D.
Faculty members were asked to return the completed instrument to the
Home Economics Instructional Materials Center by April 18, 1980.
Postage-paid envelopes were enclosed for convenience in returning
the instruments.
Of the total fifty-seven instruments mailed out to full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, thirty were re
turned by the requested deadline date of April 18, 1980, for a re
turn rate of 52.6 percent. Since no attempt was made to obtain the
respondents' names and places of employment, a follow-up was sent
to all fifty-seven full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members on April 28, 1980. The follow-up, in the form of a postcard,
mentioned the purposes of the study, the importance of the group's
input, and a reminder to complete and return the instrument if not
already done. A copy of the follow-up postcard has been included in
Appendix E.
50
Two additional instruments were returned by the requested dead
line date of May 8, 1980. Two other instruments were returned as a
result of the follow-up, but were received after the deadline date
when the other thirty-two instruments had already been compiled and
analyzed. Thus, a return rate of .07 percent resulted from the
follow-up postcard for a total 59.7 percent return rate by full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members. Of the thirty-two
instruments returned by the requested deadline, all were completed
and usable in analyzing the data. Thus, a total of thirty-two full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members associated with
institutions of higher learning in Texas offering Vocational Home
Economics Teacher Education programs participated in the study from
March to May of 1980.
A copy of the instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies
Important to High School Adolescents," which was developed by the
researcher was also sent to 250 randomly selected useful homemaking
teachers in Texas on March 25, 1980. One copy of the instrument along
with an explanatory cover letter was mailed to each individual ran
domly selected useful homemaking teacher. The accompanying cover
letter explained the purposes of the study, the importance of the
group's input, and directions for returning the completed instrument.
A copy of the cover letter which accompanied the instrument has been
included in Appendix G. The useful homemaking teachers were asked
to return the completed instrument to the Home Economics Instruc
tional Materials Center by April 18, 1980. Postage-paid envelopes
were enclosed for convenience in returning the instruments.
51
Of the total 250 instruments mailed out, 118 were returned
by the requested deadline date of April 18, 1980, for a return rate
of 47.2 percent. Since no attempt was made to obtain the respond
ents' names and places of employment, a follow-up was sent to all
250 randomly selected useful homemaking teachers on April 28, 1980.
The follow-up, in form of a postcard, mentioned the purposes of the
study, the importance of the group's input, and a reminder to com
plete and return the instrument if not already done. A copy of
the follow-up postcard has been included in Appendix H.
Forty-eight additional instruments were returned by the re
quested deadline date of May 8, 1980. Two other instruments were
returned, but were received after the deadline date when the other
168 instruments had already been compiled and analyzed. Thus, a
return rate of 20 percent resulted from the follow-up for a total
67.2 percent return rate by useful homemaking teachers. Of the 168
instruments returned by the requested deadline date, 166 of the
instruments had complete data and were returned in time to be used
in analyzing the data. Two of the respondents had incorrectly
completed the instruments making the data unusable. Thus, a total
of 166 useful homemaking teachers participated in the study from
March to May Of 1980.
Copies of the instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies
Important to High School Adolescents," were distributed to two
groups of consumers living in Lubbock, Texas. Thirty copies of the
52
instrument along with explanatory cover letters were delivered by
the researcher, to Oron Fitness Center in Lubbock, Texas. The accom
panying cover letter explained the purposes of the study and the im
portance of the group's input. A copy of the cover letter which
accompanied the instrument has been included in Appendix I. The
owner of the fitness center encouraged members to complete the
instrument. Volunteers at Oron Fitness Center responded to the
instrument from May 5, 1980, to May 12, 1980, on which date the re
searcher returned to the Fitness Center to collect the completed
instruments.
Of the total thirty instruments delivered to Oron Fitness
Center, eight were completed for a response rate of 26.7 percent.
All eight instruments were usable for analyzing the data.
Copies of the instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies
Important to High School Adolescents," were also distributed to mem
bers of the Preceptor Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Signa Phi, a women's
social sorority, in Lubbock, Texas. The researcher attended the
May meeting and explained to the members the purposes of the study
and the importance of the group's input. Members of the Preceptor
Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Signa Phi responded to the instrument on
May 12, 1980.
Of the total twenty members attending the May meeting of the
Preceptor Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Signa Phi, all twenty members
completed the instrument for a response rate of 100 percent. All
53
twenty instruments were usable for analyzing the data. Thus, a total
of twenty-eight selected consumers living in Lubbock, Texas, parti
cipated in the study from 14arch to May of 1980.
Treatment of the Data
Data obtained from the responses of the thirty-two full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, 166 randomly
selected useful homemaking teachers, and twenty-eight selected con
sumers living in Lubbock, Texas, were key punched on cards, verified,
and processed on a computer located at the Texas Tech University
Computer Center in Lubbock, Texas. The data processed were treated
by the following methods:
1. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the rank-
order of clothing and textiles competencies rated by respondents as
being very important to adolescents.
2. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the rank-
order of clothing and textiles competencies rated by respondents as
being very important to adolescents in the following categories:
a. clothing selection
b. clothing care
c. clothing construction
d. textiles
3. The analysis of variance test was utilized to determine if
any significant differences existed among the mean importance ratings
assigned to all clothing and textiles competencies and each of the
54
four competency categories of clothing selection, clothing care,
clothing construction, and textiles by full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and
selected consumers.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Data for the study were used to identify clothing and textiles
competencies important to adolescents enrolled in useful high school
homemaking courses. Data were also analyzed to determine if there
were significant differences among the mean importance ratings of
three groups of respondents. Data were collected from a sample con
sisting of thirty-two full-time university clothing and textiles
faculty members associated with the institutions of higher learning
in Texas offering accredited Vocational Home Economics Teacher Edu
cation programs, 166 randomly selected useful homemaking teachers
in Texas, and twenty-eight consumers living in Lubbock, Texas. The
total sample was comprised of 226 respondents. The project was
undertaken to assist the Home Economics Instructional Materials
Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, in revising the
Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide which was published in 1973.
Data from the Rating Instrument
Data were obtained from a rating instrument used in the study.
The rating instrument, "Clothing and Textiles Competencies Important
to High School Adolescents," was designed to solicit the importance
of thirty-seven clothing and textiles competencies associated with
useful homemaking programs as perceived by the following persons:
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful
55
56
homemaking teachers, and selected consumers living in Lubbock,
Texas.
The data collected from the rating instrument used in the
study consisted of the sum of the respondents' ratings given to
thirty-seven competencies listed. The first thirteen competencies
were associated with clothing selection, the following seven com
petencies dealt with clothing care, while the next ten competencies
were related to clothing construction, and the remaining seven
competencies involved textiles related information. The rating in
strument scores obtained represented the level of importance re
spondents placed on specific clothing and textiles competencies
which are taught in useful homemaking programs in Texas. Five
levels of importance were given for each competency. These included
very important, moderately important, somewhat important, slightly
important, and not important. Possible scores for each competency
ranged from five to one, with a score of five being assigned to
very important and a score of one being assigned to not important.
The highest and lowest possible total scores for the four cate
gories of competencies were as follows: clothing selection, sixty-
five and thirteen; clothing care, thirty-five and seven; clothing
construction, fifty and ten; and textiles, thirty-five and seven.
The range of scores for the total of all competencies listed on
the rating instrument was 185 and thirty-seven.
Responses from full-time university clothing and textiles
faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and a selected group
57
of consumers were each tallied separately as well as collectively.
Space was provided at the end of each competency category for re
spondents to list additional competencies not included in the rating
instrument, but which they believed should be included. A list of
these additional competencies appears in Appendix K. Some respon
dents used these spaces to make personal comments concerning the
competencies listed in the rating scale as well as remarks per
taining to the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide published in
1973 by the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center at Texas
Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
A series of five analysis of variance tests were performed
to determine if significant differences existed among the mean
importance ratings assigned by the three groups of respondents to
all clothing and textiles competencies and to each of the four com
petency categories. When differences were found, the data were
subjected to Duncan's Multiple Range test to determine where the
differences existed.
Analysis of Descriptive Data
Two questions were examined in the study: To answer the ques
tions, data obtained from the rating instrument were rank ordered
to determine those competencies considered to be very important
to adolescents. Results of the answers to questions are presented
in this section.
58
Question 1
Data were examined for Question 1 which asked:
What is the rank order of clothing and textiles competencies considered very important for adolescents to study in useful homemaking courses as rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers?
To identify the clothing and textiles competencies considered
very important to adolescents, the data were examined to determine
which competencies respondents rated as being very important. A
rank order listing of the clothing and textiles competencies rated
by respondents as being very important to adolescents appears in
Table 1.
