Whats the point of education?

A
feminist perspective
https://sociologytwynham.com/2008/12/20/feminism-and-education/
From the 1960s onwards, feminist sociologists highlighted the following gender inequalities in society.
Feminists argue that the education system is just a primary preparation for leading into the future work
force. They argue the gender differences in subject choice in schools come is evidence of a patriarchal
society. Colley (1998) reviewed this idea and found that despite all the social changes in recent decades,
traditional definitions of masculinity and femininity were still widespread as evident below.
Gender and education Feminist perspectives focus on gender inequalities in society. Feminist
research has revealed the extent of male domination and the ways in which male supremacy has been
maintained. From a feminist viewpoint, one of the main roles of education has been to maintain gender
inequality.
Gendered language reflecting wider society, school textbooks (and teachers) tend to use gendered
language he, him, his, man and men when referring to a person or people. This tends to
downgrade women and make them invisible.
Gendered roles school textbooks have tended to present males and females in traditional gender roles
for example, women as mothers and housewives. This is particularly evident in reading schemes from
the 1960s and 1970s.
Gender stereotypes reading schemes have also tended to present traditional gender stereotypes. For
example an analysis of six reading schemes from the 1960s and 1970s found that:
1.

boys are presented as more adventurous than girls

2.

as physically stronger

3.

as having more choices

4.

girls are presented as more caring than boys

5.

as more interested in domestic matters

6.

as followers rather than leaders

Women in the curriculum in terms of whats taught in schools the curriculum women tend to be
missing, in the background, or in second place. Feminists often argue that women have been hidden
from history history has been the subject of men.

Subject choice traditionally, female students have tended to avoid maths, science and technology.
Certain subjects were often seen as boys subjects and girls subjects. Often girls subjects had lower
status and lower market value
Discrimination there is evidence of discrimination against girls in education simply because of their
gender. For example, when the 11-plus exam was introduced in the 1940s, the pass mark was set lower
for boys than for girls to make certain there roughly equal numbers of boys and girl sin grammar schools.
In other words girls were artificially failed so boys could succeed.
Further and higher education traditionally the number of female students going on to further and
higher education has been lower than for boys. There is evidence that teachers often gave boys more
encouragement than girls to go to university (Stanworth, 1983).
Feminist perspectives an evaluation Feminist perspectives have been valuable for exposing
gender inequality in education. Partly as a result of sociological research, a lot has changed for
example, much of the sexism in reading schemes has now disappeared. Today, women have overtaken
men on most measures of educational attainment. Their grades at GCSE and A level are significantly
higher than those of male students. And more women than men are going on to higher education. The
concern now is the underachievement of boys rather than discrimination against girls. Please read
through the PowerPoint below further details.

Feminism
http://www.genderandeducation.com/resources/contexts/feminism/

The period of activism in the early 20th century around securing the vote for women has been called
the first waveof the feminist movement. The second wave refers to the activism beginning in the
1960s.
The second wave is associated with the publication of books like Betty FriedansThe Feminine
Mystique and Germaine Greers The Female Eunuch, with consciousness-raising groups,
campaigning around wages for housework, abortion rights, sexual harassment, domestic violence,
childcare and many other issues and with the slogan the personal is political. Second wave
feminists had a huge impact on education.
They distinguished between sex (the biological differences between men and women) and gender
(the social and cultural differences). This was an important theoretical move, which allowed for the
investigation of sociological explanations for girls educational results and choices. Second wave
feminists had different approaches.

