This study focuses on analyzing the constructive alignment centered on big ideas within the Pennsylvania Home Economics curriculum by comparing the 2002 and 2026 curricula and examining the existing evaluation framework. The findings indicate, firstly, that the composition of Home Economics domains changed across grade and content areas, linking food and nutrition, resource management, human development, financial management, consumption, and career. Specifically, the 2002 domain of ‘financial and resource management’ was divided into ‘resource management’ and ‘personal financial management and consumer skills’ in the 2024 curriculum. Similarly, the ‘child development’ domain was split into ‘human development and family and relationships’ and ‘education and early childhood development.’ Secondly, the 2019 Home Economics curriculum featured an evaluation framework that integrated curriculum, instruction, and assessment based on academic standards. This framework consisted of four comprehensive big ideas, with conceptual connections among essential questions, key concepts, and competencies within the context of Home Economics. The big ideas-centered curriculum clearly conceptualized knowledge and skills and effectively represented the interrelationships between achievable knowledge and competencies through essential questions and competencies. However, to expand the depth of learning in home economics and to achieve high-quality and reliable assessment outcomes, strategic alignment with pedagogical strategies is necessary.
Jisun Yang (Sun,) studied this question.