The five top ranked clothing and textiles competencies full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers rated as being very import
ant for adolescents were as follows: interpret pattern information,
construct garments following guidelines which will produce quality
garments, follow clothing care instructions on garment labels, use
the most appropriate methods for constructing various units of a
garment, and analyze factors to consider in making clothing pur
chases. Three of these competencies were associated with clothing
construction, one with clothing care, and one with clothing selec
tion. None of the top five competencies rated as being very im
portant to adolescents dealt with textiles.
59
TABLE 1
RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING AND TEXTILES COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY
IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS
Competencies
Interpret pattern information
Construct garments following guidelines which will produce quality garments
Follow clothing care instructions on garment labels
Use the most appropriate methods for constructing various units of a garment
Analyze factors to consider in making clothing purchases
Coordinate appropriate fabrics and notions suitable for a clothing project
Follow the correct procedures for preparing clothing construction materials
Use the most suitable alteration techniques to insure correct garment fit
Develop a strategy for planning and managing a wardrobe
Demonstrate the correct use of pressing equipment for different construction techniques and fabrics
Observe safety precautions when using clothing construction equipment
Competency Categories*
Co
Co
Ca
Co
Co
Co
Co
Co
Co
Number Rating Competency as Very Important
181
176
171
157
146
145
144
138
134
130
126
TABLE 1—Continued
60
Competencies Competency Categories*
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Analyze the effects the elements and principles of design have on different body types
Determine correct laundry and cleaning techniques and procedures in given situations
Devise wardrobe plans appropriate for specific clothing budgets
Assess the benefits of comparison shopping for clothing
Evaluate the level of construction difficulty of garment designs
Utilize sources of consumer information in purchasing clothing
Observe safety precautions when using equipment and supplies necessary for clothing care
Select appropriate equipment for clothing care
Determine appropriate clothing selections for specific activities
Determine clothing needs and wants for given situations
Point out ways clothing is associated with personal adjustment and group acceptance
Demonstrate appropriate methods of altering and mending apparel for given situations
Ca
Co
Ca
Ca
125
123
121
118
116
112
104
98
96
85
83
Ca 74
61
TABLE 1—Continued
Competencies Competency Categories*
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Relate characteristics of natural and synthetic fibers to their uses 73
Determine ways clothing is related to communication 65
Evaluate textile products for features which influence consumer satisfaction 62
Determine ways the consumer of clothing can use protective agencies
Analyze how advertising affects clothing selection
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in fashion related areas
61
53
52
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing construction related areas
Determine procedures for storing various types of clothing
Determine the appropriateness of various properties and processes for different textile products
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in textile related areas
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing maintenance related areas
Co
Ca
50
48
42
41
Ca 33
62
TABLE 1—Continued
Competencies Competency Categories*
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Analyze reasons for changes in trends in consumption of textile nroducts 19
Outline the processes involved in manufacturing various raw materials into different types of fabrics 13
Relate historical and societal changes in clothing to fashion
* S Ca Co T
clothing selection clothing care clothing construction textiles
63
The five competencies respondents rated as being least import
ant were as follows: relate historical and societal changes in
clothing to fashion, outline the processes involved in manufacturing
various raw materials into different types of fabrics, analyze
reasons for changes in trends in consumption of textiles products,
determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing
maintenance related areas, and determine career opportunities
appropriate for oneself in textile related areas. Three of these
competencies were associated with textiles, one with clothing care,
and one with clothing selection. None of the five competencies
ranked as least important dealt with clothing construction.
Question 2
Data were examined for Question 2 which asked:
-̂ifhat is the rank order of clothing and textiles competencies considered very important for adolescents to study in useful homemaking courses as rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers in each of the following four categories:
a. clothing selection b. clothing care c. clothing construction d. textiles
Question 2, Part a
In order to identify clothing and textiles competencies in the
area of clothing selection considered very important to adolescents,
the data pertaining to items 1 through 13 of the rating instrument
64
were examined to determine which competencies respondents rated as
being very important. A rank order listing of the clothing selec
tion competencies rated by respondents as being very important to
adolescents appears in Table 2.
Five clothing selection competencies were rated by the majority
of full-time clothing and textiles faculty members useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers as being very important.
Clothing selection competencies rated by the majority of respond
ents in the study as being very important to adolescents were as
follows: analyze factors to consider in making clothing purchases,
develop a strategy for planning and managing a wardrobe, analyze
the effects the elements and principles of design have on different
body types, devise wardrobe plans appropriate for specific clothing
budgets, and assess the benefits of comparison shopping for clothing.
Respondents to the study rated one clothing selection compe
tency much lower than all other clothing selection competencies.
Very few respondents rated the competency, relate historical and
societal changes in clothing to fashion, as being important for
adolescents to know.
Question 2, Part b
To identify clothing and textiles competencies in the area of
clothing care considered very important to adolescents, the data
in items 14 through 20 of the rating instrument were examined to
determine which competencies respondents rated as being very
65
TABLE 2
RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING SELECTION COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY
IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS
Competencies
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Analyze factors to consider in making clothing purchases
Develop a strategy for planning and managing a wardrobe
146
134
Analyze the effects the elements and principles of design have on different body types
Devise wardrobe plans appropriate for specific clothing budgets
Assess the benefits of comparison shopping for clothing
Utilize sources of consumer information in purchasing clothing
Determine appropriate clothing selections for specific activities
Determine clothing needs and wants for given situations
Point out ways clothing is associated with personal adjustment and group acceptance
Determine ways clothing is related to communication
Analyze how advertising affects clothing selection
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in fashion related areas
Relate historical and societal changes in clothing to fashion
125
121
118
112
96
85
83
65
53
52
66
important. The rank order of clothing care competencies rated by
respondents as being very important to adolescents appears in
Table 3.
TABLE 3
RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING CARE COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY
IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS
Competencies
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Follow clothing care instructions on garment labels 171
Determine correct laundry and cleaning techniques and procedures in given situations
Observe safety precautions when using equipment and supplies necessary for clothing care
Select appropriate equipment for clothing care
Demonstrate appropriate methods of altering and mending apparel for given situations
Determine procedures for storing various types of clothing
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing maintenance related areas
123
104
98
74
48
33
Two clothing care competencies were rated by the majority of
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful
homemaking teachers, and selected consumers as being very important
67
Clothing care competencies rated by the majority of respondents in
the study as being very important to adolescents were as follows:
follow clothing care instructions on garment labels and determine
correct laundry and cleaning techniques and procedures in given
situations.
Question 2, Part c
To identify clothing and textiles competencies in the area of
clothing construction considered very important to adolescents, the
data related to items 21 through 30 of the rating instrument were
examined to determine which competencies respondents rated as being
very important. A rank order listing of clothing construction com
petencies rated by respondents as being very important to adolescents
appears in Table 4.
Nine clothing construction competencies were rated by the
majority of full-time university clothing and textiles faculty mem
bers, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers as being
very important. Clothing construction competencies rated by the
majority of respondents in the study as being very important to
adolescents were as follows: interpret pattern information, con
struct garments following guidelines which will produce quality
garments, use the most appropriate methods for constructing various
units of a garment, coordinate appropriate fabrics and notions
suitable for a clothing project, follow the correct procedures for
preparing clothing construction materials, use the most suitable
68
TABLE 4
RANK ORDER OF CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY
IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS
Competencies
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Interpret pattern information
Construct garments following guidelines which will produce quality garments
Use the most appropriate methods for constructing various units of a garment
Coordinate appropriate fabrics and notions suitable for a clothing project
Follow the correct procedures for preparing clothing construction materials
Use the most suitable alteration techniques to insure correct garment fit
Demonstrate the correct use of pressing equipment for different construction techniques and fabrics
Observe safety precautions when using clothing construction equipment
Evaluate the level of construction difficulty of garment designs
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing construction related areas
181
176
157
145
144
138
130
126
116
50
alteration techniques to insure correct garment fit, demonstrate the
correct use of pressing equipment for different construction techni
ques and fabrics, observe safety precautions when using clothing
69
construction equipment, and evaluate the level of construction
difficulty of garment designs.
Respondents to the study rated one clothing construction
competency much lower than all other clothing construction com
petencies. Fewer respondents rated the competency, determine
career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing con
struction related areas, as important for adolescents to know.
Question 2, Part d
To identify clothing and textiles competencies in the area
of textiles considered very important to adolescents, the data con
tained in items 31 through 37 of the rating instrument were examined
to see which competencies respondents rated as being very important.
A rank order listing of the textiles competencies rated by respond
ents as being very important to adolescents appears in Table 5.
