Advantages and disadvantages of home economics teachers’work styles : Based on interview surveys from home economics high school teachers in Kumamoto

Although some reforms have been implemented to teachers’ work styles, the movement away from teaching continues. Particularly prominent is the scarcity of home economics teachers in Kumamoto’s junior high school and high school systems. The objectives of this paper are 1) to examine the advantages and disadvantages of home economics teachers’ work styles, based on interview surveys, and 2) to develop plans for making the school environment easier for home economics teachers to work in. To achieve this, we conducted interview surveys on advantages and disadvantages of home economics teachers’ work styles with 11 home economics high school teachers in Kumamoto, over the period of October 17-Nobember 13, 2023. Our results are as follows: 1) Home economics teachers mentioned that the advantages of being a teacher included the fact that they could grow with their students, that they could convey the values of home economics, and that they could make their own teaching materials. 2) They also presented some ideas to make their workplaces more amenable, for example, encouraging younger teachers to go home early, introducing flexible shifts at their schools, employing some assistant teachers to help part-time teachers raising children, and more.