Gender Issues in the Study of Home Economics from the

Perspective of
Grade VI Pupils of Tres Cruses Elementary School, Tanza, Cavite:
Basis for Intervention Programs
Home economics is a skill oriented subject that is capable of
equipping learners with skills that create room for self-reliance or paid
employment which aims at reducing unemployment and improving
manpower development. Ekpenyong (2008) asserted that among the
areas of education employs to enhance development, Home economics
has persistently been identified as the right step in the right direction. It
has passed the period when it was regarded as only the acquisition of skill
in household arts or just cooking which prevents males interest in the
subject. Today, Home economics has given the bounding of focusing
attention on the home/family to the large society it has broaden its cope
in the line with the dynamics of the present to forestall credibility in
career establishment as well as skills concrete enough to sustain
individuals, family and the nation at large. It encompasses all areas of
food and nutrition, Home management, clothing and textiles, child and
family living, consumer education etc, hence integrating them into all
aspects of life.
However, gender bias exists in the study of Home Economics. It
refers to preference for or favoring of one sex, one the other in study of
Home Economics. One of the causes of the gender gap in the study of
Home Economics is the misconception that it is a womans or females
subject. Communities attitude towards sex roles and behavior also come
to play in this. If everything about food, clothing and house care come
under the domain of the female, it may be difficult for boys to have
positive perceptions on the subject. Moreover, most often boys abhor
doing anything that will tarnish their ego before friends and such males
would rather not go into anything that would not gain peers approval.
Therefore, if Home Economics has this females only, the image will then
affect male approval of the study of Home Economics.
In view of this light, gender bias in Home Economics is a
multifaceted and complex issue. Nevertheless, the problem of gender bias
in the study of Home Economics is not only a national concern but that of
the whole world at large. Thus, in order to address the existing gender
issues in the study of Home Economics, this action research will be
conducted with the aim of offering appropriate intervention programs to
minimize gender bias in the study of Home Economics.
Specifically, this will seek answers to the following research
questions:
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1. What are the perceptions of male and female Grade VI pupils of

Tres Cruses Elementary School towards the study of Home
Economics?
2. How do male and female Grade VI pupils approach to study
Home Economics?
3. What are the differences and similarities between how male and
female Grade VI pupils perceive and study Home Economics?
4. Is there a significant gender gap between how male and female
Grade VI pupils perceive and study Home Economics?
5. What appropriate intervention programs can be proposed to
minimize gender issues in the study of Home Economics at the
elementary level?

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The Role of Edukasyong Pantahanan At Pangkabuhayan (EPP) in

Enhancing the Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Intentions of Grade
VI Pupils in Tres Cruses
Elementary School, Tanza, Cavite: Inputs for Curriculum
Intervention
One of the most serious and longstanding problems of the
Philippines is providing adequate employment opportunities for its young
men and women. Even in times of strong economic growth,
unemployment and underemployment remains a significant problem for
people in the Philippines, especially among younger people. This has
triggered
policy
makers
into
giving
greater
importance
to
entrepreneurship and self-employment as ways to foster economic
progress and reduce unemployment. Entrepreneurship is regarded as one
of the best economic development strategies to develop countrys
economic growth and sustain the a countrys competitiveness in facing
the increasing trends of globalization
The Philippine government has been seriously encouraging
entrepreneurship. In the Philippines, entrepreneurship is viewed as
important to empowering the poor, enhancing production, and as an
impetus to innovation. Entrepreneurship education has become both of a
national priority and a global responsibility and it has become the impetus
for expansion into all levels of education from primary and secondary and
into university levels. At the elementary level, entrepreneurship is
incorporated in the Edukasyong Pantahanan aT Pangkabuhayan (EPP) and
Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) curricula.
Wilson and colleagues (2007) mentioned that while students are still
in their primary school, the first aspirations of entrepreneurship intentions
take shape and in this way affect students career option in the future. In
order to design effective programs/services that stimulate entrepreneurial
activities among primary school children, policy makers and educators
have to know the entrepreneurial attitudes and intention of the students.
Therefore, this study will seek to highlight the key role played by the
entrepreneurship education incorporated in EPP curriculum on
entrepreneurial attitudes and intention of Grade VI pupils from Tres Cruses
Elementary School in order to confirm (or disconfirm) conventional
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wisdom that entrepreneurial education increases the intention to start a

business.
Specifically, this action research seeks to answer the following
questions:
1. What is the profile of Grade VI pupils in terms of age, gender,
parental education and parental occupation?
2. What role does EPP subject play in Grade VI pupils perceived
desirability of self-employment and perceived entrepreneurial selfefficacy?
3. How does EPP subject influence Grade VI pupils entrepreneurial
attitudes and entrepreneurial intentions?
4. Do pupils entrepreneurial attitudes impact their entrepreneurial
intentions?
5. Based on the findings, what curriculum intervention can be
proposed to enhance entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions of
Grade VI pupils?

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