None of the textiles competencies were rated by the majority
of full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, use
ful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers as being very im
portant. Only four textiles competencies were rated very important
by less than one-fourth of the respondents in the study. They were:
outline the processes involved in manufacturing various raw mate
rials into different types of fabrics, analyze reasons for changes
in trends in consumption of textile products, determine career oppor
tunities appropriate for oneself in textile related areas, and
70
TABLE 5
RANK ORDER OF TEXTILES COMPETENCIES RATED BY 226 RESPONDENTS AS BEING VERY IMPORTANT TO ADOLESCENTS
Competencies
Number Rating Competency as
Very Important
Relate characteristics of natural and synthetic fibers to their use
Evaluate textile products for features which influence consumer satisfaction
Determine ways the consumer of clothing can use protective agencies
Determine the appropriateness of various properties and processes for different textile products
Determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in textile related areas
Analyze reasons for changes in trends in consumption of textile products
Outline the processes involved in manufacturing various raw materials into different types of fabrics
73
62
61
42
41
19
13
determine the appropriateness of various properties and processes
for different textile products.
Hypotheses Examined and Discussed
Four null hypotheses were tested in the study. Results of the
statistical testing of the hypotheses are presented in this section,
71
Hypothesis 1
The mean importance ratings assigned to clothing selection com
petencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers were
analyzed in terms of the first hypothesis which stated:
There are no significant differences among the mean importance ratings assigned to clothing selection competencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
Hypothesis 1 was analyzed through the use of the analysis of
variance test. The statistics resulting from the analysis of
Hypothesis 1 appear in Table 6.
TABLE 6
COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO CLOTHING SELECTION COMPETENCIES BY
THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS
Groups of Mean Level of Respondents N* Scores F-ratio Significance
Full-time University Clothing and Textile Faculty Members 31 54.77
Useful Homemaking Teachers 155 52.15 4.55 .05
Selected Consumers 27 55.30
*Total number does not tally 226 due to incomplete data.
72
The F-ratio obtained was significant at the .05 level. There
were significant differences among the mean importance ratings
assigned to clothing selection competencies by full-time university
clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers,
and selected consumers. Thus, Hypothesis 1 was rejected. The
data were subjected to Duncan's multiple range test to determine
where the differences existed. The useful homemaking teachers'
mean importance rating for clothing selection competencies was
significantly lower than those of full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members and selected consumers. The mean im
portance ratings of full-time university clothing and textile faculty
members and selected consumers were not significantly different from
each other. The highest mean importance rating given to clothing
selection competencies was that assigned by the group of selected
consumers. It appeared that the group of selected consumers and
the full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members per
ceived it as somewhat more important that adolescents learn about
clothing selection competencies than did useful homemaking teachers.
Hypothesis 2
The mean importance ratings assigned to clothing care com
petencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers were
analyzed in terms of the second hypothesis which stated:
73
There are no significant differences among the mean importance ratings assigned to clothing care competencies as rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
Hypothesis 2 was analyzed through the use of the analysis of
variance test. The statistics resulting from the analysis of
Hypothesis 2 appear in Table 7.
TABLE 7
COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO CLOTHING CARE COMPETENCIES BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS
Groups of Mean Level of Respondents N* Scores F-ratio Significance
Full-time University Clothing and Textiles Faculty Members 33 29.76
Useful Homemaking Teachers 159 28.50 4.42 .05
Selected Consumers 27 30.65
*Total number does not tally 226 due to incomplete data.
The F-ratio obtained was significant at the .05 level. There
were significant differences among the mean importance ratings
assigned to clothing care competencies by full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected
consumers. Thus, Hypothesis 2 was rejected. The data were subjected
74
to Duncan's multiple range test to determine where the differences
existed. The useful homemaking teachers' mean importance rating was
significantly different than the mean importance rating of the
selected consumers. However, the mean importance rating of the
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members was not
significantly different from the mean importance ratings of either
of the other two groups of respondents. The highest mean importance
rating given to clothing care competencies was that assigned by the
group of selected consumers. It appeared that the group of selected
consumers believed it was more important that adolescents learn
about clothing care competencies than did useful homemaking teachers.
Hypothesis 3
The mean importance ratings assigned to clothing construction
competencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers were
analyzed in terms of the third hypothesis which stated:
There are no significant differences among the mean importance ratings assigned to clothing construction competencies as rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
Hypothesis 3 was analyzed through the use of the analysis of
variance test. The statistics resulting from the analysis of
Hypothesis 3 appear in Table 8.
75
TABLE 8
COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION COMPETENCIES
BY THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS
Groups of Mean Level of Respondents N* Scores F-ratio Significance
Full-time University Clothing and Textiles Faculty Members 29 45.79
Useful Homemaking Teachers 157 44.99 3.11 .05
Selected Consumers 25 42.84
*Total number does not tally 226 due to incomplete data.
The F-ratio obtained was significant at the .05 level. There
were significant differences among the mean importance ratings assigned
to clothing construction competencies by full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected
consumers. Thus, Hypothesis 3 was rejected. The data were subjected
to Duncan's multiple range test to determine where the differences
existed. The group of selected consumers' mean importance rating
was significantly lower than the mean importance ratings of the full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members and useful home-
making teachers. However, the mean importance ratings of the full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members and the useful
homemaking teachers were not significantly different from each other.
The mean importance rating of the group of selected consumers was
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lower than the mean importance ratings of the other two groups of
respondents. It appeared that full-time university clothing and
textiles faculty members and useful homemaking teachers believed
it more important that adolescents learn about clothing construc
tion competencies than did the group of selected consumers.
Hypothesis 4
The mean importance ratings assigned to textiles competencies
by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers were analyzed in terms of
the fourth hypothesis which stated:
There are no significant differences among the mean importance ratings assigned to textiles competencies as rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
Hypothesis 4 was analyzed through the use of the analysis of
variance test. The statistics resulting from the analysis of
Hypothesis 4 appear in Table 9.
The F-ratio obtained was significant at the .05 level. There
were significant differences in the mean importance ratings
assigned to textiles competencies by full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and
selected consumers. Thus, Hypothesis 4 was rejected. The data were
subjected to Duncan's multiple range test to determine where the
differences existed. The mean importance ratings of full-time
77
TABLE 9
COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO TEXTILE COMPETENCIES BY
THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS
Groups of Mean Level of Respondents N* Scores F-ratio Significance
Full-time University Clothing and Textiles Faculty Members 32 26.72
Useful Homemaking Teachers 162 24.40 3.63 .05
Selected Consumers 28 25.96
*Total number does not tally 226 due to incomplete data.
university clothing and textiles faculty members and useful home-
making teachers were significantly different from each other. How
ever the mean importance rating of the group of selected consumers
was not significantly different from the mean importance ratings of
the other two groups of respondents. The highest mean importance
rating given to textiles competencies was that assigned by full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members. It appeared that
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members believed
it was more important that adolescents learn of textiles than did
useful homemaking teachers.
Hypothesis 5
The mean importance ratings assigned to all clothing and tex
tiles competencies by full-time university clothing and textiles
78
faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers
were analyzed in terms of the fifth hypothesis which stated:
There are no significant differences among the mean importance ratings assigned to all clothing and textiles competencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers.
Hypothesis 5 was analyzed through the use of the analysis of
variance test. The statistics resulting from the analysis of
Hypothesis 5 appear in Table 10.
TABLE 10
COMPARISON OF MEAN IMPORTANCE RATINGS ASSIGNED TO ALL CLOTHING AND TEXTILES COMPETENCIES BY
THREE GROUPS OF RESPONDENTS
Groups of Mean Level of Respondents N* Scores F-ratio Significance
Full-time University Clothing and Textiles Faculty Members 26 158.23
Useful Homemaking Teachers 144 150.08 3.80 -05
Selected Consumers 23 155.22
*Total number does not tally 226 due to incomplete data.
The F-ratio obtained was significant at the .05 level. There
were significant differences in the mean importance ratings assigned
to all clothing and textiles competencies by full-time university
clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers.
79
and selected consumers. Thus, Hypothesis 5 was rejected. The data
were subjected to Duncan's multiple range test to determine where
the differences existed. The mean importance ratings of the full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members and useful
homemaking teachers were significantly different from each other.
However, the mean importance rating of the group of selected con
sumers was not significantly different from the mean importance
ratings of the other two groups of respondents. The highest mean
importance rating given to all clothing and textiles competencies
was that assigned by the full-time university clothing and textiles
faculty members. The lowest mean importance rating given to all
clothing and textiles competencies was that assigned by the useful
homemaking teachers. It appeared that the full-time university
clothing and textiles faculty members believed it was more important
that adolescents learn of clothing and textiles related information
than did useful homemaking teachers.
Summary
In summary, the following were the major findings as a result
of the interpretation of the descriptive data and the analyses of
the hypotheses in the study:
1. The five top ranked clothing and textiles competencies
rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members,
useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers as being very
important to adolescents were as follows: interpret pattern
80
information, construct garments following guidelines which will
produce quality garments, follow clothing care instructions on
garment labels, use the most appropriate methods for constructing
various units of a garment, and analyze factors to consider in
making clothing purchases.
