• What Factors Influence Diet in University Students?
• Food Insecurity on College Campuses
• COVID’S Effect on Financial Literacy
• Legacy Series: Jewell Deene Ellis’ Impact on Every FCS Program
As we embark on implementing a new strategic plan, it is necessary to review what AAFCS offers its members and evaluate which programs still provide a member benefit. One of those programs is our Communities.
According to the 2010 AAFCS Communities Policies and Information Handbook, “AAFCS Communities serve as a conduit of professional action, dialogue, and promotion relevant to the mission of AAFCS.” Communities allow members to network and collaborate with professionals who have similar interests and specializations. The event Find Your People at Annual Conference was an opportunity to learn about Communities and find one that fits your interests.
Family and consumer sciences (FCS) is an integrated profession. The Body of Knowledge model illustrates the integration by identifying core concepts (capacity building, technology, wellness, resource development, and global interdependence) within a circle surrounding the integrative elements of human ecosystems and life course development (Nickols et al., 2009). Professionals working in FCS represent the integration of core concepts (FCS teachers and Extension Educators) and specialization of core concepts (Dieticians, Textile Designers, Child Care providers, and Housing Advocates). The core concepts are reflected in the many AAFCS Communities (Family Economics Resource Management, Family Relations, Human Development, Apparel Textile, and Design).
At the November Leadership Council meeting, the discussion focused on Communities. We learned that members see value in AAFCS Communities but recognize something needs to be done to promote this member benefit. The discussion raised issues about the Communities that are worth addressing. The first issue is the number of them. At this time, there are 22 Communities listed on the AAFCS website. It is easy to join a Community, but there is limited engagement upon joining. There isn’t a welcome to the Community message or information about what membership means. Second, it isn’t clear what some communities do. What is the Community promoting, providing education on, or discussing? The Diversity and Inclusion Community provides a good model for other communities. This group meets regularly, has an engaged leader, and has subgroups working on specific issues. Communication from the Community occurs through the discussion forum. Third, some Communities do not have active designated leadership. Leadership is going to evolve in groups but it is necessary to make sure someone is serving as the contact person, organizing sessions at the Annual Conference, or managing the finances for the group.
AAFCS Communities is a membership benefit. The benefit must have value to all members to be effective. As the strategic plan is implemented, it is time to evaluate Communities. Let’s raise the importance of them to show how they have an impact on emerging issues and value specializations in our integrated profession.
Nickols, S.Y., Ralston, P.A., Anderson, C., Browne, L., Schroeder, G., Thomas, S., & Wild, P. (2009). The Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge and the Cultural Kaleidoscope: Research Opportunities and Challenges. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 37(3), 266–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077727 X08329561
contents continued on p. 4
For reviewer’s affiliations visit our Web site at www.aafcs.org
Frances Andrews
Sue Bailey
Patricia McAlister Bateman
Axton Betz
Bonnie Braun
Detri Brech
Carol Byrd-Bredbenner
Dixie R. Crase
Christy Crutsinger
Zane D. Curry
Rochelle L. Dalla
Sharon Hoelscher Day
Sharon DeVaney
Julia Dinkins
John Engel
Sandra Lee Evenson
Linda Fox
Mary Harlan
Jana Hawley
Lorna Saboe-Wounded Head
Tahira Hira
Jacqueline M. Holland
Francine Hultgren
Hazel O. Jackson
Joice A. Jeffries
Caryl Johnson
Cynthia E. Johnson
Julie Johnson
Stephen R. Jorgensen
Kim Kamin
Kendra Kattelmann
Lisa Kennon
Nancy Kingsbury
Tammy Kinley
Pat Knaub
Catherine Leslie
Donna Long
Rebecca P. Lovingood
Jean M. Lown
Patricia C. Manfredi
Jennifer Martin
Lynda Martin
Patricia McCallister
Hannah Mills Mechler
Julia Miller Bette Montgomery
Tami J. Moore
Lisa Moyer
Barbara O’Neill
Sandy Osborne
Julie Parker
V. Ann Paulins
Janet Pope
Kathleen Rees
Johnny Sue Reynolds
Judith Rodriquez
Marilyn Rossman
Jody Roubanis
Mia Baytop Russell
Pamela A. Schulze
Leigh Southward
Barbara Stewart
Richard Tas
Ann Vail
Virginia Vincenti
Sue E. Williams
Jennifer Zorotovich
The Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences: (ISSN: 1082-1651) is published four times a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) by the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS), 1410 King Street, 2nd Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314. Member subscriptions are included in AAFCS membership dues of $150, effective May 1, 2016, of which $64.50 is designated for this publication. Also effective August 1, 2018, individual nonmember subscriptions are $155 (Online only, both domestic and foreign); Institutions $330 (Online only, both domestic and foreign). No discounts for multiple-year subscriptions. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, VA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: please send address changes to Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences, AAFCS, 1410 King Street, 2nd Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314
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JFCS Transitioning to Online Only
AAFCS has joined many others in academic publishing by transitioning JFCS from print to online only. This began with the 113,3 issue in 2021. We are embracing this change as a catalyst for growth and sustainability and to disseminate information more rapidly and widely. JFCS
Access is free to AAFCS members https://bit.ly/2Gtcais
Editor
Scott S. Hall, PhD, CFLE Professor of Family Studies
Chair, Dept. of Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Studies
Ball State University Muncie, IN
Carol L. Anderson, PhD, CFCS College of Human Ecology Cornell University
Sonja D. Koukel, PhD Professor/Extension Health Specialist
Associate Department Head College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
New Mexico State University
Carole J. Makela, PhD, CFCS School of Education College of Health & Human Sciences
Colorado State University
Kerry Renwick, PhD
Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy Faculty of Education University of British Columbia
Debra D. Bass
President 2022–2023
Lorna Wounded Head, CFCS, CPFFE
Counselor, Immediate Past President 2022–2023 Ex-Officio
Robert Van Dyke, CFCS
Treasurer 2022–2023
Deborah J. Handy, CFCS
Director-at-Large 2020–2023
Debra K. Andres
Director-at-Large 2022–2025
Sharon Pate
Director-at-Large 2021–2024
Martha Ravola
JFCS Main Page
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• View Submission Guidelines and Deadlines
• Subscribe to JFCS
• Advertise
Director-at-Large 2022–2025
Heather Whaley, CFCS
Director-at-Large 2021–2024
Meeshay Williams-Wheeler, CFLE
Executive Director
Ex-Officio
Nancy Bock
Watch for 115, 2
Submissions are invited on the theme Exploring the History of the FCS Profession throughout 2023. Pandemic-related submissions are also welcome through 2023. View theme and submission information here.
When we had our first child, I told my wife how concerned I was about our daughter becoming an adolescent. My wife rightly turned my focus toward more immediate horizons. Now as empty nesters (well, most of the time), I tend to be the one helping my wife to have a useful perspective on parenting (the title of this article is her frequent declaration). Yet, I thoroughly underappreciated the challenges of raising adult children and join her in her pronouncement much of the time. (Our children are wonderful people and things could be much tougher, but we have our issues.)
This stage of parenthood has caused us to profoundly question our historical influence on our children. What we remember teaching in family meetings and in less structured circumstances doesn’t always match the recollections and sometimes behaviors of our twentysomethings children. Sure, as a family scholar, I anticipated that determining when to try to influence the life of an adult child and when to back off could be tricky, but I hadn’t foreseen with as much clarity how my
identity would lack some meaning and purpose without minor children to shepherd. (It has made me wonder if people who pressure adult children to produce grandchildren are sometimes motivated by hoping to feel more influential as a grandparent.) I hadn’t really understood my propensity to wonder what I could have done differently to have been more successful in passing along valued beliefs and perspectives that seemed to have been embraced even into the launching stage. While I know that stewing over the past does no good for my mental health, my professional curiosity wants to analyze things from every angle. Am I preaching to the choir here?
In family and consumer sciences, we in part attempt to help people acquire knowledge and skills toward building strong families. A fundamental question that many FCS professionals confront is the degree to which people can really be prepared for something they can’t relate to yet. I’ve often thought that efforts in high school (let alone earlier) to prepare children for adult relationships and roles related to marriage and parenthood faced an uphill battle. I assumed that such content lacked sufficient salience to really have a lasting impact—though I hoped that perhaps some seeds could be planted that grow over time to promote healthy decision-making. Would preparing parents for the challenges of having adult children be particularly helpful while they are in the midst of navigating the challenges of raising children in a different life stage? Can seeds be planted that become fruitful when needed? Perhaps.
Certainly, timing and learner motivation are major factors in the effectiveness of preparation or prevention-oriented programming. Those of you experts out there, please consider sharing your best practices through article submissions. Some of us—I won’t mention any names—could use help with our attitudes.
“Ugh. Adult children are the worst!”
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Beyond the Journal News and information from AAFCS and our partners, including Goodheart-Willcox.
FCS educators will find opportunities to pursue further thought and action on selected topics presented in JFCS through activities, discussions, and readings that are cross-walked to the FCS Body of Knowledge, the Family & Consumer Sciences Teacher Education Standards, and Family & Consumer Sciences National Standards 3.0.
Our conference came back in full swing, but with a twist. We transitioned the EXPO to the HUB to lower costs and increase engagement. We added FCS Fast Talks to the schedule in order to offer shorter learning opportunities. We offered recordings, incorporated wellness activities to our program, and pushed the boundaries of a more environmentally friendly event by eliminating a printed program.
Somewhere along the way, we realize that a small change can make a difference. We learned that water boils at 211 degrees. And, with an increase of just one degree to 212, it turns to steam. It’s a magical moment when the change occurs. It’s a time when we see that a small change can be impactful. Our association has been agile in the last 2 years and has experienced change. Not just for the sake of change, but to drive meaningful progress for our members.
We introduced a new pilot program, designed to bring together the expertise of the staff and a board member to develop goals in three key areas. The board liaison will provide a report on the progress of the program during the 2023 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Annual Conference: Sharon Pate, Director-atLarge and staff member Sandra Andrade
• Certification: Heather Whaley, CFCS, Directorat-Large and staff member Lori Myers, CFCS
• Membership: Deb Andres, Director-at-Large and staff members, Toni Wiese and Julie Anderson, CFCS
A few years after the pandemic and the pivot to virtual meetings, professionals were craving the opportunity to connect and meet old and new faces in-person.
Growth was essential to member service. We took the right steps at the right time to invest in our national staff. These staff joined the team in the last 12 months and added great value to AAFCS.
• Julie Anderson, CFCS, Associate Director, Affiliate and Member Relations
• Helen Fuqua, Associate Director, Credentialing Programs
• Jenni Lam, Executive Assistant
• Toni Wiese, Associate Director, Communications and Marketing
It was time to dust off the previous strategic plan and focus on today’s needs. Our new strategic plan is the result of many conversations that involved members, partners, and staff in conscious and thoughtful choices.
One degree of change is always the difference between standing still and moving forward. I encourage our Board of Directors to continue to think about taking things one degree further to move our association forward. I challenge our members to pause and think about where they need to put in the extra degree of effort to benefit from their membership.
This is my final Point of View before I retire as AAFCS Executive Director. How fortunate I am to have had this experience that makes saying goodbye so difficult. I wish AAFCS continued success and engagement in what matters most.
As family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers retire and the FCS teacher shortage continues, the FCS community needs to look for ways to encourage students to become—and remain—FCS teachers. What can we do to help?
1. Reinforce to the community the importance of being an FCS teacher. This is a highly respected profession because of the essential life skills that FCS teachers deliver, and students need. From interpersonal relationships, nutrition, and childcare to teaching, financial planning, and beyond, FCS education builds key skills for life.
