Browsing by Author "Jurmu, Enni"

The need for consumer education has been highlighted throughout the ages. In Finland, the need for consumer education was identified as early as the 19th century, when home economic education began to teach thrift and the careful use of raw materials. In fact, home economic education has been found to play a key role in consumer education in comprehensive school. Although consumer education has been on the agenda for a long time, consumer education has not been researched much. Instead, the need for empirical research on consumer education has been identified. The purpose of the study is to respond to the perceived knowledge gap and the need to study the teaching methods used in consumer education and to find out how consumer education is implemented. The study examines how home economic teachers teach skills related to the economy and consumerism in a home economic subject. The concept of consumer education is used in the study of teaching related to consumerism and financial skills. The research has been carried out as qualitative research. Three separate datasets are used to map the views of home economics teachers on the teaching of consumer education. The first material consists of a survey aimed at home economics teachers which had an open question about teaching consumer skills (n=92). The second material is interviews with home economics teachers (n=5), in which the themes received from the survey were specified. The third dataset was collected as an online survey, in which more detailed open-ended questions to home economic teachers (n=8). The material has been analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results of this study are crystallized in teachers' views on the content of teaching used in consumer education, as well as teaching methods. Teachers saw as an important starting point for the goal of a sustainable consumer who can make solutions that promote both their own well-being and that of the environment. In addition, teachers considered it important that the contents of consumer education should be close to the everyday lives of young people. The most common teaching content used by teachers were tasks related to financial management, budgeting, and price comparison. A variety of teaching methods were used in consumer education. As useful and functional methods, the teachers described the visits, the game elements, digital materials and tools, and the subject collaboration. The results can be interpreted as meaning that consumer education in a home economic education is carried out using diverse teaching methods. The contents of the teaching are in line with the objectives of the curriculum, but some aspects of consumer education also need to be developed. This study focused on the content and teaching methods used in consumer education, so the results do not give an idea of how much consumer education is taught in home economics education.