The five competencies rated by respondents to the study as
being least important to adolescents were as follows: relate his
torical and societal changes in clothing to fashion, outline the
process involved in manufacturing various raw materials into differ
ent types of fabrics, analyze reasons for changes in trends in con
sumption of textile products, determine career opportunities for
oneself in clothing maintenance related areas, and determine career
opportunities appropriate for oneself in textiles related areas.
Three of the five top rank ordered competencies considered as
being very important for adolescents to know as judged by full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking
teachers, and selected consumers were associated with clothing con
struction. None of the five most frequently rated competencies con
sidered as being very important to adolescents by the three groups
of respondents dealt with textiles. On the other hand, three of the
five lowest ranked competencies rated as being very important for
adolescents to attain as evaluated by full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected
consumers were associated with textiles. None of the five lowest
rated competencies dealt with clothing construction.
81
2. The five clothing selection competencies rated as being
very important to adolescents by the majority of study respondents
were as follows: analyze factors to consider in making clothing
purchases, develop a strategy for planning and managing a wardrobe,
analyze the effects the elements and principles of design have on
different body types, devise wardrobe plans appropriate for speci
fic clothing budgets, and assess the benefits of comparison shopping
for clothing. The clothing selection competency, related historical
and societal changes in clothing to fashion, was rated much lower
than all other clothing selection competencies by study respondents.
3. The two clothing care competencies rated as being very
important to adolescents by the majority of study participants were
as follows: follow clothing care instructions on garment labels
and determine correct laundry and clearning techniques and procedures
in given situations.
4. The nine clothing construction competencies rated as being
very important to adolescents by the majority of study participants
were as follows: interpret pattern information, construct garments
following guidelines which will produce quality garments, use the
most appropriate methods for constructing various units of a garment,
coordinate appropriate fabrics and notions suitable for a clothing
project, follow the correct procedures for preparing clothing con
struction materials, use the most suitable alteration techniques
to insure correct garment fit, demonstrate the correct use of
82
pressing equipment for different construction techniques and
fabrics, observe safety precautions when using clothing construc
tion equipment, and evaluate the level of construction difficulty
of garment designs. The clothing construction competency, deter
mine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing
construction related areas, was rated much lower than all other
clothing construction competencies by study participants.
5. None of the textiles competencies were rated as being
very important to adolescents by the majority of study participants.
The four textiles competencies rated as being very important to
adolescents by less than one-fourth of the study respondents were
as follows: outline the processes involved in manufacturing various
raw materials into different types of fabrics, analyze reasons for
changes in trends in consumption of textile products, determine
career opportunities appropriate for oneself in textile related
areas, and determine the appropriateness of various properties and
processes for different textile products.
6. Significant differences were found among the mean import
ance ratings for clothing selection competencies assigned by full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers. Useful homemaking teachers
rated the clothing selection competencies as significantly less
important than the other two groups of respondents. No signifi
cant differences were found between the mean importance ratings
83
of full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members and
selected consumers. Useful homemaking teachers gave the lowest
mean importance rating to clothing selection competencies, and
the group of selected consumers gave this category of clothing and
textiles competencies the highest mean importance rating.
7. Significant differences were found among the mean import
ance ratings for clothing care competencies as assigned by full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful home-
making teachers, and selected consumers. Useful homemaking teachers
rated the competencies dealing with clothing care as significantly
less important than did the selected consumers. No significant
differences were found between the mean importance rating of clothing
care competencies assigned by full-time university clothing and
textiles faculty members and the mean importance ratings of the
other two groups of respondents. Useful homemaking teachers gave
the lowest mean importance rating to clothing care competencies,
while the group of selected consumers gave this category of clothing
and textiles competencies the highest mean importance rating.
8. Significant differences were found among the mean import
ance ratings for clothing construction competencies assigned by
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful
homemaking teachers, and selected consumers. The mean importance
rating of the selected consumers was significantly lower than the
mean importance rating scores of the respondents of the other two
84
groups. No significant differences were found between the mean
important ratings of clothing construction competencies assigned
by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members and
useful homemaking teachers. Selected consumers gave the lowest
mean importance rating to clothing construction competencies, while
the full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members gave
this category of clothing and textiles competencies the highest
mean importance rating.
9. Significant differences were found among the mean import
ance ratings for textile competencies as assigned by full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful homemaking
teachers, and selected consumers. The useful homemaking teachers
mean importance rating was significantly lower than the mean import
ance rating of the full-time university clothing and textiles
faculty members. No significant differences were found between the
mean importance rating for textiles competencies assigned by the
group of selected consumers and the mean importance ratings of the
other two groups of respondents. Useful homemaking teachers gave
the lowest mean importance rating to textiles competencies, while
the full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members gave
this category of clothing and textiles competencies the highest
mean rating scores.
10. Significant differences were found among the mean import
ance ratings for all clothing and textiles competencies as assigned
85
by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members,
useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers. The useful
homemaking teachers' mean importance rating was significantly
lower than the mean importance rating score of the full-time uni
versity clothing and textiles faculty members. No significant
differences were found between the mean importance ratings of all
clothing and textiles competencies assigned by the group of
selected consumers and the other two groups of respondents. The
useful homemaking teachers gave the lowest mean importance rating
to all clothing and textiles competencies, while the full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members gave the compe
tencies the highest mean importance rating.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS,
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A summary of the study and conclusions which seem to be warranted
based on the interpretation and analysis of data are provided in this
chapter. Based upon findings of the study, recommendations are made
for further research in the area of developing instructional materials
for useful homemaking programs in Texas.
Summary of the Study
Two primary goals provided direction for the study. The major
purpose of the study was to identify clothing and textiles competen
cies most frequently rated as being very important to adolescents
to attain as perceived by the following three groups of respondents:
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful
homemaking teachers, and selected consumers. The secondary purpose
of the study was to compare and analyze mean importance ratings
assigned to the clothing and textiles competencies by the three
groups of respondents using the rating instrument developed by the
researcher. The project was undertaken to assist the Home Economics
Instructional Materials Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock,
Texas, in revising the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide pub
lished in 1973.
86
87
The sample for the study consisted of the following three
groups of people: thirty-two full-time university clothing and
textiles faculty members associated with institutions of higher
learning in Texas offering accredited Vocational Home Economics
Teacher Education programs, 166 randomly selected useful homemak
ing teachers in Texas, and twenty-eight selected consumers living
in Lubbock, Texas. All three groups completed a rating instrument
designed by the researcher titled, "Clothing and Textiles Compe
tencies Important to High School Adolescents." Respondents rated
thirty-seven competencies, which were grouped into four categories,
pertaining to clothing and textiles on a five-point scale according
to the level of importance they believed each competency had for
adolescent students. The rating instruments were filled out and
returned to the researcher at the Home Economics Instructional
Materials Center between March and May of 1980.
Data obtained from the rating instrument were tallied on tally
sheets, key punched, and verified on cards at the Texas Tech Univer
sity Computer Center located in Lubbock, Texas. From these totals,
frequency counts were made to determine the rank order of competencies
rated as being very important for adolescents to attain. Analysis
of variance tests were also utilized to determine if significant
differences existed among the mean importance ratings assigned by
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members, useful
homemaking teachers, and selected consumers to all clothing and
88
textiles competencies and each of the following four categories
of competencies: clothing selection, clothing care, clothing con
struction, and textiles.
Findings of the Study
Findings resulting from interpretations and analyses of the
data in the study were as follows:
1. The five top ranked clothing and textiles competencies
rated by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members,
useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers as being very import
ant to adolescents were as follows: interpret pattern information,
construct garments following guidelines which will produce quality
garments, follow clothing care instructions on garment labels, use
the most appropriate methods for constructing various units of a
garment, and analyze factors to consider in making clothing purchases.
The five competencies rated by respondents to the study as
being least important to adolescents were as follows: relate his
torical and societal changes in clothing to fashion, outline the
process involved in manufacturing various raw materials into differ
ent types of fabrics, analyze reasons for changes in trends in
consumption of textile products, determine career opportunities for
oneself in clothing maintenance related areas, and determine career
opportunities appropriate for oneself in textiles related areas.
Three of the five top ranked competencies considered to be very
important for adolescents to learn as perceived by the respondents
89
were associated with clothing construction while none of the five
top ranked competencies dealt with textiles. On the other hand,
three of the five lowest ranked competencies dealt with textiles,
while none of the five lowest ranked competencies dealt with cloth
ing construction.