2. Promote the rewards of an FCS teaching career. Set reasonable expectations on the responsibilities, roles, and challenges of being a teacher.
This can start in high school as students take Education and Training courses. Textbook programs are available that are specifically created for high school students who are considering a teaching career. As students sprinkle in other FCS courses such as culinary or human services to their schedule, they can explore the possibility of combining the two career paths—and actually teaching culinary, human services, or another FCS field!
3. Equip teachers with the training and resources that they need to be successful. A roadmap on how to manage classrooms, guide students, and assess learning would help make the first, second, third, and future years of a new FCS teacher’s career a bit easier, while also saving new educators time and decreasing stress.
Classroom management tips such as how to use mobile devices in the classroom and teaching
strategies to help develop critical-thinking skills would benefit new teachers. Ensuring use of pedagogical tools such as Essential Questions, pre-reading activities, and lesson review activities allows teachers to use their materials to the fullest and offers multiple chances to track student progress and help them engage with key concepts.
Let new teachers know that they do not have to start from scratch! Finding time-saving tools such as customizable lesson plans, workbooks, and PowerPoint™ Presentations from trusted publishers or websites will provide ready-to-implement reinforcement and hands-on practice that are crucial for students to gain real-world experience and prepare for assessments.
Taking advantage of digital resources and automated reporting that can track student progress against learning outcomes and deliver digital assessments is also a great way to show student progress and report success to administrators.
4. Offer ways to advocate for FCS programs. A new teacher might not realize where their department can receive funding or attention. Understanding how to align programs to receive Perkins funding, offer industry-recognized credentials, engage students in leadership opportunities through FCCLA, or even offer emerging courses will help teachers build their programs.
5. Provide ongoing Professional Development. Continuous learning is essential for teachers. Research shows a positive link between teacher professional development, teaching practices, and student outcomes. As professional development increases, so do the positive benefits—for both teachers and students.
Let’s work together to Say Yes to FCS!
A note from John Flanagan at Goodheart-Willcox Publisher. The G-W team is here to help. If you need a Teaching textbook program for your school, a New FCS Educator Toolkit, digital resources that provide automated reporting, or Professional Development, please contact us at www.g-w.com. The G-W team is dedicated to FCS education.
Food is a key aspect of our personal health; hence, it is no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our food system, transformed our relationship with food, and redefined normal around the world (Janssen et al., 2021). This Feature highlights some of the major changes in food consumption patterns prompted by the pandemic and provides suggestions for family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals to leverage these changes for new career and market opportunities.
At the onset of the global pandemic, many consumers engaged in panic buying, or over purchasing, resulting in stock-outs and purchasing limits placed on many food items (Chua et al., 2021). Without regard for longevity and freshness, consumers purchased food because of heightened fear and intense pressure from social media (Islam et al., 2021). Supplier shortages and reduced manufacturing capacity further exacerbated the shortage of accessible food (Taylor et al., 2020).
As lockdowns limited physical access to food sources, some establishments grew while others were devasted. The traditional grocery shopping
experience was transformed overnight as contactfree delivery surged in popularity. In a study of two metropolitan markets in the United States, there was a 255% increase in grocery pickup service and a 158% increase in grocery delivery services just months after the lockdown (Chenarides et al., 2020). The two greatest concerns were fear of unavailability of stock and fear of infection (Shamim et al., 2020). Many restaurants were caught off guard because they did not have the technological infrastructure in place to quickly adapt to these changes. According to the National Restaurant Association (2021), nearly 110,000 restaurant locations were either temporarily or permanently closed at the end of 2020.
In a study of two metropolitan markets in the United States, there was a 255% increase in grocery pickup service and a 158% increase in grocery delivery services just months after the lockdown.
Conversely, meal-kit subscription companies, such as Hello Fresh and Blue Apron, were
strengthened during the pandemic. Projections suggest that this industry will continue to grow, and will reach almost $64 billion by the year 2030—an annual growth of 17.4% (Grandview Research, 2021). Meal kits, once seen as a food option for a select group of Millennials, are experiencing a renewed appetite from a broader spectrum of consumers as they enjoy the cooking and dining experience from the comfort of their homes. Meal kits also offer interesting menu options while minimizing food waste and reducing shopping time (Dumont, 2020). High prices may deter some consumers, but meal subscription services may have an advantage in terms of sustainability. According to Heard et al. (2019), greenhouse gas emissions for grocery meals were 33% higher than emissions from meal kits due, in part, to the streamlined direct-to-consumer supply chain, reduced food waste, and refrigeration considerations.
Throughout the pandemic, more consumers cooked meals in the home and focused their energies on the creation of food. This outcome produced a win-win as individuals gained more knowledge about the food they were putting into their bodies and also honed new cooking skills. Many appreciated the time to prepare homemade dishes and experiment with new recipes. Conversely, some perceived an undue burden because of increased food preparation and the likelihood of snacking on unhealthy foods (Philippe et al., 2022). In a study conducted by Zeigler et al. (2020), 22% of adults reported a weight gain of between 5–10 pounds during COVID-19. According to Redman (2021), however, the eating-athome trend will not disappear anytime soon, with 92% of families aiming to continue or increase cooking at home.
The changes in food consumption patterns are here to stay, and it is imperative that FCS programs align with these trends. From recipe developers for meal subscription companies to brand managers for grocery chains, there is no shortage of open positions. Food-related companies are seeking employees who have the skill sets that can safely bring food to individuals, families, and
communities. What is most interesting is that these entry and executive-level positions are situated across multiple FCS content areas (i.e., culinary arts, food science, nutrition, education and training, retailing, health management, and wellness) and are deeply aligned within the Family & Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge (FCS-BOK).
As a discipline, FCS is positioned to respond to these challenges. Whether that is providing affordable, nutritious meal kit subscriptions to underserved populations or creating new mobile apps for mom-and-pop restaurants, the opportunities are limitless. FCS educators must evaluate current programs and course offerings and respond accordingly. As a low-risk first step, FCS programs could offer academic credentialing in the form of program tracks or certificates strategically aligned with these new growth opportunities in the food supply chain. Specialized areas in food retailing, e-commerce, sustainability, supply chain management, or entrepreneurship would build student competencies in these innovative and marketable areas. Partnerships with other academic units, either on or off campus, have the potential to alleviate resource constraints and leverage existing faculty expertise. Furthermore, this collaborative approach could strategically position interdisciplinary research teams to secure external funding opportunities.
The renaissance, or “rebirth,” of home cooking should not be overlooked by FCS professionals. Perhaps there has never been a more critical juncture in the profession’s history or a more opportune time to reimagine food production and related services. This trend has the potential to spark interest and increase student enrollment in both secondary and post-secondary programs. FCS professionals can extend the content in the
The changes in food consumption patterns are here to stay, and it is imperative that FCS programs align with these trends.
FCS-BOK beyond the traditional classroom—to the communities they serve, whether in locations where new businesses may flourish (e.g., pop-up restaurants, food trucks, test kitchens) or in areas where food scarcity is most problematic (e.g., small rural towns, inner-city populations). Community nutrition programs. Global niche markets. Seamless grocery delivery. Sustainable supply chains. Online cooking channels. How is your FCS program preparing students for these new and exciting career opportunities?
COVID-19 may have changed our view and consumption of food, but the new normal may provide a more sustainable and healthy future.
Chenarides, L., Grebitus, C., Lusk, J. L., & Printezis, I. (2020). Food consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Agribusiness, 37(1), 44–81. https://doi. org/10.1002/agr.21679
Chua, G., Yuen, K. F., Wang, X., & Wong, Y. D. (2021). The determinants of panic buying during COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063247
Dumont, J. (2020, June 5). Meal kit industry expected to hit $20B by 2027. Grocery Dive https://www.grocerydive. com/news/meal-kit-industry-expected-to-hit-20b-by2027/579265/
Grandview Research. (2021, April). Meal kit delivery services market size share, & trends analysis report by offering, by service, by platform, by region, and segment forecasts, 2022–2030. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/ industry-analysis/meal-kit-delivery-services-market
Heard, B. R., Bandekar, M., Vassar, B., & Miller, S. A. (2019). Comparison of life cycle environmental impacts from meal kits and grocery store meals. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 147, 189–200.
Islam, T., Pitafi, A., Arya, V., Wang, Y., Akhtar, N., Murbarik, S., & Xiaobei, L. (2021). Panic buying in the COVID19 pandemic: A multi-country examination. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 59(102357). https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102357
Janssen, M., Chang, B. P. I., Hristov, H., Pravst, I., Profeta, A., & Millard, J. (2021). Changes in food consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of consumer survey data from the first lockdown period in Denmark, Germany, and Slovenia. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.635859
National Restaurant Association. (2021, January 26). Restaurant association releases 2021 state of the restaurant industry report https://restaurant.org/research-andmedia/media/press-releases/national-restaurantassociation-releases-2021-state-of-the-restaurantindustry-report/
Philippe, K., Issanchou, S., & Monnery-Patris, S. (2022). Contrasts and ambivalences in French parents’ experiences regarding changes in eating and cooking behaviours during the COVID-19 lockdown. Food Quality and Preference, 96(March), 104386. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104386
Redman, R. (2021, May 13). Study: Most U.S. consumers to stick with eating at home post-pandemic. Supermarket News. https://www.supermarketnews.com/ consumer-trends/study-most-us-consumers-stick-eatinghome-post-pandemic
Shamim, K., Ahmad, S., & Alam, M. A. (2020). COVID-19 health safety practices: Influence on grocery shopping behavior. Journal of Public Affairs, 21(4), e2624. https:// doi.org/10.1002/pa.2624
Taylor, D., Pritchard, A., Duhan, D., & Mishra, S. (2020, August 10). What’s behind the empty grocery shelves. Supply Chain Management Review https://www.scmr. com/article/whats_behind_the_empty_grocery_shelves
Zeigler, Z., Forbes, B., Lopez, B., Pederson, G., Welty, J., Deyo, A., & Kerekes, M. (2020). Self- quarantine and weight gain related risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 14(3), 210–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2020.05.004
Financial literacy is an important skillset for individuals to have so they can properly manage their financial well-being. Individuals across the United States are lacking in financial literacy, and therefore often struggle with navigating major financial events in addition to their daily personal finance decisions. K-12 family and consumer sciences (FCS) educators are equipped with the tools and resources to address this issue so individuals are better equipped to make sound financial decisions.
Data from the TIAA-GFLEC Personal Finance (P-FIN) Index shows the overall lack of financial literacy throughout the U.S. (Yakoboski et al., 2021). The P-Fin Index is an annual survey conducted by the TIAA Institute and the GFLEC (Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center). The P-FIN Index measures both knowledge and understanding of skills that allow adults to properly manage their personal finances. In order for FCS educators to help individuals improve their financial literacy, they will need to focus on both their own professional development and expansion of financial literacy education.
Lubbock, TX
Senior Associate of Tax Accounting
KPMG US
Adjunct Professor of Accounting, Tax Planning, and Personal Finance
Regis College
Southern New Hampshire University
University of the People (smolchan@ttu.edu)
COVID-19 has flipped the world upside down in many aspects of life. In addition to the severe impact COVID-19 had on individuals’ health and well-being, it also severely affected our economy. This economic impact includes a large number of individuals losing their jobs and businesses permanently closing. It is crucial that during uncertain times, such as what we experienced with COVID-19, individuals are prepared to make sound financial decisions. The 2021 TIAA Institute-GFLEC P-Fin Index asked U.S. adults questions on eight personal financial management topics: earning, consuming, saving, investing, debt management, insuring, comprehending risk, and identifying suitable sources when needed. The 2021 P-Fin Index provides an eye-opening sense of adults’ overall personal finance knowledge. The report indicated that only 50% of the 28 survey questions were answered correctly in 2021, and 20% of adults demonstrated an extremely low level of financial literacy, answering only 25% of questions correctly (Yakoboski et al., 2021). These results are alarming because the P-Fin Index serves to assess the overall financial well-being of adults.
