Applying the theory of simplexity in home economics education for the acquisition of transversal competencies to face complexity

Abstract

The principal goal of Home Economics has always been that of empowering people to increase control over their lives. Home Economics education has effectively kept up with emerging needs, prioritising the competencies necessary for family and community wellbeing. Within the complex contemporary society, there is no doubt that the main concern should be to equip individuals with the tools necessary to deal with the rapid cultural and technological evolution they will face throughout life. The theory of simplexity offers a new way of perceiving and dealing with this complexity. It suggests that, based on simplifying principles, the brain finds solutions “to process complex situations very rapidly, elegantly, and efficiently, taking past experience into account and anticipating the future” (Berthoz, 2012, p.3). Thanks to its adaptive interdisciplinary nature, both as a subject and a profession, Home Economics provides the ideal setting for reflection on the simplex properties and principles identified as the tools for life. Home Economists and students alike may well find that gaining awareness of these properties and acquiring the meta-cognitive ability to apply simplifying principles such as detours, inhibition, redundance, vicariance and selective attention, can help to face the complexity in their work, studies and daily lives with a new mindset. This proposed approach suggests a consideration of curriculum reform in Home Economics education and teacher training.