Chapter XII HOME ECONOMICS EXTENSION A. DEVELOPMENT, TYPES OF ORGANIZATION, ETC. By MARTHA VAN RENSSELAER Professor of Home Economics, New York State College of Agriculture, Cornell University EARLY DEVELOPMENT History has repeated itself not in time but in territory, as shown in the story of the development of home economics extension in the several States. Whether a State may have begun its extension work in 1900 or in 1917, much of its first work seems to have been through one or more of the following means: Bulletins, single lectures, extension schools of from three to five days' duration, study clubs, exhibits at fairs, short courses at the State college, demonstration and exhibit trains, and correspondence. Such humble beginnings were made as sending out an undergraduate to give demonstrations in cooking, or engaging the interest and services of resident instructors for occasional field lectures. When salaried positions began to be created, in most States they were for farmers' institute work, in other words, for employing practical and successful homemakers for short-time lecture tours. Later came the general home economics "specialist," a trained person employed to do extension work only, but expected to cover all home economics subject matter from the feeding of children to labor-saving equipment. In some States extension work led to the organization of resident courses of instruction at the State college. In these first years existing organizations, such as granges, women's clubs, church societies, and the farm bureaus requested assistance and cooperated generously in local arrangements for meetings. A substantial foundation for the organized and intensive work that was to follow was built by these scattered efforts to spread information on everyday household questions to home makers in the various States. Out of these early beginnings, made by a few leaders with unusual foresight in the possibilities of the American educa tional system, grew the present network of organized extension education which covers the country. The old touch-and-go system, with its inspiration, was not without its achievement, since it spread information, won respect for the body of technical subject matter that was accumulating for home makers, and created an attitude on the part of the public that favored expansion. RECENT DEVELOPMENT With a home demonstration agent resident in a county, the local women and the college specialists have a channel for communication and cooperation in their projects for local development. On July 1, 1922, 46 States were employing county agents, and in the forty-seventh State a similar service was rendered in a different way. At this time, 800 counties had the services of home demonstration agents, and 975 women, not including the college specialists, were engaged in home demonstration work. In 1914 when the SmithLever Act went into effect, 279 counties were supplied with home demonstration agents. The maximum number of counties at any time receiving the service of agents was 1,715 in 1918, when war emergency appropriations were made. The total number of women engaged in home demonstration work at this time was 2,035. The advantage of having a group of local women cooperating closely with the State college of agriculture and the Federal Department of Agriculture in working for the interests of the home and the community is that both short-time and long-time projects for advancement can be undertaken and definite progress in the work can be measured and recorded. In 1921 over 250,000 women cooperated with the agents in carrying on definite demonstration. In addition 300,000 girls were enrolled in club work, of whom 185,000 completed their work and handed in the necessary reports. TYPES OF ORGANIZATION Various forms of organization and cooperation have been worked out in the States. In the South, girls' clubs and women's clubs, cooperating with State agents, district agents, or county agents, have begun with canning and broadened their interests to include all phases of home making. The spectacular story of these clubs need not be repeated here. In the North and West the organization for the home economics work has paralleled the farm bureau organization, whether as one division of the farm bureau work or as a coordinate and cooperating association known as the home bureau. A supporting membership, with the community as the unit of organization, is the feature distinguishing it from the southern type of organization. But growth of leadership on the part of local people and growth of community consciousness are apparent throughout the country, whether in the South from the work with clubs and individuals or in the North and West from a method approaching community organization. Several States (New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia) have now reached the point of f erating the county organizations which enables the di makers of the entire State to act as a unit through their represe tatives. NEWER METHODS OF EXTENSION EDUCATION All the means of extension education employed in the early days are still in use, but a shifting of emphasis is apparent and certain new means are being adopted. It is recognized that the organization of subject matter into lectures, demonstrations, and bulletins does not necessarily exhaust the possibilities, nor are these always the most effective methods of extension teaching. The home-demonstration methods which originated in the South with the farm demonstration, have within the past four years come into widespread use in the North and West. As implied in the name, a woman demonstrates the value of a certain practice in her own home, following a definite procedure and keeping records, with a view to arousing interest among her neighbors in improved practices and encouraging their adoption. The