The following eight functional areas were assessed in the 2021 P-Fin Index: earning, consuming, saving, investing, insuring, borrowing/managing debt, comprehending risk, and go-to information sources. Earning looks at factors that affect an individual’s wages or take-home pay. Consuming involves an individual’s budget and how they manage daily spending. Saving
evaluates an individual’s savings habits. Investing considers the various types of investments and the relationship between risk and return. Insuring covers how insurance works and the different types of insurance. Borrowing and managing debt reviews different loan types and repayment of them. Comprehending risk relates to an individual’s comprehension of financial uncertainty, and go-to information resources asks individuals whether they can identify the proper resources or advice to seek when needed.
The comprehending risk content area was where adults struggled the most, with only 37% of questions asked answered correctly (Yakoboski et al., 2021). Awareness of and ability to mitigate risks, especially during unprecedented situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is a crucial skill that will increase the likelihood of individuals successfully navigating the financial impact of unexpected situations. Individuals need to assess the probability of specific outcomes and consequences that various events could have on their financial health, such as job loss, an extended hospital stay due to a medical event, and adverse impact on the stock market. When events like these occur, there must be a plan in place to mitigate the potential adverse effects.
or the impact of a job loss. If individuals cannot understand risk, it is unlikely that they will comprehend and successfully navigate the impact COVID-19 had or continues to have on their financial health.
Income level can play a key role in assessing an individual’s financial literacy. The 2021 P-Fin Index examined four income levels of survey respondents: income less than $25,000; $25,000 to $49,000; $50,000 to $99,000; and $100,000 or more. Of these four categories, the index further categorized responses by race: Black, Hispanic, and White. The survey highlights a racial disparity in financial literacy because Blacks and Hispanics scored lower on financial literacy knowledge than Whites across the four income ranges. This disparity becomes more evident with the finding that Blacks and Hispanics answered fewer questions correctly than Whites across all eight assessed areas (Yakoboski et al., 2021). There is a clear need to bridge these gaps in financial literacy through education and outreach. FCS educators can provide the resources and skillset that allow all socioeconomic groups to have access to the same basic financial knowledge necessary to make educated financial decisions.
The 2021 P-Fin Index stated that low financial literacy around risk comprehension “means that individuals are particularly ill-positioned to make decisions at a time when uncertainty and volatility dominate economic and financial life” (Yakoboski et al., 2021, p. 11). The COVID-19 pandemic has created many uncertainties individuals must face, including but not limited to market volatility
FCS educators can address the lack of financial literacy highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and foster positive change in financial education. Wagner (2019) conducted a study that examined the relationship between financial education and financial literacy with people at different education and income levels. Looking at various income and education levels provides a better understanding of financial literacy across multiple groups in the U.S. The study found that financial education is positively related to financial literacy regardless of income or education level (Wagner, 2019). The lack of financial literacy throughout the U.S. suggests that FCS educators can improve the overall integration of financial literacy concepts and ensure that everyone has the proper access to financial education. Hogarth (2002) initiated a call to action for FCS educators to take on financial literacy; the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirms the need for this call to action.
FCS educators already integrate financial literacy concepts into the various courses they teach;
If individuals cannot understand risk, it is unlikely that they will comprehend and successfully navigate the impact COVID-19 had or continues to have on their financial health.
however, more can be done to address Americans’ alarming lack of financial literacy. The 2021 P-Fin Index showed that American adults are not prepared with regard to the eight key functional areas of personal finance. Financial literacy is a key component of the Family & Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge in meeting an individual’s basic human needs. Nickols et al. (2009) defined one aspect of meeting these needs as economic security. For individuals and families to have and maintain economic security, FCS educators need to “set priorities that focus on those societal and economic issues to which the FCS profession can make unique and significant contributions” (Crabtree, 2001, p. 13). Indeed, FCS educators have the unique opportunity to address the lack of financial literacy head-on in their classrooms and communities.
The first area that FCS educators should focus on when addressing financial literacy in their communities is their own content knowledge and skills in financial literacy. If FCS educators do not have a strong understanding of financial literacy, they will be ill-prepared to educate their students and communities. Pedersen (2016) reaffirmed this need for educator preparation in financial literacy by stating that FCS educators need both skills and content knowledge in this subject. FCS educators can utilize technology resources to gain this knowledge and skill set, or refresh it. One resource is the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. Jump$tart’s overall goal is to improve financial education for students across the U.S. in order to develop financially literate individuals. Jump$tart offers professional continuing education for educators entitled “Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators,” which provides continuing education on spending and savings, investments, credit and debt management, risk management, and consumer protection. This free resource will provide FCS educators with the necessary foundation to support financial literacy education in their classrooms and communities.
The second area FCS educators can focus on is expanding financial literacy education. Integrating financial literacy concepts into FCS courses or having a stand-alone financial literacy course is not enough because financial literacy concepts need
to be reinforced throughout an individual’s life. This suggests that financial education should be integrated at all grade levels by gradually building on literacy concepts as students progress through the school system. In order to do this, FCS educators can utilize Jump$tart’s National Standards for Personal Financial Education. These standards will guide educators at different grade levels in their efforts to promote financial education. Even after they graduate from high school, students can continue to learn financial literacy through FCS professionals who provide education to their communities. Individuals face various financial events throughout their lives; FCS can be their resource. For example, adults may be concerned about the implications of the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress to support individuals, families, businesses, the community, and the overall economy (https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/ coronavirus). Being able to serve as an educational resource to break down legislation that provides financial resources to the public is crucial for FCS educators in their financial education efforts.
Expanding financial literacy education in all aspects of an individual’s life is necessary. The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the call to action initiated almost two decades ago by Hogarth (2002). FCS educators have the unique ability to address the lack of financial literacy and create positive change in the financial literacy rates of individuals throughout the U.S. The 2021 P-Fin Index raises alarming concerns about financial literacy in the U.S. Many individuals are not prepared for uncertain financial times and the general management of their finances; therefore, FCS educators need to
FCS educators have the unique ability to address the lack of financial literacy and create positive change in the financial literacy rates of individuals throughout the U.S.
step up their financial education efforts. Without a drastic change in how we educate individuals in this area, the lack of financial literacy will continue, only setting us up for failure in the future.
Crabtree, B. (2001). Integrative nature and Body of Knowledge of the family and consumer sciences profession. In AAFCS Council for Accreditation. Accreditation documents for undergraduate programs in family and consumer sciences (pp. A8–A11). American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
Hogarth, J. M. (2002). Financial literacy and family and consumer sciences. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences, 94(1), 14–28.
Nickols, S. Y., Ralston, P. A., Anderson, C., Browne, L., Schroeder, G., Thomas, S., & Wild, P. (2009). The
Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge and the cultural kaleidoscope: Research opportunities and challenges. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 37(3), 266–283. https://doi. org/10.1177/1077727x08329561
Pedersen, C. (2016). Technology resources for FCS professionals to learn financial literacy. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences, 108(2), 58–60. https://doi. org/10.14307/jfcs108.2.58
Wagner, J. (2019). Financial education and financial literacy by income and education groups. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 30(1), 132–141. https://doi. org/10.1891/1052-3073.30.1.132
Yakoboski, P., Lusardi, A., & Hasler, A. (2021). Financial well-being and literacy in the midst of a pandemic. The 2021 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index TIAA Institute-GFLEC. https://gflec.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/04/2021-P-Fin-Index-report-TIAA-Insti tute-GFLEC-April-2021.pdf?x63881
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore factors that influence intentions to adopt healthy dietary behaviors among university students. Five hundred twenty-five university students participated in this study. A questionnaire that included items on intention to adopt healthy eating behaviors, exposure to nutrition, media, parental and peer modeling, barriers, attitudes, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations was administered via Qualtrics. The findings of this study underscore influences of media, self-efficacy, and modeling on healthy eating behaviors among university students. The findings also emphasize the role of nutrition exposure in influencing self-efficacy and attitudes toward intentions to healthy eating behaviors.
Bong Nguyen, PhD
Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics
School of Medicine
University of Missouri–Kansas City
Kansas City, MO
Ana Florencia MoyedaCarabaza, PhD, RD, LMNT
EZ Nutrition Consulting P.C. Columbus, NE
Xu Li, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Health and Consumer Sciences
College of Education & Human Sciences
South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD
Faith Bala, PhD
Department of Nutritional Sciences
College of Human Sciences
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Poor dietary habits among university students, such as increased consumption of fast foods, frequently skipping meals, and insufficient consumption of fruit and vegetables, have been reported consistently (Al-Nakeeb et al., 2015; Alsunni & Badar, 2015; Mithra et al., 2018). As a result of these poor dietary habits, university students are likely to experience weight gain (Vadeboncoeur et al., 2015), which could contribute to a higher risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome later in life (Ha & Caine-Bish, 2009).
A number of studies have reported factors that influence dietary habits among university students, including knowledge and perception about nutritional benefit (Kabir et al., 2018), self-discipline and time constraints to cook/prepare meals (Greaney et al., 2009), stress levels (Marquis et al., 2019; Supa et al., 2014), social support from family and friends in encouraging healthy eating behaviors (Deliens et al., 2014; Sogari et al., 2018), costs (LaCaille et al., 2011), and the availability of and access to food options (Cluskey & Grobe, 2009; Greaney et al., 2009). However, all of these exploratory studies were either qualitative studies using focus group discussions (Deliens et al., 2014; Greaney et al., 2009; Kabir et al., 2018; LaCaille et al., 2011; Sogari et al., 2018) or did not include students from various disciplines or students with more university experience (older students), which could contribute to wider range of experiences and opinions (Cluskey & Grobe, 2009; Supa et al., 2014).
Acknowledgment. The authors would like to acknowledge all the university students who participated in this study. The study was not funded in whole or in parts by any research grant.
In addition to all those factors, the internet and social media have become critical resources for nutrition-related information; indeed, a majority of adults between the ages of 18–29 years use the internet and social networks to look for health and wellness information (Frimming et al., 2011). Researchers have indicated that these sources could influence college students’ eating behaviors. For instance, Hawkins et al. (2020) found that college students who felt their social circles “approved” of eating junk food consumed more junk foods, and those who thought their friends ate a healthy diet ate more portions of fruit and vegetables.
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been used in understanding and predicting healthy dietary behaviors in young adults and university students (Jung & Bice, 2019; Menozzi et al., 2015). TPB postulates that an individual’s future behavior can be predicted by intention to perform the behavior, and that intention is directly influenced by attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen & Madden, 1986). Self-efficacy is a term that has sometimes been used to define perceived behavioral control. It has been shown to be the most important predictor of both behavior and intention, and researchers have suggested that adding self-efficacy to the TPB may enhance the theory’s predictive utility (Fila & Smith, 2006). This study used the TPB model, which incorporates the constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as self-efficacy and barriers, to investigate healthy eating behaviors in university students.
The purpose of this theory-driven study was to explore factors that influence intentions to adopt healthy dietary behaviors among university students, namely, previous nutrition exposure, media, parental and peer modeling, barriers, attitude, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations.