2. The five clothing selection competencies rated as being
very important to adolescents by the majority of study respondents
were as follows: analyze factors to consider in making clothing
purchases, develop a strategy for planning and managing a wardrobe,
analyze the effects the elements and principles of design have on
different body types, devise wardrobe plans appropriate for speci
fic clothing budgets, and assess the benefits of comparison shopping
for clothing. The clothing selection competency, relate historical
and societal changes in clothing to fashion, was rated much lower
than all other clothing selection competencies by study respondents.
3. The two clothing care competencies rated as being very im
portant to adolescents by the majority of study participants were
as follows: follow clothing care instructions on garment labels and
determine correct laundry and cleaning techniques and procedures
in given situations.
4. The nine clothing construction competencies rated as being
very important to adolescents by the majority of study participants
were as follows: interpret pattern information, construct garments
following guidelines which will produce quality garments, use the
90
most appropriate methods for constructing various units of a gar
ment, coordinate appropriate fabrics and notions suitable for a
clothing project, follow the correct procedures for preparing
clothing construction materials, use the most suitable alteration
techniques to insure correct garment fit, demonstrate the correct
use of pressing equipment for different construction techniques
and fabrics, observe safety precautions when using clothing con
struction equipment, and evaluate the level of construction diffi
culty of garment designs. The clothing construction competency,
determine career opportunities appropriate for oneself in clothing
construction related areas, was rated much lower than all other
clothing construction competencies by study participants.
5. None of the textiles competencies were rated as being very
important to adolescents by the majority of study participants.
The four textiles competencies rated as being very important to
adolescents less than one-fourth of the study respondents were as
follows: outline the processes involved in manufacturing various
raw materials into different types of fabrics, analyze reasons for
changes in trends in consumption of textile products, determine
career opportunities appropriate for oneself in textile related
areas, and determine the appropriateness of various properties and
process for different textile products.
6. There were significant differences found among the mean
importance ratings assigned to clothing selection competencies by
91
the three groups of respondents. The F-value was significant at
the .05 level. Duncan's multiple range test was used to deter
mine where the differences existed. Significant differences were
found to exist between the mean importance rating of useful home-
making teachers and the mean importance ratings of the other two
groups of respondents. Useful homemaking teachers assigned sig
nificantly lower scores to clothing selection competencies than
persons in the other two groups. No significant differences existed
between the mean importance rating assigned to clothing selection
competencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members and the group of selected consumers.
7. There were significant differences found among the mean
importance ratings assigned to clothing care competencies by the
three groups of respondents. The F-value was significant at the
.05 level. Duncan's multiple range test was used to determine where
the differences existed. Significant differences were found to
exist between the mean importance ratings of useful homemaking
teachers and those of the group of selected consumers. The lowest
scores assignd to clothing care competencies were those of the
useful homemaking teachers, while the highest scores given to
this competency category were those of the group of selected con
sumers. No significant differences existed between the mean im
portance rating assigned to clothing care competencies by full-
time university clothing and textiles faculty members and the mean
importance ratings of the other two groups of respondents.
92
8. There were significant differences found among the mean
importance ratings assigned to clothing construction competencies
by the three groups of respondents. The F-value was significant
at the .05 level. Duncan's multiple range test was used to deter
mine where the differences existed. Significant differences were
found to exist between the mean importance rating of the group of
selected consumers and the mean importance ratings of the other
groups of respondents. The group of selected consumers assigned
the lowest rating to clothing construction competencies, while the
highest mean importance rating scores assigned to this category
of competencies were those of the full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members. No significant differences existed
between the mean ratings assigned to clothing construction compe
tencies by full-time university clothing and textiles faculty mem
bers and useful homemaking teachers.
9. There were significant differences found among the mean
importance ratings assigned to textile competencies by the three
groups of respondents. The F-value was significant at the .05 level.
Duncan's multiple range test was used to determine where the sig
nificant differences existed. Significant differences were found
to exist between the mean importance rating of full-time university
clothing and textiles faculty members and the mean importance rating
of useful homemaking teachers. The highest scores given to tex
tiles competencies were those of full-time university clothing and
93
textiles faculty members, while the lowest scores assigned to this
category of competencies were those of the useful homemaking
teachers.
10. There were significant differences found among the mean
importance ratings assigned to all clothing and textiles competen
cies by the three groups of respondents. The F-value was signifi
cant at the .05 level. Duncan's multiple range test was used to
determine where the significant differences existed. Significant
differences were found to exist between the mean importance ratings
of full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members and
those of the useful homemaking teachers. The highest scores given
to all clothing and textiles competencies were those of full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, while the lowest
scores assigned to the competencies were those of the useful home-
making teachers.
Conclusions
Data acquired were limited to the sample consisting of 226
respondents who completed the rating instrument for identifying
clothing and textiles competencies useful to adolescents between
March and May of 1980. Based upon interpretations and analyses
of findings, these tentative conclusions have been drawn:
1. In the rank ordering of all thirty-seven clothing and
textiles competencies by study participants, competencies related
to clothing construction were considered more important for
94
adolescents to attain than competencies related to textiles, which
were rated the lowest of all competency areas. These findings
indicate the full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members, useful homemaking teachers, and selected consumers con
sider it more important that adolescents learn clothing construc
tion skills as opposed to learning about skills and information
regarding textiles. These results may be due to the fact that
many teachers tend to spend more time in the area of clothing con
struction than in the study of textiles because it is easier to
plan clothing construction labs than to prepare relevant lessons
dealing with textile information. This may also suggest that fewer
relevant resources are available for teaching textiles information
in secondary programs. Consumers may have expressed an interest in
the importance of clothing construction competencies as a result of
the current inflationary period which affects the cost of purchas
ing wearing apparel.
2. In the rank ordering of all thirty-seven clothing and
textile competencies by study participants, clothing selection
competencies were rated as being the second area of importance for
adolescents while competencies related to clothing care were gen
erally ranked as the third area of importance. This suggests that
the respondents may enjoy selecting clothing and wearing apparel
more than they like caring for and maintaining clothing. There
fore, they think it is more important for adolescents to learn
effective ways for selecting clothing rather than being exposed
95
to methods and procedures for caring for clothing. A lack of
facilities in the homemaking departments of some schools for planning
relevant learning experiences in units of study associated with the
care of clothing may also be a factor in the lower rankings assigned
to clothing care competencies.
3. In examining each of the four categories of competencies
covered on the rating instrument, respondents seemed to rate com
petencies associated with careers in clothing and textiles related
areas as being the least useful to adolescents. These findings
indicate respondents placed a low priority on studying careers in
clothing and textiles related areas. This suggests that some edu
cators tend to allot more time in the clothing unit to the other
aspects of clothing and textiles with little, if any, time devoted
to identifying career opportunities existing in the areas of cloth
ing and textiles. There may also be a lack of updated, relevant
materials in this particular area of study.
4. When the mean importance ratings assigned to clothing
selection competencies by the three groups of respondents were com
pared, findings revealed that there were significant differences
among the mean importance rating assigned by the useful homemaking
teachers and the ratings of the other two groups, with the useful
homemaking teachers having a significantly lower mean importance
rating for clothing selection competencies than the full-time uni
versity clothing and textiles faculty members and the group of
selected consumers. Useful homemaking teachers, as compared to
96
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members and the
group of selected consumers, placed a lower priority on clothing
selection related competencies as being important for high school
adolescents. This may reflect the fact that useful homemaking
teachers tend to spend less time teaching clothing selection sub
ject matter as compared to some other areas of clothing. This
may hamper adolescents' abilities to use clothing selection in
formation in future years due to a lack of sufficient background
experiences and exposure in this area for allowing them to form
adequate generalizations pertaining to clothing selection related
concepts.
5. When the three groups of respondents' mean importance
ratings for clothing care competencies were compared, findings
revealed that there was a significant difference in the rating
assigned by useful homemaking teachers as compared to the rating
of the group of selected consumers, with the useful homemaking
teachers having a significantly lower mean rating score than the
group of selected consumers who had the highest mean ratings for
clothing care competencies. Useful homemaking teachers placed a
lower priority on clothing care related competencies as compared
to the group of selected consumers, who placed a higher priority
on clothing care related competencies. This suggests that useful
homemaking teachers tend to allot more time to teaching subject
matter in other areas of clothing, because many homemaking depart
ments have limited funds and facilities for providing practical
97
learning experiences in the area of clothing care. These findings
may further suggest that the group of selected consumers may en
counter problems in the area of clothing care and maintenance.
They may consider a homemaking course including a unit on clothing
care as a logical and practical place for obtaining information per
taining to clothing care practices and gaining skills required for
successfully handling clothing care problems.
