Home economics was first introduced to train women and young girls to be house-maids and servants and to be efficient house-keepers. In the latter part of the twentieth century, it needs to have a different focus. It needs to address issues of social significance such as those which influence the well-being of individuals and families: meeting the basic needs of feeding, clothing and housing the family, as well as meeting emotional and social needs of individuals and families. Home Economics needs to reinterpret its purpose in the light of the contemporary needs of society. Adopting a 'Family Studies' approach, it is argued, may well provide a way forward in this respect. Current writers in Home Economics have sought to make meaning of the many interpretations of the subject. A useful conceptual framework is provided by Jurgen Habermas' Theory of Cognitive Interests. This framework has been used here to examine how Home Economics can be interpreted from a 'technical', ' practical' and an 'emancipatory' orientation. It is argued that a Family Studies approach has the potential to transform the perspective of Home Economics from a technical to an emancipatory one. One such program was developed and implemented in Queensland in 1988. As well as the conceptual analytic work described above, this thesis focuses on the implementation of this program. In particular, it examines how the teachers in two schools interpreted the Family Studies program, how these ideas were translated into classroom practice and the factors which influenced the implementation of Family Studies. A case study approach is used.