The purpose of this theory-driven study was to explore factors that influence intentions to adopt healthy dietary behaviors among university students, namely, previous nutrition exposure, media, parental and peer modeling, barriers, attitude, selfefficacy, and outcome expectations.
This study targeted university students aged 18 to 36 years from a university located in northwestern Texas (Texas Tech University).
The age group was chosen because it covers more than 90% of the student population at the university, including students in both undergraduate and graduate programs. The study used a convenience online sampling method. The sample size was set at 385 at 95% confidence level with 95% desired accuracy (N = (Zscore)2 * StdDev*(1-StdDev) / (margin of error)2 = ((1.96)2 x .5(.5)) / (.05)2 = 385) (Qualtrics.com). Participants were recruited through campus announcements sent weekly via institutional email from November 2016 to March 2017. All interested participants were invited to follow a Qualtrics link included in the announcement to complete an online questionnaire. Agreeing to complete the survey was taken as consent to participate in the study, and respondents who completed the questionnaire were included in the analysis. All study procedures were approved by the University Review Board: IRB2016-362.
A total of 525 university students completed the questionnaire. Respondents represented various academic programs offered by the university such as engineering, agriculture, biology, and management. A majority of the participants were women (69.6%) and Caucasian (54.4%). Most of the participants (80%) reported that they had not taken any nutrition education programs. Social media and the internet were reported as the main influencers of food choices by a majority of the participants (73.9%) (Table 1).
The online questionnaire, which was adapted from validated and reliability-tested questionnaires (Sallis et al., 1987; Sheeshka & Mackinnon, 1993), consisted of 102 items including demographic characteristics, previous nutrition exposure (referred to the participants who had previously taken any nutrition courses in college), and seven constructs derived from the TPB, including media, modeling, perceived behavioral control (barriers, self-efficacy), attitudes (attitude and outcome expectations) and intentions toward healthy eating behaviors.
This 12-item scale measured the degree to which people listen to nutrition information promoted
Note: Previous nutrition exposure refers to if the participants had previously taken any nutrition courses in college
by the media. In the original scale, media referred to newspaper, magazine, and TV. Due to the rise of digital media, we added the internet, social media, and mobile apps to our study. Responses ranged from strongly disagree (coded as 1) to strongly agree (coded as 7). Some items in the scale were reverse coded. An overall measure of Media was created by calculating the mean score of the 12 items. Higher scores reflected higher attention to media when promoting healthy eating behaviors. Samples of the statements used in this scale were the following: “information from different media sources suggest that people should buy foods with bran” and “commercials showing fresh
fruit and vegetables make those foods appealing to me.” Internal consistency reliability was acceptable (Cronbach’s a = .69).
A Likert scale with 23 items was used to measure if friends and family had a positive influence on healthy eating behaviors by providing their support to follow a healthy diet. Responses ranged from never (1) to very often (7). Some items of the scale were reverse coded. An overall measure of Modeling was created by calculating the mean score of the 23 items. Higher scores reflected greater support from family and friends on healthy eating behaviors. An example of the items used in this scale is “my friends encouraged me not to eat high-salt foods when I was tempted to do so.”
Cronbach’s alpha in this sample was 0.73, suggesting high internal consistency reliability.
This construct was measured using a 7-point Likert scale with 15 items. Three items assessed cost, three items measured taste, three items evaluated time, and the last six items assessed availability as barriers to healthy eating behaviors. Response options ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7), with higher scores reflecting higher barriers. Some items of the scale were reverse coded. An overall measure of Barriers was created by calculating the mean score of the 15 items. An example of the statements used in this scale is “It takes a lot of time to prepare nutritious meals.” The scale showed high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s a = 0.85).
A 7-point Likert scale was used to measure positive attitudes toward healthy eating to reduce risk of chronic diseases. This scale contained six items, with responses ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Some items of the scale were reverse coded. An overall measure of Attitude was created by calculating the mean score of the six items. Higher scores indicated greater importance placed on future health. An example of the items used in this scale is “it is very important to lower my risk of having disease in old age.” The
Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86, suggesting high internal consistency reliability.
A 23-item scale was used to measure perceived ability to follow healthy eating practices under various situations. In this section, participants were asked to rate their confidence in performing different healthy eating behaviors using a scale ranging from not at all confident (1) to extremely confident (7). An overall measure of Self-efficacy was created by calculating the mean score of the 23 items. Some sample items are “I am able to choose fruit instead of donuts or pastries most of the time, at coffee breaks” and “I can always resist buying candy bars, chips, and cookies from vending machines.” A reliability coefficient of 0.89 indicated high internal consistency for this scale.
This construct was measured by having participants rate their likelihood of possible consequences of healthy eating practices (physical appearance, body weight, and health consequences such as heart diseases, cancer, and gastrointestinal disorders). This scale consisted of 14 items and used a 7-point scale ranging from not at all likely (1) to extremely likely (7). An overall measure of Outcome Expectations was created by calculating the mean score of the 14 items. An example of an item used in this scale is “Eating fewer high-fat foods (e.g., fried foods, fatty meals, rich desserts, and butter/margarine/oil) help to protect me from heart disease.” The scale had high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s a = 0.96).
Intentions to adopt eight healthy eating practices within the next 6 weeks were measured. The eight healthy eating practices were the following: selecting smaller portions of meat or poultry; choosing baked potatoes instead of French french fries; selecting whole grain products instead of refined grains; reducing the consumption of butter or margarine; incorporating legumes in salads, soups, and entrees; consuming at least three servings of vegetables per day; preferring home-made hamburgers rather than fast-food hamburgers; and choosing
skim milk instead of whole milk. An overall measure of Intentions was created by calculating the mean score of the eight items. Cronbach’s a = 0.81. The questionnaire was administered via a secure website (Qualtrics, Provo, Utah). Before the questionnaire was administered to the study sample, it was pre-tested for clarity, length, and format using a group of 10 students enrolled in the spring 2016 semester. The questionnaire was then revised for some wording problems and survey layout. A screening question was asked to ensure the survey takers were college students aged 18 to 36 years.
Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0. The internal consistency of each construct was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to compare differences of variables (media, modeling, attitudes, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, barriers, and intentions to healthy eating behaviors) by gender and previous nutrition exposure.
Multiple linear regression models, predicting intentions to adopt healthy eating behaviors, were estimated. In the regression model, independent variables were media, modeling, barriers, attitudes, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations. Gender and ethnicity were adjusted in the regression model. The estimated variance inflation factors (VIF) for the independent variables ranged
from 1.04 to 1.65, suggesting that multi-collinearity was not a problem in these analyses.
Female participants had significantly higher intention to adopt healthy eating behaviors (p < 0.001) and were significantly influenced by media—more than their male counterparts (p = 0.011) (Table 2). In addition, female participants scored significantly higher on self-efficacy (p = 0.001) and outcome expectations (p = 0.007) compared to male participants. Participants who had taken nutrition classes had significantly higher scores on attitudes and self-efficacy (p = 0.02 and 0.001, respectively) (Table 2).
The regression results showed that the independent variables significantly predicted 53% of the variability in intention to healthy eating behaviors among the university students in this study (F (8,523) = 95.7, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.53). The correlation coefficients indicated that significant predictors of intention to adopt healthy eating behaviors
Note: a significant difference by gender based on 95% CI
b significant difference by previous nutrition education exposure based on 95% CI
Participants who had taken nutrition classes had significantly higher scores on attitudes and self-efficacy.
included self-efficacy (b = 0.23, p < 0.001), media (b = 0.26, p < 0.001), and modeling from parents and peers (b = 0.05, p = 0.03) (Table 3). The results did not show any significant effects of the barrier construct, analyzed as a group or divided into taste, cost, time, and availability (p > 0.05), in predicting intentions to adopt healthy eating behaviors.
The purpose of this theory-driven study was to explore factors, including previous nutrition exposure, media, parental and peer modeling, barriers, attitude, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations that influence intentions to adopt healthy dietary behaviors among university students. The results indicated that media, parental and peer modeling, and self-efficacy directly predicted intentions to adopt healthy dietary behaviors, and previous nutrition exposure significantly influenced selfefficacy and attitudes.
Most of the participants in this study reported social media and the internet as the main sources of nutrition information and that media was a significant predictor of the intention to adopt healthy eating behaviors. Findings from previous studies align with these results. For example, in a qualitative study using focus groups (Deliens et al., 2014), the participants reported being influenced by media and advertising in making healthy food choices. Similarly, a study conducted by Amore et al. (2019) on barriers and enablers of healthy eating among college students reported that college students regarded social media as a source of health promotion, allowing them to shape their perception of normalized behavior, and
modeling behavior seen in social media, or using it as reinforcement of healthy behaviors. Moreover, findings of this study revealed that female participants were influenced by media more than their male counterparts were. This finding is consistent with previous findings by Barcaccia et al. (2018) and Fernandez and Pritchard (2012) who found that females were significantly more influenced by the media in terms of dysfunctional eating behaviors and drive for thinness than males were. Media should be used as a platform for nutrition interventions and programs to college students, especially female students, to share reliable nutrition education information and facilitate the interaction between students and nutrition educators in order to set goals and provide tailored information.
In this study, students reported that modeling from family and friends influenced their intentions to adopt healthy eating behaviors. Previous studies also found that parental and friend modeling helped to promote healthy eating behaviors in college students. Sogari et al. (2018) found that parents had a crucial role, both positive and negative,
Findings of this study revealed that female participants were influenced by media more than their male counterparts were.
in shaping the concept of healthy eating. A study by Grumbine et al. (2011) on factors influencing college student’s choices of milk and soda showed that family consumption of milk was directly associated with college students’ milk consumption. Other studies found support and encouragement from friends when making a lifestyle change to be important for performing the desired behavior (Amore et al., 2019; Deliens et al., 2014; Kabir et al., 2018).
Self-efficacy was found to be an important predictor in determining intention to adopt healthy eating behaviors among university students in this study. This finding confirms the results of Cox et al. (2017) who found that self-efficacy was a significant predictor of students’ intake of fruit and vegetables, grains, milk, and meat.
Previous nutrition exposure did not show significant influence on intentions to adopt healthy eating behaviors; yet it was significantly associated with positive attitudes and self-efficacy in making healthy food choices. This finding suggests that previous nutrition exposure might be important for developing self-efficacy and positive attitudes, which were important factors in predicting intentions and nutrition behaviors as shown in this study and previous studies of college students (Deshpande et al., 2009; Garcia & Mann, 2003). In this study, the barrier construct related to taste, time, cost, and availability was not a significant predictor of intention to adopt healthy eating behaviors. Deshpande et al. (2009) also found no significant effects of price, taste, ease of preparation, and convenience on the likelihood of college students to eat a healthy diet. The large sample size (525 participants) was a strength in this study. Moreover, the study population included university students of all study years and disciplines, which contributed to a wider range of experiences and opinions.
This study had some limitations. First, data were self-reported, which may introduce memory or social desirability bias. Second, the participants were recruited from one university campus in the United States using a convenience sampling method; therefore the findings may not be generalizable to the rest of the population. In addition, a full understanding of the intention to make
healthy dietary choices was limited by the fact that we did not assess actual food intake. Despite its limitations, this study provides unique and important insights for future studies of college students, an important population that is at a key crossroads in their lives.
The results of this study underscore the importance of media influence, self-efficacy, and parental and peer modeling as direct predictors of healthy eating behaviors among university students. These findings should be considered when developing tailored nutrition intervention programs aiming to improve university students’ eating behaviors, such as use of media as a platform and the involvement of parents, friends, and peers in the nutrition interventions.