Liberal feminists emphasised the parts played by sex-role socialisation, stereotyping and
discrimination. They worked to eliminate the barriers to female achievement in mathematics and
other subjects. However, with a philosophy based on individual autonomy they were ill-equipped to
deal with the issue of how womens choices ambush their equality. This is perhaps behind their
reluctance to pursue their agenda into further and higher education, where it is perceived that
choices and not constraints are operating.
Socialist feminists focused on the reproduction of the classed and gendered relations of production
and reproduction, while radical feminists pointed to the male dominance of knowledge and the
sexual politics of schooling. Because socialist and radical feminists added theorisations of ideology
and power to the liberal feminist analysis, both socialist and radical feminists were interested in the
social construction of choices. Importantly patriarchy, the combination of social, economic and
cultural systems which ensures male supremacy (Coote & Campbell, 1982, p.32) was introduced as
an underlying factor.
However, black feminists called attention to the neglect of race in second wave feminism. They
focused on how race, class and gender intersect and questioned what, if anything, all women have
in common. More recently,poststructuralist feminists have built on this work, to question more
earlier feminist assumptions. Above all, they have asked whether its possible to make a distinction
between sex and gender. After all, if gender is so different from sex, why are there only two genders
and why do women become feminine and men become masculine? Bodies dont fall naturally into
two opposite sexes. The fact that we think they do is because of how society not biology works.
Many refer to our contemporary moment as feminisms third wave, others call it post-feminist.
Recent work has pointed to contradictions in an apparent societal embrace of feminist language in
the West (such as choice, female empowerment, and sexual freedom) and the return of regressive,
sexist and anti-feminist language, images and practices. Therefore, claims that feminism has
achieved its goals mask the continued presence of gender inequality (McRobbie, 2008)
Research has explored the rejection or repudiation of feminism among some young women
(Scharff, 2012), and drawn attention to how class, race and other social categories intersect with
gender to shape young womens views on the relevance of feminism to their lives. However, despite
claims that feminism is over as a social movement and that young women dont care about
feminism, the last few years has seen a resurgence of feminist ideas in the mainstream Western
populist media (such as Caitlin Morans book How to be a woman; Nina Powers One Dimensional
Woman; and Kat Banyards The Equality Illusion) and politics (see for example, Australian Prime
Minister Julia Gillard speak out against sexism in the Australian parliament). There has also been a
resurgence in forms of feminist activism and protest, such as international Slut Walk marches, and
campaigning organizations such as UK Feminista and Object.

The current focus on boys underachievement in many countries means we often ignore the
problems girls have within the education system. With women still earning a fraction of what
men earn (despite their increasing success at school and entry into all levels of the education
system) and disproportionately responsible for unpaid work, it is clear that we still need
feminism (Ringrose, 2012).
There is already some exciting and important work going on between universities and schools
to introduce young women to feminist ideas and support discussion on issues ranging from domestic
violence, body image and sexualisation. The books and websites below document feminisms old
and new, point to contemporary gender issues and provide teaching resources for those wanting to
bring feminist ideas into the classroom.

Feminism and Philosophy of Education

Suzanne Rice
University of Kansas

http://eepat.net/doku.php?id=feminism_and_philosophy_of_education

In the United States, Jane Roland Martin was one of the first professional philosophers of
education to bring a feminist perspective to her work. Reflecting on the research she
conducted in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Martin noted the absence of discussions by or
about women:
Whether one was thinking of women as the subjects or the objects of educational thought, for all
intents and purposes we had no place at all: as subjects, women's philosophical works on education
were ignored; as objects, works by women and men about women's education and their role as
educators of the young were largely neglected. Moreover, the very definition of education and the
educational realm adopted implicitly by the standard texts in philosophy of education excludes
women. (Martin, 1999, p. 150)

In the two decades since Martin first wrote about gender and education, feminism has
influenced more and more philosophers of education. This may be due in part to the fact
that during this time, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of female
philosophers of education. While it is not surprising that, generally speaking, women have
been drawn to feminism more than men, certain feminist criticisms and insights are now
fairly widely discussed, and sometimes embraced, by philosophers of education, regardless
of their sex. For example, it would be very difficult for a philosopher of education to write
compellingly today on the topics of moral development or moral education without at least
acknowledging Carol Gilligan (1982); a failure to mention Susan Moller Okin (1989) would
likewise detract from a discussion of, say, justice and the family.
Feminist scholars have produced important-some would argue transformativework across
the academic disciplines (Nussbaum, 1997). It would be a mistake, however, to assume that
there is a single, unified feminist theory to which all feminists subscribe. Instead, different
feminist scholars are aligned with different theoretical orientations, ranging from the liberal
to the poststructural. In an effort to capture this diversity of thought, some now refer to
feminisms rather than to the singular feminism. Likewise, different philosophers of
education have been influenced by different strands in feminism. Despite this diversity, the
work of philosophers of education who adopt a feminist stance reflects Martin's early insight
that the failure to attend to the ideas and experiences of females, as well as males, is bound
to render analyses of educational phenomena not merely incomplete but actually distorted.
Martin herself has recovered historically significant works in educational philosophy written
by and/or about women. In recent years, some of the most influential publications in the
field are written by women and are informed by feminist thought. For instance, while its
title refers to feminine rather than feminist, Nel Nodding'sCaring: A Feminine
Approach to Ethics and Moral Education continues to be among the most widely cited
publications concerned with ethics and moral education. Martin's second observation about
philosophy of education prior to 1980that few considered the experiences of women and
girls worthy of scholarly attention-no longer adequately characterizes the field.
Today, philosophers of education who have been influenced by feminist thought routinely
include girls and women in their analyses. Feminists have challenged the once conventional
wisdom that there are distinct and separate private and political spheres. With this feminist
insight in mind, the educational philosopher Mary Leach calls into question proposed
reforms in teacher education and in the teaching profession that do not account for the fact
that the majority of those entering the field are women whose responsibilities outside school

