Home Economics

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Become a Home Economics teacher

A Home Economics teacher inspires and encourages their pupils to learn about food, good nutrition, and the foundations of a healthy and successful life.

You’ll also be responsible for helping your class hone their practical skills in food choice and preparation, as well as improving their knowledge on a range of domestic topics from budgeting to childcare. This will be useful for them to make better decisions about what they eat, and how they live, while appreciating how those choices impact on both mental and physical health.

Home Economics gives young people skills and practical knowledge that will stay with them for life. It also opens doors to a range of potential careers and interests from fashion and hospitality to health and nutrition.

High School Tutor Giving Uniformed Female Student One To One Tuition At Desk In Classroom
"If you are considering a career in teaching I would say take some time to come into a school to see what it is really like and speak to teachers about the profession." Lynn Robertson – Home Economics Teacher at Cult Academy
LYNN_ROBERTSON_012-2_ISOLATED_SPEECHMARKS_lynn

What being a Home Economics teacher covers:

  • Organising and setting lessons
  • Monitoring the progress of pupils, through coursework and homework
  • Working with pupils to guide their development and share that progress with parents and caregivers
  • Planning, supervising and leading cooking modules

Take that next step into Home Economics

It’s a career choice that comes with a good starting salary and great opportunities for progression. To begin your journey, you need to have a relevant degree plus a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) or a degree that combines Education with a Home Economics subject. And if these options don’t quite work for your circumstances, there are some alternative routes to consider.

This subject, as with others in the Curriculum for Excellence, can be delivered through Gaelic Medium Education. There are lots of benefits to teaching in Gaelic and we have more information about how to take this route into teaching.

Four-year university course in education

The University of the Highlands and Islands (Perth College) offers an undergraduate degree in Home Economics teaching, the BA (Hons) Food, Nutrition and Textiles Education. There are undergraduate degrees at four Scottish universities that meet the entry requirements for the PGDE Home Economics.

Universities you can study in

Abertay University: Food, Nutrition and HealthAbertay University: Food and Consumer Science

University of the Highlands and IslandsQueen Margaret University

Robert Gordon University

PGDE university courses

Here are the universities you can study for a PGDE in Home Economics at secondary level. Entry requirements vary so it’s best to check with the course provider for the most up-to-date information.

The University of the Highlands and Islands and University of Strathclyde also offer a pathway into Gaelic Medium Education. Find out more about the opportunities and benefits of teaching in Gaelic.

Universities you can study in

University of AberdeenUniversity of Strathclyde

University of the Highlands and IslandsQueen Margaret University

Alternate routes into teaching

There are a number of new teacher education programmes designed to offer flexibility and encourage diversity in the profession. These include:

University of Strathclyde– BSC Education and Curricular Studies with Teaching Qualification: This is an innovative and alternative route into teaching that allows students with an HND in home economics or technological education to start in year 3 of a four-year undergraduate programme and achieve a university honours degree with a Teaching Qualification on completion.

University of the Highlands and Islands– BA (Hons) Food, Nutrition and Textiles Education – this is a four-year full-time programme being delivered by UHI through Perth College.

There are other undergraduate degrees that would be eligible to apply for the HE PGDE if ‘top-up’ qualifications were gained.

‘Top-up’ degree examples

Here’s an example of some undergraduate degrees that require ‘top up’ qualifications to be eligible for the HE PGDE:

  • Glasgow Caledonian University: BSc Hospitality Management and BSc Food Bioscience
  • University College Birmingham: BSc Applied Food and Nutrition
  • Sheffield Hallam University: BSc Food and Nutrition
  • College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (Northern Ireland): BSc Food Design and Nutrition

Register for our free Home Economics guide

This handy pdf serves up all the information you need on the subject.

Register now

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