The results of this study also emphasize the role of nutrition exposure in influencing self-efficacy and attitudes. This finding suggests the need for nutrition education programs and that they should focus primarily on improving self-efficacy and behavior skills as pertaining to healthy foods and eating behaviors.
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Families and community members are challenging secondary schools to improve career readiness preparation. Family and consumer sciences (FCS) educators can be instrumental in helping students prepare effectively for a career with school-to-work transitions through work-based learning (WBL). This article presents the implementation of a 2-day FCS educator training designed to guide and build sustainable high-quality WBL experiences for students through a continuum of WBL options.
Many high school graduates seeking employment face the obstacle of having relevant work experience needed for a particular occupation. Yet, it is difficult to gain the necessary expertise without sustainable partnerships with industry and community professionals and experience in the workplace. According to a Gallup poll, just 5% of adults in the United States believe that high school graduates are prepared for today’s workforce
(Busteed, 2018). In addition, very few of today’s high schools prepare students well for the workplace (Busteed, 2018). Both of these issues reinforce the need for high school students to participate in work-based learning (WBL) opportunities (e.g., informational interviews, job shadows, internships, school-based enterprises) to gain the work experience needed, as well as to confirm the career direction.
The primary purpose of WBL is to merge theory with practice and knowledge with experience (Raelin, 2008). WBL should be intentionally designed to help students extend and deepen classroom work and make progress toward learning outcomes that are difficult to achieve through
classroom or formal project-based learning alone. Additionally, WBL offers students the opportunity to reflect on their actual experiences, thereby helping to confirm the career path they pursue after high school.
Most secondary FCS teachers provide opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom through lab simulations, project-based learning, service learning, and participation in competitive events associated with the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) organization. However, many qualifying experiences such as informational interviews, guest speakers, and job shadows are often not acknowledged as WBL experiences.
Perkins V, also known as the Strengthening the Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, defines WBL as
Sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required of a given career field that are aligned to curriculum and instruction (U.S. Department of Education, 2018).
Work-based learning is not only a junior- and senior-level course that places students in parttime FCS-related occupations. Also, the term work-based does not mean the experience must occur at a workplace or during the standard “workday.” WBL should always involve interaction with industry and community professionals who are not employed by the school but these interactions can take place within a school, community, workplace, virtually via technology, or across a combination of these settings. WBL experiences also may build upon industry projects or activities that FCS educators have arranged with industry and community professionals for their students. Furthermore, work-based learning experiences may occur during the school day, outside the school day, or when school is not in session. In Texas, there has been a lack of reporting WBL experiences in secondary FCS programs due to FCS educators not being familiar with all of the WBL options that can begin in middle school
and continue through high school. The Linked Learning Alliance, a national coalition of educators, employers, and community organizations, developed a continuum of WBL experiences that stretches from kindergarten into adulthood and has become the model for many state education departments across the country (Linked Learning, 2012). They created three stages of WBL that aligns with four continuum areas described below (Linked Learning, 2012):
• Career Awareness and Career Exploration experiences support learning about work. In these continuums, students build awareness of the variety of careers available and begin identifying areas of interest, as well as explore career options to provide motivation and inform decision-making.
• Career Preparation experiences support learning through work. Students apply learning through practical experience and interaction with professionals from industry and the community to extend and deepen classroom work and support the development of college- and career-readiness knowledge and skills (higher-order thinking, academic skills, technical skills, and applied workplace skills).
• Career Training experiences support learning for work. Students train for employment in a specific field and range of occupations.
Career development can occur through career speakers, employer panels, informational interviews, job shadowing, career fairs, workplace tours, service learning, internships, apprenticeships, school-based enterprises, and many other types of WBL experiences (Cease-Cook et al., 2019; Darche et al., 2009; Euro-net et al., 2017). In strategically developed programs, students can gain value from role models and mentors while increasing their social capital (Ross et al., 2020; Showalter & Spiker, 2016). There are also opportunities for students to acquire soft skills and technical knowledge that better prepare them to successfully enter the workforce while simultaneously building a solid work history (Jobs for the Future, 2017; McNulty et al., 2012; Showalter & Spiker, 2016; Xanthis, 2015).
Secondary FCS teachers are in an ideal position to facilitate these developmental opportunities for students (Alfeld, 2015; Dobbs-Oates, 2019). As educators in Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs, they often teach employability skills and career-specific technical knowledge as critical curriculum components (Duncan, 2018; Palombit, 2015). These skills are crucial to sufficiently prepare students for the workforce to more adequately meet the needs of employers (Bahl & Dietzen, 2019; Busteed, 2018; Page et al., 2020). Providing WBL opportunities for career awareness, exploration, preparation, and training enables FCS educators to address student uncertainty in career and education planning and decision-making.
There are many characteristics attributed to quality WBL offerings; however, the meaning of WBL varies throughout the literature. Many scholars advocating for WBL in secondary education emphasize the importance of employer-student interaction (Canney & Mezera, 2020; Darche et al., 2009; McNulty et al., 2012) and curricular alignment (Alfeld et al., 2013; Canney & Mezera, 2020; Haimson & Bellotti, 2001; McNulty et al., 2012; Rogers-Chapman & Darling-Hammond, 2013). Another valuable characteristic of WBL is offering a continuum of progressively immersive and developmental experiences across grade levels (Cahill & Jackson, 2015; Canney & Mezera, 2020; Imperatore & Hyslop, 2018; Jobs for the Future, 2017; McNulty et al., 2012; U. S. Department of Education, 2021).
The continuum that frames these strategies and initiatives varies across the literature but most frequently includes career awareness, career exploration, career preparation, and career training (Cahill & Jackson, 2015; Canney & Mezera, 2020; Imperatore & Hyslop, 2018; McNulty et al., 2012). Integrated into this continuum are numerous opportunities to engage students in occupational, cognitive, and social-emotional development (Alfeld et al., 2013; Darche et al., 2009; Griffith, 2001; Ross et al., 2020). However, this training is not well supported when educators lack sufficient WBL training and resources.
Furthermore, the Perkins V Act specifies that state and local agencies can spend Perkins funds on promoting, creating, or expanding WBL opportunities. It also requires states and localities to describe how they will develop or expand WBL opportunities to ensure secondary students develop the career-readiness knowledge and skills needed to achieve success at the postsecondary and workforce levels.
The Perkins V Act specifies that state and local agencies can spend Perkins funds on promoting, creating, or expanding WBL opportunities.
Secondary FCS educators must be adequately equipped to prepare students for a successful transition to the workplace; therefore, a training series was designed and offered to secondary FCS educators across Texas. This training was based on existing WBL literature, research, resources, and a survey conducted to better understand secondary school FCS teachers’ knowledge and experience with WBL experiences in Texas.
The results of the survey were insightful in showing that approximately 48% of secondary FCS teachers were not implementing WBL experiences for their students. (See Table 1.) For those FCS teachers implementing WBL experiences, the majority of them were implementing career fairs, guest speakers, industry tours, and practicum/ career preparation courses (see Table 2). The barriers and challenges they were experiencing also could explain why other WBL experiences were not provided for students in secondary FCS course(s).
Based on these survey results, a WBL training was developed with materials and resources that addressed the areas of concern. The training included developing a WBL action plan that identifies appropriate opportunities for middle and high school students and steps for facilitating these high-quality WBL opportunities.
This training also was built on the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) High-Quality Career and Technical Education Framework (Imperatore & Hyslop, 2018). The WBL element of this research-based framework provided a list of nine criteria to help FCS educators develop and enhance the quality of the WBL experiences they were planning to provide for their students (Hyslop & Imperatore, 2015; Imperatore & Hyslop, 2018). This framework also was central to the numerous online resources we provided secondary FCS teachers during the training (Work-Based Learning Resources LiveBinder, Access Key: WBLearning). Furthermore, Pawlowski and Katz’s (2014) Employer Engagement Toolkit was utilized to guide them in building strong and sustainable industry and community partnerships.
Ways to measure and document employability skills and other career-ready knowledge FCS students obtain from WBL experiences were
discussed, including how to apply four types of measurement tools: portfolios, rubrics, employer feedback and evaluation, and student-self-assessments. These measurement tools could be used individually or in combination depending on the particular type of WBL experience. This content was significant because measuring student learning while participating in WBL experiences allows students to reflect on their WBL experiences and connect their knowledge and skills to their goals. Also, CTE administrators, secondary FCS teachers, and business/industry partners can use the data to improve the quality of WBL experiences so they remain sustainable in the future for FCS students.
Once secondary FCS teachers participated in the WBL training, they learned how to offer a variety of WBL experiences in every FCS course they taught in middle school and high school.
Once secondary FCS teachers participated in the WBL training, they learned how to offer a variety of WBL experiences in every FCS course they taught in middle school and high school. They also learned how to address the barriers and challenges they were currently facing with their school administration, prospective industry/community partners, students, and parents. These challenges and barriers included access and equity, student transportation and travel time, school policies and practices that inhibited WBL participation, child labor and occupational safety laws, and employer engagement. In addition, they learned how to effectively measure the outcomes of each WBL experience for the continued success and improvement of the program. Last, a WBL action plan was developed to guide these secondary FCS teachers in their support and commitment to developing high-quality WBL experiences for their FCS program within their school district and community.
After each training was conducted with secondary FCS teachers, an online evaluation was emailed to them. One of the results of this training showed that 96% of secondary FCS teachers would recommend the training to their FCS colleagues. What they really enjoyed most in this training was learning about all of the WBL experiences they could implement from middle school to high school in all four areas of the WBL continuum, as well as the numerous resources provided in the WBL LiveBinder and in the Employer Engagement Toolkit. They also appreciated the various ideas and step-by-step information for effectively developing these WBL experiences into high-quality experiences for their students. They were pleasantly surprised to learn that some of these WBL experiences were already being provided in their FCS courses, but they enjoyed getting more ideas to improve them. They were also asked what WBL experiences they will offer in the future, and the majority of them stated industry tours/field trips, lunch and learn guest speakers, informational interviews, job shadows, internships, industry-based projects, career portfolios evaluated by industry professionals, service learning projects in collaboration with community professionals, practicums with industry partners providing frequent training lessons, and on-the-job training through career preparation courses.
Two main concerns they had with the training were: (a) digesting all of the information they received in 2 days, and (b) wanting more time learning how to engage industry and community professionals. Due to COVID-19, many of the secondary FCS educators had a limited amount of days they could miss school because of a shortage of substitute teachers, so the 2-day virtual training was the best option for most of them. We also provided other options such as in-person 2-day training at their regional education service center, virtual training for 3 hours (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) for 4 days, and virtual training for 4 hours (1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) for 3 days. Upcoming trainings will be restructured to focus more time on ways to engage industry and community partners by providing the survey results and WBL challenges and barriers information in a PDF format that they will
receive 2 weeks before the training. This information will still be covered, but it will be provided as a summary overview during the training.
As the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (2020) continues pushing states to provide more WBL experiences in public secondary CTE programs, it is necessary to ensure that the quality of these WBL experiences for students and industry/ community partners in FCS programs are sustainable for years to come. Additionally, by providing a continuum of WBL experiences for FCS students from middle school through high school, they will make better-informed career and postsecondary education decisions beyond high school. Furthermore, employers appreciate interviewing prospective employees who have relevant work experience in entry-level positions. By having FCStrained students participate in WBL experiences that provide simulated workplaces and/or on-thejob training, employers will have a qualified pool of employees to choose from in the future.