have implications for their work as teachers (and vise versa). Leach argues that improving
teacher education and the practice of teaching requires insight into the (gendered) lives of
prospective and practicing teachers. Feminism has also had a tremendous impact on how
many philosophers of education view pedagogy and teacher-student relations more
generally. Feminists have long criticized what they regard as patriarchal forms of power and
authority. Thus, one important question with which many have struggled is how-indeed
whether-the exercise of teacher authority can be justified (Luke, 1996). Other authors have
focused on gender linked approaches to knowing their implications for teaching (Belenky,
1986). Sexual harassment in its various manifestations has become a concern of some
philosophers of education as well (Rice, 1996). In addition, feminist scholarship has sparked
philosophical analyses of types of relationships and practices that in the past were generally
ignored by philosophers of education. For instance, Sara Ruddick has argued that
mothering constitutes a kind of practice driven by the aims of preservation, growth, and
social acceptability (Ruddick, 1989). Engaging in the practice of mothering, Ruddick argues,
fosters certain metaphysical attitudes, cognitive capacities, and conceptions of virtue. From
a perspective such as Ruddick's, mothering appears to be of profound educational
significance. Much of the literature published by feminists from the 1960s until fairly
recently, tended to address the experiences and interests of white (generally middle class)
women and girls and often assumed that all women and girls shared these experiences and
interests. However, over the past decade, an increasing number of feminists have developed
a greater sensitivity to differences between women linked to race, class, culture, and sexual
orientation, among other factors. In philosophy of education as well, there is a growing
appreciation of such differences and their implications for educational theory and practice.
Audrey Thompson, for one, argues that standpoint epistemologies articulated by Black,
Asian, Chicana and other feminists of color challenge the assumed universality of certain
ethical and educational theories (Thompson, 1998). The foregoing account offers but a mere
sample of some of the kinds of topics and approaches adopted by philosophers of education
whose work has been influenced by feminism. The fact that a comprehensive account of this
issue would yield a large volume indicates the extent to which Martin's concern about the
lack of attention to gender has been addressed by philosophers of education.

References
Belenky, M. F. et al. (1986). Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice
and Mind. New York: Basic Books.

Burbules, N. C. (Forthcoming). Purposes and Ideas of Education: Perspectives from the

Philosophy. In Bob Moon, Miriam Ben-Peretz, and Sally Brown (Eds.), Routledge
International Companion to Education. New York: Routledge.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Geismar, K and Nicoleau, G. (Eds.), (1993). Teaching for Change: Addressing Issues of
Difference in the College Classroom. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review, 1993.
Luke,

C.

(1996).

Feminist

Pedagogy

Theory:

Reflections

on

Power

and

Authority. Educational Theory 46, 3: 283-302.

Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
Noddings, N. (1995) Philosophy of Education. Boulder: Westview, 1995.
Martin, J. R. Excluding Women from the Educational Realm. Harvard Educational
Review 52: 133-48.
Martin, J. R. (1985). Reclaiming a Conversation: The Ideal of the Educated Woman. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Martin, J. R. (1999). Women, Schools, and Cultural Wealth. In Titone, Connie and Maloney,
Karen E. (Eds.), Women's Philosophy of Education: Thinking Through our Mothers. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill, 149-177.
Nussbaum, M. C. (1997). Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal
Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Okin, S. M. (1989). Justice, Gender, and the Family. New York: Basic Books.
Rice, S. (1996). The Discovery and Evoluation of Sexual Harassment as an Educational
Issue. Initiatives57, 2: 1-14.
Ruddick, S. (1989). Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace. New York: Ballantine.