6. When the mean importance ratings assigned to clothing con
struction competencies by the three groups of respondents were com
pared, findings revealed that there were significant differences
between the rating assigned by the group of selected consumers and
the other two groups of persons in the study. The group of selected
consumers assigned a significantly lower mean importance rating to
clothing construction competencies than did the other two groups
of respondents. It seemed that the group of selected consumers,
as compared to full-time university clothing and textiles faculty
members and useful homemaking teachers, placed a lower priority on
clothing construction related competencies. This may suggest that
the group of selected consumers have encountered problems in attempt
ing to construct quality-made clothing and are limited in time,
facilities, and equipment necessary to create satisfactory garments.
Consumers may perceive a lack of variety in available clothing
patterns and may think that ready-to-wear apparel is of better
quality than individually constructed garments.
98
7. \^en the mean importance ratings assigned to textile com
petencies by the three groups of respondents were compared, find
ings revealed that there was a significant difference in the mean
importance rating assigned by full-time university clothing and
textiles faculty members when they were compared to useful home-
making teachers. The useful homemaking teachers assigned a sig
nificantly lower mean importance rating to textile competencies
than full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members,
who had the highest mean importance rating score for textiles com
petencies. It seemed that useful homemaking teachers placed a lower
priority on textile related competencies compared to full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, who placed a
higher priority on textiles related competencies. This suggests
that full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members
may currently be involved in research associated with textiles,
thus devoting much of their time and interest to this area. This
may also indicate that useful homemaking teachers are likely to
allot the majority of time spent in clothing units to other areas
of clothing.
8. When the mean importance ratings assigned to all clothing
and textiles competencies by the three groups of respondents were
compared, findings revealed that there was a significant difference
in the mean importance rating assigned by full-time university
clothing and textiles faculty members when it was compared with the
99
mean importance rating of useful homemaking teachers. The useful
homemaking teachers assigned a significantly lower mean importance
rating to all clothing and textiles competencies than full-time
university clothing and textiles faculty members, who had the
highest mean importance rating for all clothing and textiles com
petencies. It seemed that useful homemaking teachers placed a
lower priority on clothing and textiles related competencies com
pared to full-time university clothing and textiles faculty mem
bers, who placed a higher priority on clothing and textiles related
competencies. This suggests that full-time university clothing
and textiles faculty members may be more knowledgeable in the area
of clothing and textiles and, therefore, emphasize more clothing
and textiles content be taught in the high school classroom. This
also indicated that useful homemaking teachers must also provide
units in other areas of home economics and must not emphasize one
area more than the others.
Recommendations for Further Study
The study pertaining to identification of clothing and tex
tiles competencies important to adolescents enrolled in useful
homemaking courses has revealed the need for further research in
the area. Recommendations for further research include:
1. Conducting a study to compare consumers' ratings of cloth
ing and textiles competencies to determine if their responses are
influenced by having or not having had a clothing and textiles
unit of study in a useful homemaking course.
100
2. Replicating the study with a larger group of consumers
of varying ages, cultural backgrounds, economic levels, and
geographical locations.
3. Refining the rating instrument to determine the specific
levels of competencies to be included in various sequence courses
of useful homemaking (Homemaking I, Homemaking II, Homemaking III).
4. Designing a similar rating instrument including competen
cies in other subject matter areas associated with useful home-
making and conducting the study in a similar manner. For instance,
the same procedures could be carried out to identify competencies im
portant to adolescents in the areas of food and nutrition, child
development, home management, family living, and consumer education,
and so on.
5. Conducting further research to examine the ratings assigned
to clothing and textiles competencies by male and female respond
ents.
6. Using the instrument developed for the study to obtain
adolescent students' ratings of clothing and textiles competencies
they consider as being most important^to. attain.
7. Conducting a similar study and including a questionnaire
to obtain background data pertaining to teaching experience of
full-time university clothing and textiles faculty members and
useful homemaking teachers and analyzing the data for significant
differences on selected variables such as amount of education,
number of years of teaching experience, highest educational level
attained, and familiarity with the curriculum guide.
LIST OF REFERENCES
1. Alexander, William M., and Saylor, J. Galen. Secondary Education Basic Principles and Practices. New York: Rinehart and Co., Inc., 1950.
2. Alexander, William M.; Saylor, J. Galen; and Williams, Emmett L. The High School Today and Tomorrow. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1971.
3. American Home Economics Association. Concepts and Generalizations: Their Place in High School Home Economics Curriculum Development. Washington, D.C.: The Association, 1967.
4. Baker, Gwendolyn C. "The Role of the School in Transmitting the Culture of all Learners in a Free and Democratic Society." Educational Leadership 36 (November 1978): 134-136, 138.
5. Bell, Camille G. Basic Competencies for Beginning Teachers in Vocational Education. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Materials Center, 1976.
6. Bloom, Benjamin. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classi-fication of Educational Goals. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1956.
7. Briggs, Linda K. "Factors Influencing Current Fashion Awareness of Young Unmarried Women with Different Levels of Education in Denton, Texas." Master's thesis, Texas Women's University, 1976.
8. Brown, Peggy S., and Haas, Mary Helen. "High School Home Eiconomics Courses Can Improve Consumer Competencies." Illinois Teacher of Home Economics 21 (May-June 1978): 243-246.
9. Burns, Richard W., and Brooks, Gary D. Curriculum Design in a Changing Society. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technology Publications, 1970.
10. "Buyers Swing to Quality." Time, December 3, 1979, pp. 82-84.
11. Camplese, Donald A., and O'Bruba, William. "The Relationship Between Teaching Experience and Attitude Toward Behavior-ially Stated Objectives." College Student's Journal 13 (Fall 1979): 221-223.
101
102
12. Chamberlain, Valerie M., and Kelly, Joan. Creative Home Economics Instruction. New York: Webster Division, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1975.
13. Committee on Youth Education for Citizenship. "How State Mandates Affect Curriculum." Educational Leadership 37 (January 1980): 334-336.
1^' Competencies for Home Economics Teachers. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1978.
15. Darst, Paul W. "A Direction for Teacher Education." Physical Education 36 (March 1979): 3-8.
16. Devereux, Hilary. "How Valuable is Home Economics?" Special Education: Forward Trends 6 (June 1979): 16-19.
17. DeLong, Marilyn R., and Larntz, Kinley. "Measuring Visual Response to Clothing." Home Economics Research Journal 8 (March 1980): 281-293.
18. Dodl, Norman R. Catolog Competencies. Tallahassee, FL.: Florida Department of Education, 1973.
19. Ehrenberg, Sydell. A Taxonomy of Education Competencies for Classroom Instruction, for Instructional Leadership. Miami, FL.: Institution for Staff Development, 1974.
20. Entwistle, N. M. "Knowledge Structure and Styles of Learning: A Summary of Pask's Recent Research." British Journal of Educational Psychology 48 (November 1978): 255-265.
21. "Fashion Fundamentals." Tips and Topics XX (Spring 1980): 5.
22. Eraser, Edie. "Consumerism in 1978." Business and Society Review (Winter 1978): 81.
23. Carman, Thomas E. "The Cognitive Consumer Education Knowledge of Prospective Teachers: A National Assessment." Journal of Consumer Affairs 13 (Summer 1979): 54-63.
24. Giroux, Henry A. "Toward a New Sociology of Curriculum." Educational Leadership 37 (December 1979): 248-253.
25. Goldstein, Herbert. Social Learning Curriculum and Evaluation.
Yeshiva University, New York: ERIC Document Reproduction Services, ED 040 902, 1969.
103
26. Graef, Judy L., and Strom, Joan B. Concepts in Clothing. New York: Webster Division, McGraw Hill Book Co., 1976.
27. Gurel, Lois M., and Gurel, Lee. "Clothing Interest: Conceptualization and Measurement." Home Economics Research Journal 7 (May 1979): 274-282. """"
28. Hall, Gene E., and Jones, Howard L. Competency-Based Education: A Process for the Improvement of Education. Englewood, N. J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1976.
29. Havinghurst, Robert J. "Common Experience Versus Diversity in the Curriculum." Educational Leadership 36 (November 1978): 118-121.
30. Heidman, Robert C. "Patterns in Educational Change." Journal of Teacher Education XXIX (July-August 1978): 31-35.
31. Hogg, James H., and Giusti, James H. "Direct Involvement in Planning: A Means of Attaining Adult Competency." Education 100 (Winter 1979): 146-148.
32. Honeycutt, Sandra S. "Development and Evaluation of Curriculum Materials for Home Economics Coordinated Vocational Academic Education Programs." Master's thesis, Texas Tech University, 1976.
33. Hoyt, Cyril J., and Stunkard, Clayton L. "Estimation of Test Reliability for Unrestricted Item Scoring Methods." Educational and Psychological Measurement 12 (1972): 756-759.
34. Hughes, Andrew S. "Curricular Knowledge Organization and Variations in Instructional Emphases." Alberta Journal of Educational Research 25 (March 1979): 4-19.
