Provide a solid foundation for the study of Home Economics at CSEC® level and for CVQ certification using a project-based approach with the only resource written by the Caribbean Association of Home Economists. This resource enables students to master the design skills process in the Family and Consumer Management disciplines for both personal and professional aspirations. - Develop understanding with 'Consider this' and 'Did you know?' features which allow for reflection and stretches student's critical thinking and problem-solving skills. - Consolidate knowledge with discussion topics and short practice questions, which enables students' confidence in the subject matter to grow as they prepare for assessment. - Identify avenues for career development with realistic and practical connections to training opportunities clearly signposted throughout.

Robert Owen was a charismatic pipe-dreamer, bound to unrealistic expectations. Though born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, by the time he met Joseph Hansom in Birmingham, he had become a self-taught manager of successful cotton mills in Manchester and New Lanark, Scotland. It was here that he developed his theories of early education and campaigned for factory reform. Lacking the support he needed to advance his plans, he purchased a community in America, only to lose all his money. The much younger Hansom was an ambitious architect, who fast-tracked his own career by winning the competition to design Birmingham Town Hall. Birmingham was a proactive town, open to Thomas Attwood's efforts to bring about the Great Reform Bill, and the advancement of newly-formed trade unions. Along with his partner, Edward Welch, Hansom became so involved in politics that his attention was diverted away from the Town Hall, which resulted in both their bankruptcies. Nevertheless Hansom re-established his career, while Owen strove to develop his master 'Plan', the building of a self-sufficient community. He leased a property in a remote part of Hampshire and appointed Hansom. Despite Herculean efforts (as Hansom described the Town Hall), the community collapsed. Under different ownership, it became home to the most prestigious scientists in Britain. The inclusion of Birmingham and Hansom adds a new dimension to the complexities of Robert Owen's life ... a great bit of research ... should grace the shelves of any museum or library where his name rests. Charles Rex Shayler, chairman of the Robert Owen Museum and relative of the architect who designed the building in which it is housed.