Thompson, A. (1998). Not the Color Purple: Black Feminist Lessons for Education
Caring. Harvard Educational Review 68, 4: 522-554.
Titone, Connie and Maloney, Karen E. (Eds.). 1999. Women's Philosophy of Education:
Thinking Through our Mothers. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill.

Sociology of Education Theory: Feminist Perspectives

"Sociology of Education Theory: Feminist Perspectives" Research

Starters eNotes.com, Inc. eNotes.com 26 Apr, 2016
http://www.enotes.com/research-starters/sociology-education-theory-feministperspectives#research-starter-research-starter

In industrial societies, education is frequently an important predictor of one's eventual

socioeconomic status. Although equal education opportunities are supposedly open to both
genders, women continue to be more likely to be found in traditionally female-oriented jobs than
in science, mathematics, and technology jobs that offer higher socioeconomic status. The reasons
do not appear to be genetic. The biological differences that have historically set women and men
apart are no longer important in many workplaces. Further, research has shown there to be no
significant difference between the distribution of mental skills among women and men.
Therefore, many feminists claim that most education systems prepare females poorly for higher
paying, more prestigious jobs. The reasons for this phenomenon are complex, although hidden
curriculum, teacher expectancy effect, and gender stereotyping by guidance counselors all seem
to contribute to this situation.
Keywords Conflict Perspective; Education; Feminism; Gender Stratification; Hidden
Curriculum; Normal Distribution; Reinforcement; Self-Fulfilling Prophecy; Social Stratification;
Socioeconomic Status (SES); Status; Teacher Expectancy Effect
Educational Sociology: Sociology of Education Theory: Feminist
Perspectives
Overview

Historically, most societies treat men and women differently. Sometimes these differences are
due to the obvious biological variances between the sexes: Because of their role in bearing
children, women are often cast in supportive or nurturing roles and are responsible for hearth and
home while men, with their typically greater strength and larger muscles, are often cast in the

role of bread winner. Originally, these differences made sense: Males needed to be bigger and
stronger to go out and kill something for dinner. Infants needed to breastfeed, so females tended
the hearth, home, and family. However, over time, things have changed. Although being taller,
stronger, and faster might have been important when putting food on the table meant hunting
buffalo on the plain, other skills are required to earn a living today. Under the assumption that
women are as intelligent as men, the feminist movement has been demanding equal opportunities
for women and equal pay for equal work. Feminists have also turned their attention to the
classroom, demanding equal education for both boys and girls as well as encouraging girls to go
into technical, scientific, and professional fields that used to be the domain of males.
Gender-Based Learning Differences

Before considering whether or not schools treat girls and boys differently in a way that results in
girls being less prepared to take higher status jobs following their education, it is first necessary
to determine if there are any inherent differences between the ability of girls and boys to learn.
Scientists have found no gender-based differences in general intelligence between the sexes. This
is not to say that there are not differences within the groups, however. Not every girl is
necessarily as smart as every boy, for example, just as she is not necessarily as smart as every
girl. However, there are innate differences between the sexes as to which abilities they excel in as
a group. For example, girls tend as a group to be better at spelling than boys. In fact, by the end
of high school only 30 percent of boys spell better than the average girl. Similarly, girls tend to
be more gifted in verbal abilities than boys, and they also tend to be more sensitive to touch,
taste, and odor. Further, boys tend to be overrepresented in the bottom part of the normal
distribution for verbal skills. They tend to learn to talk later than girls and tend to stutter more
often. Boys also tend to outnumber girls in remedial reading classes by a ratio of three to one. In
addition, underachievers in high school tend to be male by a ratio of two to one.
Education