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Food insecurity is a rising concern in many parts of the world. In the United States, certain populations are more vulnerable than others. One such group is college students. A 2020 report suggests roughly 39% of the 330,000 students surveyed from different colleges and universities experienced food insecurity in the last 30 days (Baker-Smith et al., 2020). Negative outcomes, such as behavioral and mental health issues, decreased academic performance in the form of lower grade point average, and general self-reporting of poor health, have been described by
Zubaida Qamar, PhD, RD (qz@SFSU.edu) is Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, CA; Tina Nguyen, RD, is a Community Nutrition Educator for Apicha’s Nutrition Health Education Program, in New York, NY; Margaret Taylor, RD, CNSC is a registered dietitian at Stanford Healthcare in Palo Alto, CA. Tina Nguyen and Margaret Taylor are graduates of the Nutrition and Dietetics program at San Francisco State University. This sub-project was funded by the SF BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) SF Build/NIH grant in collaboration with University of California, San Francisco. Special thanks to Dr. Hilary Seligman from University of California, San Francisco, for her guidance, students involved in this project, and partners from San Francisco State University (specifically Health Promotion and Wellness Center, Campus Dining Services, and the Student Nutrition and Dietetics Association).
students suffering from food insecurity (Bruening et al., 2017; Hagedorn et al., 2019; McArthur et al., 2018; Phillips et al., 2018). From the family and consumer sciences (FCS) perspective, it is of paramount importance to support healthier communities by enhancing individual and family well-being, leading to optimal quality of life (Anderson & Nickols, 2001). Given the negative consequences of food insecurity among college students, it is important to raise awareness about its prevalence and connect students to available resources in their regional areas, particularly in their own university settings.
Given the geographic settings of different universities and colleges, solutions are dependent on the nature of the institutions. For urban campuses that have a high percentage of commuter students, there is a lower sense of community among students because they are “on the go” and spend less time on campus, leading to less interaction with each other. To mitigate this, college students may utilize additional strategies such as connecting with individuals in their geographic areas or forming connections through campus clubs and programs of study (Vouchilas & Ulasewicz, 2020).
Additionally, urban settings with a high cost of living add to the growing challenges of food insecurity among students. Hence it is of paramount importance to not only reach the students where they are but also to educate them on the availability and utilization of resources provided by the university.
Students may not be aware of resources available at their institutions, and those who are aware may not access them due to stigma associated with utilizing these resources (U. S. Government Accountability Office, 2019). Therefore innovative solutions and strategies to tackle food insecurity are necessary to enhance food access and shift patterns toward healthy eating in adult populations (U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020). These efforts include comprehensive awareness approaches such as presence on social media and campus-wide campaigns. To the authors’ knowledge, no such social media campaign has been developed to increase awareness of food insecurity and food resources for college students. To address this gap in awareness, the “Savor and Succeed” food security campaign was developed. The aims of this campaign were to (a) increase awareness of the prevalence of food insecurity among students through enhanced reach utilizing social media, and (2) promote available food resources on campus to students. The Family and Consumer Sciences Body of Knowledge core concepts of Basic Human Needs and Individual Well-being, along with the cross-cutting theme of Appropriate Use of Technology, were incorporated into this project.
Social media usage has increased in the younger populations and has had both positive and negative effects (Schmitt, 2021). Tapping into the positive attributes of social media, such as wide reach to diverse populations and improved health communications and well-being, the authors used social media to reach the target audience. Instagram, in particular, is one of the most widely used platforms. Roughly 71% of people aged 18–29 years use Instagram, which is the age range targeted for this campaign (Pew Center Research, 2021). In order to reach a commuter student population in urban settings who do not spend a lot of time on campus, targeted messages need to be developed and delivered where they spend time on social media. The content for the campaign consisted of supportive and informative messages with relevant visuals formatted both in “story” and “post” formats on Instagram, supplemented by on-campus field efforts. This content was pilot tested and revised three times with eight individuals (students and staff), and changes were made to the messages and visuals based upon the feedback. These changes included refining visuals and wording and providing specific data regarding food insecurity among college students in the region. The 5-week campaign with respective themes is presented in Table 1.
To optimize campaign success, it was also essential for the campaign to have a name that resonated with the students. Based on student feedback, “Savor and Succeed” was finalized with the idea being to “savor” available food and to “succeed” academically and personally. The content for the social media posts, brochures, flyers, and handouts was created utilizing the graphic design platform, Canva (https://www.canva.com/). Images included photography by the team on various campus locations as well as free stock photos and content acquired from Pexels.com and Unsplash.com. Some content for Instagram consisted of capturing the field efforts such as distribution of flyers and brochures to guide students to the food resources and campaign, and live recording of relevant food security events occurring on campus. Tabling, which involved distributing informative materials and providing education, was implemented onsite
Students may not be aware of resources available at their institutions, and those who are aware may not access them due to stigma associated with utilizing these resources.
Timeline
TopiC of The week
Week 1 Information on general food insecurity
Week 2 Food insecurity on campus
Post 1: Overall statistics on students not having access to food
Post 2: Impact of food insecurity on students
Post 3: Should I buy the textbook or groceries?
Post 1: Specific statistics on food insecurity on our campus
Post 2: GPA comparison of food secure vs. food insecure students
Post 3: Students skipping meals
Theme: You are not alone
Week 3 Promotion of food resources (Part 1)
Post 1: Information on SNAP/Food stamps Help Clinic
Post 2: Information on mobile food alert
Post 3: Information on farmer’s market on campus
Theme: There is help available
Week 4 Promotion of remaining food resources (Part 2)
Week 5 How to support efforts on improving food security and get involved
Post 1: Information on free cooking classes
Post 2: Information on food pantry on campus
Post 3: Information on free meal cards
Theme: Nudge towards awareness and utilization of these resources
Theme: Nudge towards awareness and utilization of these resources
Post 1: Reduce food waste to promote food security Theme: Prompt to take an action
Post 2: Information on volunteering at SNAP/Food Stamps Help Clinic
Post 3: Information on volunteering at food pantry on campus
at peak traffic times. The data presented here are from Instagram data analytics that are being used to determine the campaign’s ability to achieve effective audience reach and engagement. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of San Francisco State University.
University campuses provide a unique environment to leverage existing strategies around health promotion. A collaborative approach with the health and wellness centers on campus can be beneficial. To enhance the campaign’s reach and promote shared food security values, partnerships were established with the Health Promotion and Wellness Center (HPW) and the Dining Services on campus; this allowed the campaign to release digital content to be promoted on partners’ social media accounts. The partnerships also allowed the researchers to leverage their relatively larger social media following. Additionally, to have a designated official space for content to supplement reach and engagement, a public Instagram account for the campaign, @savorandsucceed, was created.
The student Nutrition and Dietetics organization also was involved as a side partner. Additional recruitment of participants happened through word of mouth, asking partner accounts to promote the main Instagram account, chalking promotional messages on campus, and handing out
To enhance the campaign’s reach and promote shared food security values, partnerships were established with the Health Promotion and Wellness Center (HPW) and the Dining Services on campus; this allowed the campaign to release digital content to be promoted on partners’ social media accounts.
flyers through tabling. It was crucial to have the messages and content shared on other university organizations’ accounts that had a larger Instagram following.
Elements of a socio-ecological framework were incorporated into the design and implementation of the campaign. This framework aims to elucidate the interactions among various levels of society in regards to a particular health issue (Stokols, 1992). On an intrapersonal level, content was meant to improve student’s knowledge and attitudes toward using food resources on campus. On an interpersonal level, the content was designed to reduce social stigma, which may prevent students from seeking the help they need. On a community level, the partners of the campaign and their respective efforts on securing basic needs were deemed significant to the success of the campaign.
The campaign was launched in October and November of 2019. Developed content was shared 3 days per week. (See Table 1). Based on activity data of followers, noon (12:00 p.m.) was one of the most active times for users and hence, a majority of the pre-developed content was posted around that time. An example of a post is presented in Figure 1. To supplement the posts, real time content, such as coverage of certain basic needs and food events or tabling on campus, was captured live.
The online content was supplemented by efforts on the field. Permission was obtained to do tabling in certain areas on campus. Chalking was allowed on certain areas of foot paths so different color chalks were utilized to promote the message and encourage students to go online for further information. The chalked messages were captured live and presented on the campaign Instagram account. Additional activities were used to enhanced the online presence, such as demonstrating via video recording on how to access food from the food pantry on campus and saving it as an Instagram story accessible on demand. In the video, a student representative showed viewers the complete process of accessing the food pantry from beginning to end and demonstrated which categories and types of food items are eligible to be picked up for that day.
Based on the demographic data of the campaign account, 75% of followers were female and were from the local area, with a majority of followers aged 18–24 years, corresponding to the target audience demographics. The content (n = 21 posts) was developed and shared on the main account, some of which also was shared by HPW, a campus partner. Engagement analytics through post insights showed data on reach, profile, and website visits, and impressions for each post. The content shared by the partner account generated
more than 8,000 views, with a reach of more than 12,800 and 17,516 impressions. The content was shared 49 times in various manners. The social media engagement data also provided information on following or unfollowing after certain content was posted. Additionally, feedback was garnered from followers regarding viewing the chalked messages through the polling feature on Instagram.
implications and lessons learned Based on the results, the campaign was able to reach the intended target audience of college students, and it allowed for engagement with the content. The food resources were promoted and information was provided on how to access these resources. This ties in with data from the Pew Center that suggests that a majority of U.S. adults utilize social media to engage with news content, intertact with one another, and share information; in particular, half of U.S. adults use social media to get digital news (Pew Research Center, 2022). Additionally, students were nudged to take action to alleviate food insecurity, and information was provided on how students can get involved in supporting these efforts.
Creating
When launching a social media campaign, content creation is an important element. Though the campaign was implemented predominantly online, there was a considerable amount of in-person work involved in building an effective online campaign because some story content had to be created live, at specific times, on campus, and usually required staff to be present onsite. Also, in order to table on campus, permission was needed and it
was only allowed in designated areas. Creating an account from scratch proved to be tedious work that required constant monitoring, management, successful networking, and collaborative effort. Recommendation for others looking to implement their campaigns would be to establish partnerships with campus organizations that have established an audience of followers to improve social media reach. Additionally, with a public social media account, the direct messages need to be filtered for inappropriate content or spam. Furthermore, in order to have a successful account and build a following, engaging new content needs to be posted periodically.
A vast amount of data can be retrieved from the social media account, which can be used for evaluation or recruitment purposes. To enhance reach, various relevant hashtags need to be utilized along with traditional recruitment methods of tabling and handing out flyers. The hashtag #savorandsucceed was included in all posts to allow for tracking engagement and reach. Another recommendation is to show support for related food security efforts on campus; this allows buy-in and trust from audiences and provides relevant content for the account while advocating a similar message. For example, in celebration of World Kindness Day in November, Campus Dining hosts a philanthropic event involving making hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to be donated to unhoused individuals and partnering food banks. During this event, the author assisted in making sandwiches to support the cause. This experience was captured on the main Instagram account with tags to the dining center account. Creativity and engaging content is generally expected within the realm of social media. The campaign can be adapted to reach students who have less accessibilty to
In order to have a successful account and build a following, engaging new content needs to be posted periodically.
an account from scratch proved to be tedious work that required constant monitoring, management, successful networking, and collaborative effort.
in-person events but who do have access to technology and a high social media usage.