educational value of such local demonstrations is only too clear, and the administration is fairly simple provided procedure and necessary subject matter and records are carefully planned in advance. The spread of instruction through local leaders is a means of extension service which has been gaining ground in the last three or four years, and is becoming highly organized in a few States. The local leaders receive training from a State specialist in certain units of subject matter which are of greatest use to the housekeeper and in greatest demand by the majority of the communities. These leaders, then, pass on the instruction to their own local groups and also assist in administering local home or community projects to which this subject matter is related. From a county and State point of view, the administration of this type of work is complex (necessitating clearly made plans, most careful supervision, and the preparation of a vast amount of material in the way of directions, subject matter, and illustrative material. However, its results in the spread of improved practices, the development of leadership, and the extension of a specialist's influence seem to be sufficient to cause a steady increase in the use of the method. Correspondence courses which can reach isolated homes and give the home maker the opportunity of consulting a specialist in regard to the problems that arise in her day's wofk seem to be opening up an extensive field for service and will doubtless increase in number as more specialists can be secured. The tax upon the time of a specialist is heavy if such a piece of work is to be well done, and as yet demands for field work are in general so great as to leave insufficient time for the office work required. PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN Projects undertaken by the local groups are directed toward improving practices in home making or home industries, such as feeding the family for health, health habits and home sanitation, care of children, household management, clothing the family, selection and use of household furnishings, methods of food preservation, home care of the sick, poultry raising, bee culture, butter making, gardening, and community enterprises which are closely associated with the interests of the home, such as improvement of the schools, recreation, and community houses. FINANCIAL SUPPORT The growth of the work may be shown from the financial point of view by the following figures: In 1914-15, $319,823 was devoted to extension work with women, while in 1922–23. $3,551,490 was set aside for this purpose. In 1914-15 the amount allotted to extension work with women was 9 per cent of the total funds for extension work, as compared with 18 per cent for 1922. TRAINING OF PERSONNEL Another evidence of growth lies in the higher standards of training and experience now required of county and State workers. Extension work is now a recognized field for professional service, for which college training may be received; therefore greater numbers of well-trained and well-qualified applicants are making it unnecessary to compromise professionally in favor of personality or other assets of a general nature. The Southern States to a greater degree than the Northern and Western States have assembled their county and district agents at the State college for intensive training periods covering two or three weeks. This is a practice which will probably spread in other States as the county organization becomes so perfected that the agent can be spared for longer periods. CONCLUSION To insure sound teaching throughout this big educational system that has so recently developed, an adequate staff of specialists in each State is of the greatest importance. Moreover, it will be necessary that each State devise plans for the county agents to keep up-to-date in subject matter and methods of teaching, either by leaves or absence for graduate study or by short courses arranged to meet their particular needs. The people have recognized the need for extension education; the leaders now must urge a wise division of funds to keep the instruction of the highest quality. B. OBJECTIVES, METHODS OF TEACHING, ETC. By GRACE E. FRYSINGER Field Agent, Extension Methods, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Fortunately the little red schoolhouse no longer bears alone the burden of educating the rural citizenship, for it is aided by many helpful hands of public, semipublic and private educational agencies. One of the newest and one which is making a unique contribution to the field of education is the cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics. Since the Smith-Lever Act sponsoring this work was not passed until 1914, and since the first work of this type, done partly with Government, partly private support, was begun only in 1911, the period covered by this decennium report is almost identical with that of the development of this work, and, therefore, further allusion to time involved will not be necessary. THE FIELD OF HOME ECONOMICS EXTENSION AND ITS OBJECTIVES The possible scope of the home economics extension program of work is as broad as the field of home making. For the farm women, in addition to the home economics phases of food, clothing, and shelter, it may include productive activities such as gardening, poultry, and dairying. In the urban centers besides food, clothing, and shelter, it may include supervised playgrounds, sanitary milk supply, municipal market, etc. The subject matter used by extension agents is the latest recommendation of research laboratories, and the methods of teaching are based upon the best available data on psychology and teaching methods, since the effort of the agent in the county is constantly augmented by State and Federal staff, thus maintaining an up-to61946°-25- -6 |