35. Krawthwohl, David R. "Stating Objectives Appropriately for Programs, for Curricula, and for Instructional Materials Development," in Behavioral Objectives in Curriculum Development, edited by Miriam B. Kapfer. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Educational Technology Publications, 1971.
36. Krawthwohl, David B.; Bloom, Benjamin S.; and Masis, Bertran B. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification Educational Goals. Handbook II: Affective Domain. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1964.
104
37. Langrehr, Frederick W. "Consumer Education: Does it Change Students' Competencies and Attitudes?" Journal of Consumer Affairs 13 (Summer 1979) : 41-53"!
38. Larken, Martha M. "Curriculum Revision in a Big City - Money versus Sense." Clearing House 52 (October 1978): 89-93,
Lehrer, Barry E.; Melnick, Gerald I.; and Greenbery, Sandra. Teacher Evaluations of Curriculum in Curriculum Develop
ment Programs." Educational Technology 13 (May 1973): 31-36.
Martin, John Henry. "Reconsidering the Goals of High School Education." Educational Leadership 37 (January 1980)-278-285. ' ^
39
40,
41. Miller, Mark J. "Structuring: An Answer to Student Consumerism in the Schools." Personnel and Guidance Journal 58 (September 1979): 76-77. ~
42. Morris, M. A., and Prato, H. H. "Performance of Garments Related to Initial Cost and Care." Home Economics Research Journal 7 (November 1978): 76-84.
43. Murphy, Patricia D. "Curriculum Development in Consumer Education." Illinois Teacher of Home Economics 21 (May-June 1978): 232-236.
44. McAdams, LeBland. "Masculine Self Concepts as Related to Factors of Body Adornment." Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Women's University, 1976.
45. McCutcheon, Gail. "The Curriculum: Patchwork or Crazy Quilt." Educational Leadership 36 (November 1978): 114-116.
46. Nickols, Sharon Y. and Powell, Claire L. "Consumer Education for Today's Youth." Journal of Extension 17 (January-February 1979): 14-17.
47. Pace, Allena B. Clothing and Textiles Basic Competencies for Beginning Teachers of Vocational Home Economics. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Materials Center, 1976.
48. Ringel, Lance. "Sewing, Not for Women Only." Fabric News to the Trade 1 (March 10, 1980): 1, 38.
49. Samalonis, Bernice L. Methods and Materials for Today's High Schools. New York: Van Rostrand Reinhold Co., 1970.
105
50. Rosencranz, Mary Lou. Clothing Concepts - A Social-Psychological Approach. New York: Macmillan Co., 1972.
51. Scitovsky, Tibor. "A New Approach to the Theory of Consumer Behavior." American Economist 17 (Fall 1973): 29-32.
52. Sexauer, Benjamin. "A Monthly Analysis of Consumer Demand in the United States." The Quarterly Review of Economics and Business 17 (Winter 1977): 27-41.
53. Simpson, Elizabeth J. The Classification of Objectives, Psychomotor Domain. Urbana, II.: University of Illinois, 1966.
54. Swanson, John L. "Counseling Directory and Consumer's Guide: Implementing Professional Disclosure and Consumer Protection." The Personnel and Guidance Journal 58: (November 1979): 190-193.
55. Taba, Hilda. Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1962.
56. Tanner, Daniel, and Tanner, Laurel. Curriculum Development: Theory into Practice. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1975.
57. Tyler, Ralph W. Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1949.
58. Wall, Margorie; Dickey, Lois E.; and Talarzyk, W. Wayne. "Profiling Consumer Communication of Compalints About Clothing Preference." Home Economics Research Journal 7 (July 1979): 368-378.
59. Westbury, Ian. "Curriculum Evaluation." Review of Educational Research 40 (April 1970): 239-260.
60. Williams, Herma B. "Consumer Knowledge Needs Assessment: A Technique to Motivate Secondary Students." Illinois Teacher of Home Economics 21 (May-June 1978): 246-248.
61. Wood, Merle W. "Curriculum Development Checklist." Business Education 32 (May 1978): 40-43.
62. Wragg, Marilyn H. "Development and Use of an Instrument to Evaluate Curriculum Materials in Consumer Education." Master's thesis, Texas Tech University, 1976.
Vff^
APPENDIX A
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APPENDIX B
LETTER TO DEANS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS
112
Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Matenais Center
College of Home Economics
March 3, 1980
Dear Chairperson:
The Clothing and Textiles Curriculum Guide develooed by the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center in 1973 is currently under revision. This guide is presently used by vocational homemaking teachers who teach in secondary useful homemaking programs throughout Texas. Because your university offers an accredited Vocational Home Economics Education program, we need the help of your clothing and textiles staff in this project.
Input from university professionals such as those in your college is vital in revising the curriculum guide in order to adequately aeet the needs of present homemaking teachers, their students, and your future students. Because of the expertise of ihe professionals in your clothing and textiles department, chey are in a strategic position to determine competencies co be acquired by adolescents enrolled in useful homemaking programs.
We would appreciate your completing the enclosed form. It requests information pertaining to each of your full-time clothing and textile faculty members. Once we have obtained these names, we will contact each person to solicit their assistance in completing a questionnaire indicating the importance of teaching selected subject matter.
A return postage-paid envelope has been enclosed for /our convenience in returning the form. Please return the completed form to cne Home Economics Instructional Materials Center by March 10, 1980.
We appreciate your time and assistance. Your participation will help to improve the quality of instructional materials for homemaking programs in Texas.
Sincerely.
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Di rec to r
LRG/jab
Enclosure
Box 4067 / Lubbock. Texas 79409 /'806) '42-3028
APPENDIX C
RESPONSE SHEET
114
FULL-TIME UNIVERSITY CLOTHING AND TEXTILE FACULTY
University
DIRECTIONS: Please supply the needed information in the space provided. Submit only the names of full-time clothing and textiles faculty members at your institution.
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
NAME
POSITION
w-
APPENDIX D
COVER LETTER TO FULL-TIME
UNIVERSITY CLOTHING & TEXTILES
FACULTY MEMBERS
116
Texas Tech University Home Economics Instruaionai Materials Center
College oi Home Economics
March 25, 1980
Dear University Professor:
The enclosed rating scale has been developed in cooperation with the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center as part of a project to revise the Go thing and Textiles curriculum guide published by the Center in 1973. This guide is used by high school vocational homemaking teachers who teach in useful homemaking programs throughout the state of Texas. Since you are an expen in the area of clothing and textiles, we need your assistance in this project.
The rating scale enclosed provides you an opportunity to indicate the level of importance that you believe should be placed on specific clothing and textiles competencies taught to high school adolescents. For purposes of this project, a competency lias oeen detined as a terminal performance objective. Space is provided for you to add any additional competencies you believe to be imponant for high school adolescents.
Feedback from university professionals such as yourself is vital in revismg the curriculum guide in order to adequately meet the needs of present homemaking teachers, their students, and your tuture students. Because you have expertise in this subject matter area, you are in an excellent position to determine competencies to be acquired by adolescents enrolled in useful homemaking courses.
Please complete the enclosed rating scale. It has been designed to obtam necessar/ information while taking a minimum of your time. Your reactions will provide valuable information to us in revising the materials. The information obtained through this rating scale will be used only in developing statistical composites of teachers' reactions co rhe given clothing and textiles competencies. Responses will not be tdentiiled with you or your program.
A return postage-paid envelope has been enclosed for your convenience m returning the rating scale. Please return the completed instrument to the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center by .April 18, 1980.
Box 4067 / Lubbock. Texas 79409 / '8061 '42-3028
117
Page
We appreciate your time and assistance. Your participation will help to improve the quality of instructional materials for your program.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Director
LRG/jab
Enclosure
APPENDIX E
FOLLOW-UP POSTCARD TO FULL-TIME
UNIVERSITY CLOTHING AND
TEXTILES FACULTY MEMBERS
••r^ms
119
Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Matenais Center
College or Home Economics
April 28, 1980
Dear University Professor:
The week of March 25, 1980, the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center sent to you a rating scale requesting your input in indicating clothing and textile competencies to be taught to high school adolescents. Because you are an expert in the area of clothing and textiles, your feedback is vital in order to adequately revise the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide pubhslied by the Center in 1973.
If you have not already returned the rating scale, please complete and return it by May 7, 1980, in the return postage-paid envelope which was provided m the initial correspondence. If you have already mailed your response, please disregard this reminder.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Director
Box 4067 / Lubbock, Texas r9409 / (806) 742-3028
APPENDIX F
LETTER TO AREA CONSULTANTS
^'^"^''^^mm
121
Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Matenais Center
College of Home Economics
March 3, 1980
Dear Area Consultant:
The Clothing and Textiles Curriculum Guide developed by che acme Economics Instructional Materials Canter in 1973 is currently under revision. Since usetul homemaking teachers in your area use these materials, we need their help in this project.