Limitations of this project were related to the unique characteristics of the target audience—mostly commuter students in an urban campus—and the timing of on-campus activities to be captured by the account. Students who are not users of social media, particularly Instagram, could not access the online content and should be reached in alternative ways. Additionally, some on-campus activities happened at certain times which may not have been captured due to schedule conflicts. As such, not all relevant activities could be digitally promoted. In addition, useful activities that were captured may be inaccessible in the moment because students may be in classes or not on campus during activity times. Furthermore, dedicated staff would be needed to continue the account beyond the campaign period. Surveys and focus groups should be conducted to strengthen and guide future large scale interventions on food security.
The food security campaign on social media can raise awareness and increase exposure to the prevalence of food insecurity in college settings and promote available resources in conjunction with traditional, in-person methods. This campaign can be adapted by FCS professionals working with hard-to-reach populations experiencing food insecurity and who have high social media usage. The results have implications for developing large scale intervention studies to understand the effectiveness of social media platforms for nutrition education and awareness in connection with behavior change.
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Dr. Jewell Deene Ellis’s visionary, quiet, and determined leadership shaped the family and consumer sciences (FCS) profession in Kentucky and across the nation for almost 6 decades. Ellis’s influence was greatest in educational policy development and the establishment of national standards for FCS education. Her efforts had a positive impact on every FCS program in middle and senior high schools, post-secondary and adult education, and higher education. A research study was initiated to document and tell her story and share personal reflections.
Few individuals exhibit the breadth or depth in family and consumer sciences (FCS) as Dr. Jewell Deene Ellis. She is a rare individual who leaves her chosen profession better for multiple generations into the future. During her 57-year career (1951–2008) in various roles in education and education policy advocacy, Ellis provided assistance and leadership to students, teachers, families, schools, state agencies, and professional organizations. Her most visible influence was in policy development and establishment of national standards for FCS education (Henry & Miller, 2016). Her influence on students and colleagues contributed significantly to the field. In recognition of her lifetime of contributions and achievements, Ellis received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters (2017) from her alma mater, the University of Kentucky (UK). Reflections on her childhood, formal and
non-formal educational experiences, her teaching and administrative roles, and her engagement in education policy advocacy add to the rich personal histories that undergird FCS.
To gain an understanding of Ellis’s career and contributions to FCS, a multi-method study was undertaken. Nickols (2017) described methods for historical research and advocated for a multi-method approach to add depth and breadth to understanding the people, events, and philosophies that have shaped FCS. This study explored two research questions:
1. What experiences contributed to Jewell Deene Ellis’s growth and development as an FCS leader and professional?
2. How did Jewell Deene Ellis have an impact on FCS-related education policy within multiple organizations and institutions?
The approach combined oral history, in-depth interviews, biography, and documentary research. A series of questions used as an interview guide were developed by the author and shared with Ellis. Ellis’s life story was discussed during four sessions held in her home, on her family farm, and in the local community center located in the converted high school. The author consulted documentary sources for corroboration and additional information. After integrating the narratives, summarizing the interviews, documentary information, and personal interpretations, the author discussed the details with Ellis in person and via email. She provided additional context, clarification, and corrected inaccuracies.
Jewell Deene Ellis was born on October 11, 1928, to Cecil Tilden Ellis, Sr., and Alma Lou Whitehouse Ellis at Puss Minor Place, in Boyle County, Kentucky. The Ellis and Whitehouse ancestors migrated to Kentucky from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The family has identified 13 generations, which include a direct linkage to Nancy Hanks, Abraham Lincoln’s mother (Sheperson et al., 2009). The oldest of 11 children, Ellis’s early years were anything but boring. As a child, she worked beside both parents in the fields, garden, and house. She shared much of the work with her sisters, Shirley and Barbara. Shirley was born 1 year after Jewell Deene, followed by Barbara
2 years later. Six of the Ellis sisters kept home economics (HE) in the family—Jewell Deene, Barbara, Shirley, Wilma Rae, Kaye, and Karen; they all were HE graduates from the University of Kentucky (AHEA, 1970). Marlena, Cecil Jr., Dale Keith, Darrell, and Barry pursued other professions.
I do come from a large family. We were a hard-working farm family. We grew tobacco, fed cattle, and had a garden in the summer. We canned stuff for winter. We had a cellar that was in the side of a hill behind the house. We all had jobs to do. The older ones had to take care of the younger ones. I worked outside and in the field a lot. I helped with the tobacco. Stripping tobacco would be something we would do when we were home at Thanksgiving from college. If we did not finish, we would do it at Christmas too.
Education was important to Ellis’s parents. When Ellis started school, her parents were disappointed by the quality of their local schools and decided to sell their farm in Gravel Switch, Kentucky, and purchase another in Forkland, Kentucky. Forkland had a good school that they felt would meet the needs of their growing family. At age 7, Ellis entered first grade and discovered a love of school and learning. At age 10, Ellis joined the local 4-H club. It was in those school-based 4-H meetings that her connection to HE began.
It was really something when the county agent and the home demonstration agent came to the school to have 4-H club meeting—that was a big event. When I was old enough, I went to 4-H camp every summer. That was a big affair. That was the event of the summer—to go to 4-H camp. Jennie Grubbs was my home demonstration agent.
When a secondary school was not available in Forkland, Ellis’s father and grandfather sold three acres to the Board of Education for $750 for a new secondary school. The community members imposed a local tax to keep the school operational. A few years later Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers built the gymnasium from limestone taken from local fields and creeks. To the Ellis family and the people of Forkland, education was critical.
Ellis’s mother had taken a few courses in high school domestic science, which inspired Ellis to consider HE as a major. College for the Ellis children was always a given.
Mother and Daddy wanted all of us to do something beyond high school. They were a big influence. Going to college, not necessarily where you went, but going was instilled in us as we grew up. I said early on that the only place I ever want to go to school is the University of Kentucky.
In fall, 1947, Ellis arrived at the UK campus. Her college years were active and happy ones. She joined the Home Economics Club, serving as president in her senior year. The Club was active in Farm and Home Week, hosting people from all over the state and serving lunch as a fundraiser. In her dormitory government organization, she served as an officer. She was also active in the university 4-H Club and the League of Women Voters. Ellis’s student teaching occurred at Old Kentucky Home High School in Nelson County, which was the newest and best equipped high school in the state.
As with many college students, adventures abounded. Ellis had one that delights listeners even 70 years later.
This happened during Shirley’s and my junior year at Thanksgiving. We just had the biggest snowstorm. We just had to get back to school, because UK had a regulation that if you missed the day before or after a holiday, another credit was added to your graduation requirements. Daddy put chains on the car, and we drove to Danville to catch the train into Lexington. The train was late from a football game in Knoxville. When it finally arrived, it was full and the only place to ride was in the baggage car. So, we did! We had to stand up most of the time and we rode with boxes of chickens and a corpse!
she taught for 9½ years. They were good years filled with classes, student organizations, adult education, and home visits. As a teacher in the early 1950s, Ellis was one of three teachers in Kentucky who piloted a Better Home Living curriculum that included both males and females. It became her favorite class and served as a model for other teachers to expand their curriculum to include family relations, management, and consumer education (Ellis, 1990).
Following graduation, Ellis became the HE teacher at Nicholas County High School where
Nicholas County had a little town. I had a room in a lady’s house with kitchen privileges. I paid $25 a month; my take home pay was $189 a month. When I moved to Murray State, my salary almost doubled. And I thought that was a huge salary! While I was at Nicholas County High School, I supervised 30 student teachers; Sue Couch was one of them. I had some good student teachers while I was there. Some of them became teachers and some of them went into the school lunch program. I made sure that every student teacher went on a home visit and helped me teach an adult class.
Over the years, she declined several new job opportunities, but began to worry that she might not receive additional offers if she kept turning them down. In 1960, the offer she could not refuse was presented. Dr. Ralph Woods, President of Murray State University, invited her to join the Murray State faculty and become the first “itinerant teacher” for HE in Kentucky.
One of the most impactful experiences of her life occurred after Ellis’s second year of teaching
when she was selected for the International Farm Youth Exchange (IFYE) sponsored by the National 4-H Club Foundation, Cooperative Extension Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and Land Grant Colleges and Universities (Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’Rith, 1954). Ellis was selected to travel to Israel; she soon discovered that Israel was 6,247 miles away from Kentucky and a world away culturally. Residing in an Israeli kibbutz in 4-yearold Israel in 1952 was the cultural opposite of her life as a girl from Kentucky. Many people asked her parents why they ever let her go.
I had my choice of country, so I thought, if I’m able to do something like this, I’m selecting the country furthest away and Israel was it. I stayed at five different places, the first one was Degani Bet near the Jordan River. The second oldest kibbutz in Israel, it was a collective settlement where residents owned everything collectively. Children were taken care of collectively in a childcare center until age two. I worked in the kitchen, washing dishes. Somebody came in who spoke English and said, oh, they know how to work. They just thought we were all rich and didn’t know how to do things. I also worked in their gardens, oftentimes before daylight.
At the second settlement, Moledet, close to Nazareth, people collectively owned farmland, but individually owned their homes. When we were at Beer Tuvia kibbutz, we traveled on a horse drawn wagon through the desert. In Benyamia, we received the royal treatment when we visited a Bedouin village and met villagers in a beautiful tent with wall-to-wall carpet and drank very strong coffee. It was a life changing and memorable experience.
Returning from Israel provided Ellis with her first opportunity on the national stage. As she stepped off the Queen Elizabeth ship, she was greeted by a CBS crew from the Edward R. Murrow show. After a quick introduction, they indicated they would see her in Kentucky. They arrived in Gravel Switch and interviewed Ellis about her time in Israel and joined her for a community presentation about Israel. The show included United
States Vice President Alben Barkley, who was from Kentucky. He discussed the importance of 4-H and the IFYE experience (Friendly & Murrow, 1953).
Her position at Murray State University brought opportunities to guide and mentor others, a role in which she thrived. Visiting HE teachers across western Kentucky enabled her to have an impact on educators far from the Kentucky State Department of Education. It was not long before the Kentucky state education leaders urged her to join them. Ellis accepted a position in Frankfort where she remained for the rest of her career.
In 1971, Ellis was named assistant director of the Home Economics Division of the Kentucky Department of Education, and 1 year later was named director. She succeeded her long-time mentors Mary Bell Vaughan and Mary Lois Williamson, well-known, prominent state and national HE leaders (Ellis et al., 1982a; 1982b). Ellis flourished in her state leadership roles; her colleagues and the programs prospered as well.
Ellis was a team player who sought to support and collaborate with her supervisors and colleagues. One of her colleagues recalled,
Jewell Deene just has a way about her. She’s a kind, considerate, diplomatic leader. She could sit down, talk things through until you either came over to her way of thinking or you worked it out. I do remember when she wanted me to do something and I said, oh, I don’t think I can do that. Jewell Deene talked me through it until I felt I could do it. She’s very diplomatic in working with people; that’s why she was such a success in Washington (personal communication, G. Ellington, July 26, 2021).
Ellis summarized her perspective on interpersonal communications:
People didn’t always agree with me. I listened to people. I think it’s really, really important to listen to people. If you can agree, fine, but if you can’t, it’s okay to say you don’t agree with them. But you can do that in a nice way.
Above all, Ellis was an advocate for and supporter of teachers. Programmatic and curriculum decisions centered on what served students and teachers.
She met with teachers. She met with groups of teachers when she started anything new. She got their buy-in. Other teachers would buy-in because they knew the teachers who were on the committee Jewell Deene formed (personal communication, G. Ellington, July 26, 202l).
She set an effective course of action focused on ways to remain relevant and timely so teachers could provide strong and pertinent programs.