In industrial societies, education is frequently an important predictor of one's eventual

socioeconomic status. For the most part, individuals who have earned a college degree are able
to obtain higher paying jobs than are individuals with less education. There are, of course,
notable exceptions to the rule: Bill Gates, for example, never finished college. However, such
individuals are usually outstanding in other ways and are truly the exception rather than the rule.
Therefore, if girls receive substantially different treatment in school and this differential
treatment results in lower expectations on the part of girls or in lower quality education that
makes it difficult for them advance as far as boys or to eventually obtain higher status and
income jobs, then the educational system has failed to provide equal opportunities for all.
Although girls are slightly more likely to graduate high school than are boys, this advantage
reverses in college: Men are slightly more likely to graduate college, receive a first professional

degree, or an advanced degree than are women. There are many potential reasons for this
phenomenon, including the choice of many women to focus on family over career during their
children's formative years. However, many sociologists also interpret this phenomenon as
evidence of gender stratification. It is important to note that social stratification by gender is not
exactly the same phenomenon as social stratification by race or ethnicity. This can be explained
by the fact that when dealing with gender, social status is the same for men and women, where as
for race or ethnicity, this often does not hold true. Women and men share many of the same life
opportunities that are based on their socioeconomic status. For example, when financial
constraints permit, most families are equally willing to send their daughters to college as they are
to send their sons. As a result, upper middle class women typically have more education than
working class men, and Euro-American women tend to have more education than African
American, Hispanic, or native American men, on average.
Educational Practices that Promote Gender Inequality
Hidden Curriculum

There are at least three potential reasons for these observed differences. First, it has been
hypothesized by conflict theorists in particular that girls and boys are subtly taught from an early
age that they are different not only physically but emotionally and intellectually different and
that they should expect different things out of life. According to conflict theorists, one of the
ways that this is done is through the hidden curriculum taught within the educational system. The
hidden curriculum refers to the standards of proper behavior for a society or culture that are
taught within the school system. The hidden curriculum subtly reinforces behavior and attitudes
that are deemed appropriate by the society or culture. So, therefore, in this theory, girls are
supported for taking an interest in "feminine" pursuits such as home economics or counseling,
whereas boys are supported in more "masculine" pursuits such engineering and science. Conflict
theorists see this as a way of reinforcing social stratification by encouraging children to stay
within their class. In the end, research has shown that many girls are academically ill-prepared to
pursue careers in science, mathematics, and technical fields. In fact, many girls still view such
careers as "male occupations."
Teacher Expectancy Effect

In addition, teachers often have different expectations for females and males. For example,
teachers may tend to expect girls to do better in reading and writing and boys to do better in
mathematics and science. This is called the teacher expectancy effect. The theory behind this
phenomenon is that a teacher's expectations of a student's performance or achievement affect the
actual performance or achievement of that student. In this type of self-fulfilling prophecy, the
student may pick up on subtle (or not so subtle) cues from the teacher about how well s/he
should be performing or what areas s/he should be interested in. For example, if a teacher thinks
that girls do better in reading and writing than in math and science, the teacher may praise the

girls when they do well in courses requiring verbal skills but not encourage them as much when
they do well in courses requiring mathematics or scientific skills. Since children tend to want to
please their teachers and receive positive feedback, they will tend to work harder in the areas that
they know will result in positive reinforcement from the teacher. Teacher expectancies, however,
do not necessarily need to be overt or consciously performed in order to impact student behavior.
Gender-Type Counseling

In addition, counselors may gender-type students and encourage them into more traditionally
accepted careers. As with the teacher expectancy effect, this gender typing may be conscious or
unconscious. School counselors play an important role in helping children choose whether or not
they will go to college, the career for which they are best suited, and the best way to attain their...

Education Equality
http://www.feminist.org/education/

Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal
financial assistance.

Title IX is most well-known for increasing women's participation in sports. In 1971, only 294,015
girls participated in high school athletics. According to the National Federation of State High
School Association in 2014, over 3.3 million girls participated in high school athletics, a 1022
percent increase from 1971. However, males are still the majority of high school and college
athletes.
But, Title IX is not just about sports. It prohibits discrimination against girls and boys, women
and men, students and employees, in all levels of education. In accordance with the 1987 Civil
Rights Restoration Act, it continues to apply to all education programs and activities that receive
federal financial assistance. For example, it prohibits sex discrimination in facilities, access to
courses, career guidance, student financial aid, health and insurance benefits, employment in
educational institutions, and sexual harassment. In addition to schools and colleges, it covers
scientific laboratories, prisons, museums, and a variety of other public and private institutions.
Prior to Title IX, many professional programs had quotas drastically limiting the number of
women admitted. By 2010, women made up over 78 percent of veterinary students, and roughly
half of the medical and law students. In the field of nursing, in 2014 men made up 15 percent of
students compared to one percent in 1972. Elite undergraduate institutions are now reaching
parity between men and women in admissions. Harvard College reported admitting slightly more
women than men for the first time in 2004, but in 2014 it admitted more men than women
because it said more men applied.

