Once seen as a subject to teach girls essential domestic skills such as baking and sewing, home economics has undergone a transformation in recent years.
Now called health and food technology, a range of new topics have been added such as diet, food packaging and labelling and safety and hygiene.
But despite this revolution, many schools are still struggling to deliver courses in home economics because of a drastic shortage of teachers.
Official figures show there were only 786 home economics teachers working in secondary in schools in 2017 compared with 990 in 2007.
The decline has sparked new fears about a generation of Scottish children not being taught to cook at school and the resulting impact on their health.
Now the Scottish Government is considering the introduction of bursaries of up to £20,000 to entice people to switch career and retrain as home economics teachers.
A similar scheme for Stem has already attracted 100 extra people.
The move has been backed by health experts who are increasingly alarmed at growing obesity levels in Scotland.
Tam Fry, a spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, said ignorance about food was “quite stupefying”.
He said: “The obesity problem we now have is down to the fact there are millions of families who have no idea about cooking because domestic science and home economics are disappearing from the school curriculum.
“Many families are now totally reliant on convenience food ,which are usually those high in fat, salt and sugar which triggers obesity.
“Until we get a grip and put cooking firmly back in the school curriculum we will have future generations equally dependent upon pre-prepared food.”
The plan was also backed by teaching unions.
Susan Quinn, education convener of the Educational Institute of Scotland, said: “Home economics has been under attack for a number of years with pupils being expected to pay for taking this subject in some parts of the country. The fact there are fewer teachers in the system has in turn seen schools making decisions around closing departments or only covering certain aspects of this subject and the use of bursaries will go some way to encouraging more teachers into the profession.”
One school that has bucked the trend is St Margaret’s Academy, in Livingston.
Last year, nearly 60 pupils from the school were entered for a Higher qualification in the subject – more than any other school in Scotland.
Sally Cameron, health and technology teacher at St Margaret’s, said home economics had been given a radical overhaul with a change of name, a new focus to lessons and the introduction of taster sessions in surrounding primary schools.
She said: “We don’t call ourselves home economics. We changed because we felt it was an outdated term and did not reflect the work that is going on in schools.
“In the first three years we teach topics such as the relationship between food and health and how food can prevent or cause dietary diseases.
“We are educating the pupils on how to be clever consumers so they are aware of the labelling on food, packaging and advertising and we also look at other factors such as whether foods are free range or organic.”
Pupils also learn to cook, with popular lessons focusing on creating healthy versions of their favourite foods such as low-fat pizzas, fruit kebabs or chicken nuggets that are baked rather than fried.
Getting families on board is also a key part of the strategy, with parents and grandparents invited to attend school to see for themselves how the subject has changed.
Mrs Cameron said: “We want to enthuse parents when their children are still young so we invite families to learning evenings where we tell them the subject is no longer just about cooking and sewing.
“It is an academic subject that can get pupils into university, college and the world of work as well as giving them valuable skills for life.”
There has also been a transformation in teacher-training courses with a number of universities now providing postgraduate courses in home economics, including Aberdeen, Dundee, Strathclyde and the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh is currently recruiting for a postgraduate course in home economics from August 2019.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Home economics gives students a wide range of skills, from learning about nutrition and food to parenting and childcare. To combat a shortage of home economics teachers we have designated home economics as a priority and opened up new qualification routes to teach the subject.
“The number of student home economics teachers rose last year. The Stem bursary advisory group is currently considering options for the bursary scheme for next year.”
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