One thing that I’ve always said to teachers is that you have to keep up with the national trends. What’s going on in the country, what’s going on in the family? Teachers are so busy, they don’t have time to keep up with all that, but that has to be done. And that’s the reason you revise curriculum every seven or eight years to keep up with what’s going on.
While advocating and supporting teachers, Ellis also held high expectations for teachers. In correspondence to then American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences President Sharon Nickols (2002–2003), she listed characteristics of excellent teachers: implements the profession’s vision and mission, aligns curriculum with national standards, uses diversity of teaching and learning styles, supports the community, integrates technology, develops problem solving and critical thinking skills, and participates in professional development (personal communication, J. D. Ellis, October 21, 2021).
From 1984–1988, Ellis served as executive secretary of the Kentucky Vocational Education Association, where she was involved in the educational reform efforts undertaken by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Under Governor Martha Layne Collins, Ellis was appointed to the Commission of Vocational/Technical Education that examined the entire system of vocational education and proposed restructuring the state administrative unit and its funding. As a result, the State Board
for Adult and Vocational/Technical Education was established. Secondary vocational education continued to be governed by the State Board of Education with a charge to better integrate academic and vocational education (Commission on Vocational/Technical Education, 1986).
An important part of serving in the State Department of Education was stepping up to the national stage to ensure that programs were aligned with the direction of the field and that they had adequate resources. Ellis never hesitated to do her part nationally as evidenced by her numerous contributions.
Her career spanned years of political, economic, and societal turbulence and change in the world, including changing roles for men and women and changes in definitions of family. Throughout it all, she maintained a steady hand and helped guide the evolution of the family and consumer sciences program through leadership at the state and federal levels. She was decisive and deliberate in maintaining core principles within the field but was a leader in changing curriculum and focus to meet changing societal and family needs. (A. Carr, personal communication, March 29, 2017)
Early in her career, Ellis was selected to serve on the National Coalition for Family and Consumer Sciences Education, a challenging national role with consequences for all states. In 1977, three professional organizations with interests in HE education, American Home Economics Association (AHEA), American Vocational Association (AVA), and Home Economics Education Association (HEEA), established the National Coalition for Home Economics Education to increase communication and present a unified focus on issues (Coalition, 1979). In 1979, Ellis was invited to join the Coalition representing AHEA.
Thus began her involvement in the legislative process. This appointment illustrated her philosophy of being prepared when opportunities
presented themselves and if you were not prepared—get prepared! She recalled:
I remember when Camille Bell left the Coalition and there had to be a new chair. Somehow or other, I was appointed as chair. I said, Camille, I can’t do this. I mean, I knew nothing, I knew nothing about working with legislators, much less knowing them. And I had to learn quickly. I just did. I just had to learn a lot.
Ellis served as chair of the Coalition from 1985 to1990. She quickly honed her skills as an advocate and public policy influencer. First and foremost, she knew the importance of building relationships with everyone involved in the process, including the congressional members, their staffs, and other advocates. In Kentucky, she focused her efforts on William Natcher and Carl Perkins. Both were senior members of Congress who had risen to the highest leadership ranks. She built strong relationships with both men and interacted with them until their deaths.
Ellis discussed what contributed to the Coalition’s success when working with elected officials at all levels.
When I started, I didn’t know Representatives Perkins or Natcher. So, get to know your legislators, their style, and what they care about. Before you got into the real business, Representative Natcher always wanted to talk about current events, his family, and you. Mr. Perkins wasn’t really that way; he was more of a get to the point person. Learn their personalities to determine how you approach them.
I soon learned that you needed to know the staff and have them on your side. Bettilou Taylor, in Mr. Natcher’s office, was so helpful to us. After Mr. Natcher died, she went over to the Senate, and she was the chief of staff for Arlen Specter. She told me she could still help us even though she no longer worked with Mr. Natcher—and she did.
Ellis listened closely to feedback from members of Congress and their staff and took actions to respond. Two consistent themes in their feedback were the lack of data regarding program impact and the influence of stereotypes on Congressional understanding of HE education. Under the auspices of the Coalition, she undertook the development of materials addressing program impact. The materials addressed stereotypes with examples of current programming and outcomes. This resulted in an exhibit at the U.S. Capitol, Senate Display of Outstanding Consumer and Homemaking Programs, which was attended by members of Congress, their staff, and key HE leaders from around the country. Following the exhibit, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a budget authorization that was $1 million more than originally requested (Ellis, 1990).
It’s also important to know the legislative process. What a lot of people didn’t realize was that Mr. Perkins’ committee wrote and authorized the legislation. That was done every five or six years. But for it to be appropriated, that occurred every year. The Coalition worked with Mr. Natcher every year to make sure it was funded. I testified more with Mr. Natcher than I did with Mr. Perkins.
You also must be aware of what states were doing, really doing. Not what you hope they were doing. I always made sure to use good examples from committee members’ states. The Coalition always had a plan of action—what you are doing, when you were doing it, and who was involved. And that was one thing that kept the group together. Anytime that I presented testimony, I first gave an opening statement and said something about the big picture of vocational education. Otherwise, I don’t think we would have been funded. You had to look at the bigger picture. I doubt very seriously family and consumer sciences alone would have been funded.
Overall, Ellis testified five times—four times before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988), chaired by William H. Natcher (KY); and one time for the reauthorization before the Senate Subcommittee on Education, Arts, and Humanities, chaired by Claiborne Pell (RI) (1989). As with many things, timing played a role in the series of successes related to Congressional action. Rarely does one state have a Representative serve as chair of the authorization committee and another Representative serve as chair of the appropriation committee hearing the same piece of legislation. This confluence of committee chairs and Ellis’s service on the Coalition was fertile ground for the resulting relationship between Representatives Natcher and Perkins and Ellis (Ellis, 1990).
After stepping down as chair of the Coalition, she served in an advisory capacity for several more years. During this time, she had a front row seat to three authorizations and annual appropriations. It would be hard to determine the countless number of young people affected by her involvement in these important legislative activities. Her main lesson regarding influencing legislation is “one voice matters.” Above all, she still believes in the power of one voice.
I’m going to say this, some people will say, one voice or one contact doesn’t make that much difference. Well, I would disagree wholeheartedly. It does make a difference. People don’t realize how much, but it does. Just helps to get it done.
The development of national standards was a significant achievement in FCS and Ellis was at the forefront of that effort. One of the first to step forward, she served on the project management committee throughout the 2-year development process (National Association of State Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences Education, 1998). The FCS national standards had an impact on the field in two principal ways: (1) the standards formed a foundation for public policy by clearly communicating a unified focus for FCS
education; and (2) the process used to develop the standards involved unprecedented collaboration and unification across the FCS education community (Hetherly, 2000).
They still think we make brownies all day . . . . I didn’t talk about that when working with the legislature, but I ran into some of that when I was working on the Hill. I would just sit down and talk about what one teacher might do, what they might teach. They understood it. I know that old image was out there. I felt like the national standards helped to remove that to some extent. I really valued the time that we spent working on the national standards. It was a big step forward. We were the only vocational area group that worked on them for a while. Finally, the agricultural people got on board.
effort.
The national standards communicated the priorities of the field to a wide range of stakeholders, serving as a symbol of legitimacy for FCS educators, presenting a level of authority to constituents of education, and signaling a commitment to visible standards. Above all, they were a symbol of hope for practicing professionals that the curriculum would prevail during a turbulent time for educators (Vail, 2000). Ellis knew the full range of contributions the standards could make and never wavered from pushing them forward.
As I think about it, I believe the national standards are the most important thing we have ever done.
Two years after the Scottsdale meeting, the student organization Future Homemakers of America
The development of national standards was a significant achievement in FCS and Ellis was at the forefront of that
(FHA), affiliated with the FCS profession, grappled with their name. Once again, Ellis was called upon to head the committee that would lead the decision-making process. The committee was charged with establishing guidelines for leading, analyzing, and synthesizing input from focus groups and submitting recommendations to the FHA/Home Economics Related Occupations (HERO) Board of Directors.
The committee that looked at the name change had one big problem and the problem was the HERO part. Because it was FHA/HERO. They liked the word family. And they liked community because kids did a lot out in the community. But the hang up was the HERO part. We just kept working and talking through the HERO part until we came up with career. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) was finally approved. But the more I think about the name change, Family, Career and Community Leaders says it as well as anything. That was hard because there were so many people that had grown up with it as FHA.
Throughout her life, Ellis was committed to her alma mater—the University of Kentucky—and was present at many pivotal times. She served as president of the alumni association and as a member of search committees for most of the deans selected to lead the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Over the years, she served on numerous college and department review committees. For more than 2 years following the dissolution of the College of Human Environmental Sciences, she worked with other alumni to ensure that the departments that comprised the College remained together. As a result, the School of Human Environmental Sciences was formed. Since her graduation in 1951, she has seen it all.
When you go back and look at the very beginning of domestic science it started as a department. They were in the basement of the old agricultural building. It was a department. It’s been a college and it’s been a school. I have hopes that somehow the college will emerge
again. I don’t know when and I don’t know how, but it will rise again. There has to be something there for it to have stayed on a university campus that long, even though it’s in a different form. I just think it will come back some way. It’s survived all these years some way.
Along with her five sisters, Ellis established the Ellis Family Scholarship in memory of their parents. She was designated a UK University Fellow. In 2000, Ellis was one of five inaugural members in the College of Human Environmental Sciences Hall of Fame. She was designated a Centennial Laureate during the 100th anniversary of the program in 2006.
In 2003, Ellis purchased the family farm where the Ellis family had moved in 1935. Although not living there full-time, she has maintained the home much as it was during her childhood. The family returns there frequently for reunions and special occasions. The dining room table where the family gathered for meals, holidays, and the Edward R. Murrow See It Now taping is still there. She looks out the same kitchen window her mother did while finishing dishes and watching the activity in the fields. Her home surroundings include several pieces of cherry furniture built from wood harvested from the forest behind the house. On the edge of that forest is a log cabin her father built when he was in his 70s. It has been a favorite gathering place for scores of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other family members. Sitting in the log cabin makes one think about her ancestors who grew up in a Kentucky log cabin, including Abraham Lincoln. Jewell Deene Ellis has a strong sense of place that is deeply rooted in Kentucky. Her pride in family and the land is demonstrated through her preservation of her small corner of Kentucky.
Nationally, Ellis’s contributions are considerable, and they surely moved the profession forward. Her experiences and contributions throughout her 57-year career are significant. Ellis has been a member of the AHEA/AAFCS since her
graduation from college in 1953. In recognition of her significant and sustained service to the profession, she received the AHEA Distinguished Service Award in 1995 (AHEA, 1995). She participated in the 11th Lake Placid Conference (AHEA, 1973) and the Future Search Summit (AAFCS, 2006).
Jewell Deene Ellis’ approach was a way of being—“Listen, Engage, Communicate”—and she exemplified this way of being as she approached her work and the people involved. She brought that outlook to her life’s work. Repeatedly, she emphasized the importance of listening, of really hearing what people were saying. She engaged thoughtfully and deeply with those with whom she disagreed; evidence of staying engaged was ever present. Ellis talked things through until a process was complete. This approach worked for her and for FCS because she communicated effectively. Ultimately, it was this approach that led to her accomplishments. Her way of being was the reason people sought her for guidance, leadership of challenging endeavors, and communication with power brokers. In seeking lessons from the life and legacy of Jewell Deene Ellis, we would be well served to emulate her way of being—listen, engage, communicate.
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