How does student enrollment in a home economics elective course affect overall academic student achievement?

Over the summer before the start of this program, I thought to myself, “Why do I want to teach home economics?” The reasons I came up with were that I would be given the opportunity to cook every day without the high stress of a commercial kitchen, and that my initial degree in food, nutrition and health lends itself to this subject area. My impressions of home economics stem from my own high school experience, and for me it was a fun course in which it was easy to get a good grade.

I noticed a very large drop in my grades between my last year of high school and my first year of university. Although a drop is to be expected, having been an A student to being one who was barely getting by was very alarming. I was extremely stressed and I absolutely dreaded going to school. It was not until my third year of university that my grades were improving and my stress levels began to fall. This could be attributed to better studying skills, however I believe it is because at that time I also began to knit and cook for fun.

A tart I made to relieve stress. I often bake or knit when I feel overwhelmed because these activities help me relax.

Recalling my last year of high school, I realized that my schedule was quite balanced, with about half of my classes being some kind of elective, including home economics, and I strongly believe it is this balance that allowed me to be successful in my academic courses. I was able to have fun in school, which kept my stress levels down. Upon entering post-secondary school, these opportunities were no longer available to me, which resulted in my poor performance. Having experienced school with and without opportunities for creativity and self-expression, I want to find out if electives, home economics in particular, enhance academic achievement rather than take away from it.