Comparative Analysis of Home Economics Curriculum Using Language Network: Focusing on the 2015 and 2022 Revised Curriculum

This study aims to compare the 2015 and 2022 home economics education curricula using a language network analysis, examining changes in core keywords and major topics between these two periods. Keywords from middle and high school home economics curriculum documents of both periods were used to construct language networks, analyzed using centrality measures and topic modeling. The results follow. First, the core keywords of the middle school 2015 revised home economics curriculum were ‘family’, ‘health’, ‘problem’, and ‘solution’, and the core keywords of the 2022 revised home economics curriculum were ‘life’, ‘choice’, ‘environment’, ‘routine’, and ‘change’. In addition, a comparison of six topics extracted by both periods revealed that the 2015 revised curriculum dealt with the contents related to ‘family’ and subject competency (practical problem-solving ability) as core elements, while the 2022 revised curriculum emphasized changes in living environment, daily life, and sustainable choices. Secondly, the core keywords of the high school 2015 revised home economics curriculum were ‘family’, ‘life’, ‘safety’, and ‘problem’, and the core keywords of the 2022 revised home economics curriculum were ‘living’, ‘family’, ‘culture’, ‘life’, and ‘welfare’. An examination of the five topics extracted by both periods confirmed that the emphasis on ‘family’ and ‘safety’ decreased and the influence of content related to life culture, digital environment, and life welfare increased in the 2022 revised curriculum. This study is essential in providing foundational data for developing the next curriculum and offers insights into subject competency, teaching and learning methods, and evaluation.