Input from useful homemaking teachers such as those in your area is vital in revising the curriculum guide in order to adequately aeet their needs and those of their students. Because teachers are in direct contact with high school adolescents, they are in the best position to determine competencies to be acquired by adolescents enrolled in useful homemaking programs.
Please supply us with an updated list of all useful homemaking teachers in your area. The school names and addresses of these teachers are also needed so chat we may contact them individually for the purposes previously mentioned.
.A. return postage-paid envelope has been enclosed for your convenience in supplying us with che names of teachers in your area. Please return the list to the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center by March 10, 1980.
We appreciate your time and assistance. Your participation will help to improve the quality of instructional materials for home-making programs in Texas.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Director
LRG/jab
3ox 4067 / Lubbock. Texas /-9409 / (806) ;42-3028
APPENDIX G
COVER LETTER TO USEFUL
HOMEMAKING TEACHERS
123
Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Materials Center
College of Home Economics
March 25, 1980
Dear Useful Homemaking Teacher:
The enclosed rating scale has been developed in cooperation with the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center as part of a project to revise the Go thing and Textiles curriculum guide published by the Center in 1973. Since you have used the materials to teach clothing and textiles concepts, we need your help in this project.
The rating scale enclosed provides you an opportunity to indicate the levels of importance you believe should be placed on specific clothing and textiles competencies taught to high school adolescents. For purposes of this project, a competency has been detined as a terminal performance objective. Space is provided for you to add any additional competencies you believe to be important for high school adolescents.
Feedback from useful homemaking teachers such as yourself is vital in revismg the curriculum guide in order to adequately meet your needs and those of your students. Because you are in direct contact with high school adolescents, you are in the best position to determine competencies to be acquired by adolescents enrolled in useful homemaking courses.
Please complete the enclosed rating scale. It has been designed to obtain necessary information while taking a minimum of your time. Your reactions will provide valuable information to us in revising the matenais. The information obtained through this rating scale will be used only in developing statistical composites of teachers' reactions to the given clothing and textiles competencies. Responses will not be identiiled with you or your program.
A return postage-paid envelope has been enclosed for your convenience in retummg the rating scale. Please return the completed instrument to the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center by April 18, 1980.
Box 4067 / Lubbock, Texas 79409 / (806) '42-3028
124
Page 1
We appreciate your time and assistance. Your participation wUl help to improve the quality of instructional materials for homemaking programs m Texas.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Director
LRG/jab
Enclosure
fm'
APPENDIX H
FOLLOW-UP POSTCARD TO USEFUL
HOMEMAKING TEACHERS
126
Texas Tech University Home Economics Instructional Materials Center
College or Home Economics
April 28, 1980
Dear Useful Homemaking Teacher:
The week of March 25, 1980, the Home Economics Instructional Materials Center sent to you a rating scale requesting your input in indicating clothing and textile competencies to be taught to high school adolescents. Since you are involved in teaching clothing and textiles concepts, your feedback is vital in order to adequately revise the Go thing and Textiles curriculum guide published by the Center in 1973.
If you have not already returned the rating scale, please complete and return it by May 7, 1980, in the return postage-paid envelope which was provided in the initial correspondence. If you have already mailed your response, please disregard this reminder.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Director
Box 4067 / Lubbock. Texas 79409 I (806) '42-3028
APPENDIX I
COVER LETTER TO SELECTED CONSUMERS
128
TexcisTech University Home Economics Instructional Materials Center
College or Home Economics
May 5, 1980
Dear Consumer:
The rating scale has been developed in cooperation with the Home Economics Instructional Materials Canter as part of a project to revise the Clothing and Textiles curriculum guide published by the Center in 1973. This guide is used by high school vocational home-making teachers who teach useful homemaking programs throughout the state of Texas. Since you purchase and make use of clothing and textiles, we need your assistance in this project.
The rating scale provides you an opportunity to indicate the level of importance that you believe should be placed on specific clothing and textiles competencies taught to high school adolescents. For purposes of this project, a competency has been defined as a terminal performance objective. Space is provided for you to add any additional competencies you believe to be important for high school adolescents.
Feedback from consumers such as yourself is vital in revising the curriculum guide in order to adequately meet the needs of present homemaking teachers and their students, as well as your own needs. Because you actually utilize concepts dealt with in clothing and textiles subject matter, you are in an excellent position to determine competencies to be acquired by adolescents enrolled in useful homemaking courses.
Please complete the rating scale. It has been designed to obtain necessary information while caking a minimum of your time. Your reactions will orovide valuable information to us in revising che materials. The information obtained through this rating scale will be used only in developing statistical composites of consumers' reactions to the given clothing and textiles competencies. Responses will not be identified with you in any way.
Sox 4067 / Lubbock, Texas 79409 / (806) 742-3028
129
Page 2
We appreciate your time and assistance. Your participation will help to improve the quality of instructional materials for home-making programs in Texas.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Glosson, Ph.D. Director
LG/jb
Enclosure
APPENDIX J
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES IN TEXAS OFFERING ACCREDITED
VOCATIONAL HOME ECONOMICS TEACHER
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
131
Abilene Christian University
Baylor University
East Texas State University
Incarnate Word College
Lamar University
Mary-Hardin Baylor University
North Texas State University
Prairie View A&M University
Sam Houston State University
Southwest Texas State University
Stephen F. Austin University
Texas A&I University
Texas Christian University
Texas College
Texas Southern University
Texas Tech University
Texas Women's University
University of Texas
University of Houston
APPENDIX K
RESPONDENTS' COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
133
ADDITIONAL COMPETENCIES AND COMMENTS PERTAINING TO SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES AS INDICATED
BY RESPONDENTS TO THE STUDY
Clothing Selection
- In large classes, it is impossible to study clothing - if you only spend 6-8 weeks on clothing - the entire time must be spent in the lab.
- Importance of clothing selection will be determined by amount of time and area covered in consumer unit.
- 11, 12, 13 could be incorporated into 8, 9, 10. Time is always a budget factor.
- Analyze the effects of color on the individual as to make-up, dress, and body size.
- Identifying fashion versus fads. - Selection of accessories that help in utilizing outdated clothing.
Clothing Care
- Items 17, 18, 19 need facilities that are not available in all homemaking departments, i.e., washing machines.
- Some of the above such as laundry and ironing could be part of a management unit. Storage might also be included in a management unit. Less repetition gives a better use of limited time.
- Feel "Clothing Care" as such is important, with more working people, less time for home sewing.
- If students understood the basics of sewing (selecting patterns, and notions, threading a machine and bobbin, and generally how to sew) my job would be so much easier. I could develop these basics. However, the majority do not have the basics.
- Determining meaning or definition of terms used in order to do no. 16 above.
- Felt #14 is most important since we are moving toward increased apartment living - and fewer home laundries - consumers must demand improved options in commercial equipment and know how to use it.
Clothing Construction
- Being able to make simple changes or additions as desired, using
a similar pattern.
Textiles
- Construction of fabric and factors to consider when selecting. - Determine whether certain styles are classics or fads.
134
Select clothing that is durable and appropriate for future use. Utilize consumer information for fabrics. Need to be taught use of textiles - from a qualatative standpoint - too much "automatic" use of polyester, acrylic, etc. by our students.
General
- My response to some items on the checklist is somewhat questionable due to the academic level of the pupils with whom I work in useful homemaking. I teach the EMR students in a special vocational-occupational program. Some competencies are far from beneficial to our students unless concrete teaching methods can be applied. An example: The section on "textiles" would rarely be meaningful to our students unless they could see the natural source of the fiber in its original form (raw cotton) and then take a field trip to a factory where these raw materials are being processed into fibers. Time limitation of teaching units seldom allow this via semesters.
- About all you have time for in high school is the basic clothing construction techniques the students need to improve on them from year to year.
- Many competencies are useless and not necessary for high school level homemaking I and II students, because of the time factor involved.
- By the time we get a garment constructed in class there isn't time to get this other in unless it would be in a quarter or semester course in itself and not too many students take the higher levels of clothing.
- These answers are based on a Homemaking I outline. The curriculum guide covers too much information for the period of time that we have. Please start at the basics and work to more advanced.
- Everything listed seems very important to me. Using my locale as a basis, I checked some as "moderately important" not because of a feeling of lesser importance or value, but rather because of a time element in teaching and a view of comprehensive abilities of the students with whom I work.
- Curriculum guide would be more helpful if they included more than objectives on a list of learning activities. Oklahoma's guide has memo handouts, teaching materials, pre and post tests, etc. In homemaking, our texts are so limited that we have to add so many supplemental materials to teach with. If we are to use guides, we need something that we can use today - not something else to prepare. Usually the films suggested (etc.) are not available to a smaller school.