Record Details
Development of home economics education among the Tamils of Ceylon
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Development of home economics education among the Tamils of Ceylon |
| Names |
Savundranayagam, Mercia Violet Sybil Cloelia Indreni
(creator) Reichart, Robert R. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1964-02-04 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1964 |
| Abstract | This study attempted to analyze the educational problems of Tamil women, one of the communal groups in Ceylon, to trace in broad outline the development of their education from the earliest times to the present day, and to ascertain particularly the quality and importance of Home Economics Education in the pattern of their lives. The education of Tamil girls in ancient times was closely linked with home and family. Mothers and daughters worked together in the home, and traditional techniques of homemaking were handed down from generation to generation. This ancient Home Economics Education was informal and narrowly vocational, for a woman was trained to find her greatest satisfaction and reward in the making of a happy home for her husband and her children. The European conquests of Ceylon brought a new orientation into educational programs for Tamil women. Tamil girls now began to go to school and to learn to read and write. The early emphasis on education for marriage and family life began to be replaced by emphasis on education for a career. Academic subjects and extracurricular activities filled the school curriculum, and the new generation of Tamil girls grew up either totally ignorant of Home Economics or with a superficial knowledge gleaned in a haphazard manner. Traditional methods of homemaking were generally despised and forgotten, while the new methods were still unrelated to the lives of the people. The granting of independence to Ceylon in 1948 brought reactionary developments into educational programs. The education of Tamil girls and women merged into the general pattern of national education in Ceylon. Government-sponsored examinations emphasized Eastern patterns of homemaking while private agencies attempted through lecture-demonstrations to remedy the obvious deficiencies in available Home Economics programs. Tamil women began to be conscious of new needs and responsibilities. A survey of conditions in some Tamil homes showed a trend towards progressive electrification and a blurring of differences between Eastern and Western methods of home management. The education of Tamil girls did not accord with the cultural and economic demands of the new age. It was found that there was definite need for organized programs of Home Economics that were broader in scope and more closely adapted to individual requirements; for research, which would include surveys of living conditions, investigations of traditional and new methods of home management, and analyses of foods on the market; and finally, a need for programs of experimental self-learning through the medium of books, pamphlets, correspondence courses, and programmed instruction. Tamil women were no longer isolated units contented solely with marriage and family life, but were now conscious of themselves as living in an international world and working with women of many races towards international peace and understanding. It was necessary that the new programs of education for Tamil women should consider their roles as housewives, career women, and citizens of the world. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Home economics -- Study and teaching -- Sri Lanka |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/49027 |
