Secondary Family and Consumer Sciences Programs in the State of Texas: A Descriptive Study of the teachers and Courses

This research describes the current status of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Education in the State of Texas. Descriptors included the numbers of FCS teachers, the teacher certifications, and the type of FCS courses delivered. Approximately 7,235 FCS courses (grades 9-12) were taught in the State of Texas by 2,948 teachers. The majority of courses were associated with the Human Services Career Cluster. As anticipated, the field of teaching FCS was predominately female; however, some males were teaching in the clusters of Hospitality & Tourism and Human Services. Consistent with previous studies, data obtained in this study reflected a shortage of teachers. Half (50.4%) of Texas FCS teachers were eligible or were approaching eligibility for retirement. An additional 10.7% of current FCS teachers may be eligible for retirement in the next 5 to 10 years. This shortage could be critical to the implementation of FCS programs in the future.