Despite progress on some indicators, many inequities remain. In 2012, women earned only 20
percent of engineering degrees. Sex segregation and tracking funnel 90 percent of girls and
women into traditionally female fields in vocational and technical education. Boys are two-thirds
of the special education students and receive 71% of suspensions from school. For updates on
progress and challenges see the fall 2007 Ms. magazine articles on the Triumphs of Title IX
(PDF) and the 2008 report, Title IX at 35: Beyond the Headlines by the National Coalition for
Women and Girls in Education [summary (PDF) | full report (PDF)] and the 2012 report "Title IX
at 40: Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education [Summary (PDF) full report(PDF)].
Although the evidence of benefits from Title IX is overwhelming, Title IX, is constantly under
attack by opponents who want to turn back the clock. That is why the Feminist Majority
Foundation launched the FMF Education Equity Program in 2003. The program's director, Dr.
Sue Klein, is the general editor of a the 2007 research-based "Handbook for Achieving Gender
Equity Through Education" and collaborates with others to expand the use of Title IX
Coordinators and their allies in the full implementation of Title IX.

Women education in the Islamic Republic of Iran[edit]

After year of 1979
Since the 1979 revolution, Iran was under control of Islamic rules, the progress of female education
was affected by Islamic monarchy. Women are forced to wear veiling and are prevented from going
to the same school as male students. Female students have to learn different versions of textbooks,
which are special editions only for female students. Unmarried women are ineligible for financial aid
if they attempt to study abroad. Throughout the past 30 years, the issue of female education has
been constantly under debate.[31]
Iranian women do have desires and abilities to pursue further education. An Iranian high school
student can earn a diploma after studying 3 years. If students aim to enter colleges, they will stay in
the high schools for the fourth year study, which has very intense study. According to researches,
42% of female students choose to have fourth year in the high school but only 28% of male students
choose to study in order to enter university. Moreover, women have a much higher probability than
men to pass college entrance exams. Islamic female are in need of achieving higher education and
truth proved that their abilities are enough for getting higher education. The education opportunities
for female need more national attention and less regulations.[31]
During 1978 and 1979, the proportion of women who participated in universities as students or
faculties was rather low. 31% of students admitted to universities were women. For faculty gender
composition, there are 14% female. This situation has changed with time passing by. University

enrollment was decreased under the influence of Iranian Cultural Revolution. The general enrollment
population declined during that time. After the culture revolution, the amount of enrollment was going
up. The increase in the number of university students is accompanied with an increase in female
rate.[31]
Islamic higher education contains 5 levels. The 5 levels are associate, bachelor's, master's,
professional doctorate and specialized doctorate.[31] Before the revolution, the gender gap is obvious
in master level and specialized doctorate, which are only 20% and 27%. It has changed after 30
years. In 2007, the female percent in master's degree rose up to 43% and for specialized doctorate
degree, this data rose up to 33%.[32]
Female rate has not only increased in the students but also in faculty. 20 years ago, only 6% of all
professors and 8% of all associated professors were women. Now 8% of all professors and 17% of
all associated professors are female.[31]

Woman's Education According to Rousseau and Wollstonecraft

http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/papers/womens-education.txt

Essay that discusses Jean Jacques Roussea and Mary Wollstonecraft's views toward the
education of women, highlighting the "novel" idea that men and women should be educated
together.

"Give, without scruples, a woman's education to women, see to it that they love the cares of their sex,
that they possess modesty, that they know how to grow old in their m nage and keep busy in their
house."

Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile

"The neglected education of my fellow-creatures is the grand source of the misery I deplore."

Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women

The salons of Jean Jacques Rousseau's day greatly admired his theories, including his advocation of
breast-feeding and his concept of natural education. Today he has enormous influence on accepted
educational doctrines. Rousseau describes his methods in Emile, the story of a boy's upbringing in
natural state. Admiring his sentiment, Mary Wollstonecraft applauded Rousseau's scheme for Emile
but deplored the neglect of Emile's perfect wife, Sophie. Her disappointment in Rousseau was a main
influence on Wollstonecraft's best-known work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Rousseau
outlines his theories for the ideal education for women in Chapter V of Emile written between 1757
and 1761. These so contradict his plan for Emile that it becomes necessary to place them in the
framework of his time and the particular prejudices of Rousseau. Certainly he broke no ground
regarding the topic of women. Nearly a hundred years before Emile, Mrs. Makin published An Essay
to Revive the Ancient Education of Gentlewomen. In her Serious Proposal to Ladies of 1694, Mary
Astell advocated a convent where serious-minded women might retire for study and contemplation.
In his Essay on Projects , Daniel Defoe suggests an academy for women where they might study
whatever they chose. He observes as early as 1697, "We reproach the sex every day with folly and
impertinence, while I am confident, had they the advantages of education equal to us, they would be
guilty of less than ourselves."1 As women and their education were very popular topics among the
frequenters of the salons, Rousseau was often drawn into their discussions as a consultant. After
publication Rousseau realized some recognition as a spokesman for the rights of people, although
there was a decided rise in the intensity of demands for recognition of women's state.2
Rousseau describes his passionate feelings for several women in his life in his Confessions, the first
of which was the strange feelings he had as a boy when Mademoiselle Lambercier punished him.
"Who would have believed that the chastisement I received at eight from a thirty-year-old girl would
have determined my tastes, desires, and passions for the rest of my life?"3 Having left Protestant
Switzerland for Catholic France, Rousseau began to meet the women who would support and
influence his work for the rest of his life. One of his first encounters was with Madame de Warens,
whom he referred to as maman, also a convert to Catholicism and an escapee from Geneva. Because
of her support he was able to take part in knowledgeable conversations, philosophical discussions,
and intellectual pursuits. From her privileged position he was able to observe with fraternal pity the
people whose fate he might have shared.
At the age of thirty, Rousseau left Madame de Warens' residence. He wished to be accepted in the
intellectual circles of the salons, and to gain entrance to the Academie des Sciences. He succeeded at
the Academie but failed to be accepted socially at the salons. One of his sponsors, Pre Castel,
advised, "Since musicians and servants will not sing together with you, change your tactics, and try

the women."4 He took this advice and made the acquaintance of several intelligent and influential
women.
According to Claude Fervel in Jean Jacques Rousseau et les femmes, Rousseau's feelings of
inferiority among these women induced his unnatural attachment to a twenty-three year old servant
girl, Thrse Levasseur. "She is so limited," says Hume, "that she knows neither the year, the
month, nor the day of the week; she is unaware of the value of money and in spite of all that, she has
on Jean Jacques the empire of a nurse over her charge."5 Certainly Levasseur had some influence in
Rousseau's concept of the ideal woman.
Rousseau primarily claimed that "[n]ature has created man happy and good, but society depraves
him and makes him miserable."6 In the eighteenth century, morality took on a new meaning
founded on the natural goodness of man. Happiness became a right supplanting the idea of duty.
Sensual delights were natural and therefore rational. All of Rousseau's educational theories derive
from his attempt to preserve nature's pure state. His concept of negative education allowed a child to
discover for himself and to be punished by the nature he sought to defy. The tutor must not try to
reason with the child or show authority. Books would not be forced on the child; at twelve Emile
would hardly know what to do with a book. Positive education, or direct instruction, would only
begin at approximately the age of adulthood, and then the studies would be based on the student's
natural curiosity. Rousseau stressed utility, the need for teaching things with practical applications.
This concept of negative education as applicable to women was totally inconceivable to Rousseau. He
viewed women's options as entirely limited to the roles of wife and mother. What need would there
be to allow her to determine for herself when nature had already physiologically dictated her
destiny? His scheme for Emile was radical; his scheme for Sophie was not radical enough. Rousseau
demanded a reversion to primitivism in the education of women, offering minimal vocational
training while insisting on her inability to reason and her inferiority to man. "A woman's education
must be planned in relation to man".[S]he will always be in subjection to a man"and she will never
be free to set her own opinion above his."7 He stresses freedom of movement and physical exertion
for Emile, asserting that weak bodies contain weak minds. At the same time he discourages Sophie
from too much physical activity and uses her weakness as another proof of her inferiority. "The
object of that cultivation is different. In the one sex it is the development of corporeal powers; in the
other, that of personal charms," Rousseau asserts.8
Emile is not instructed in religious matters until he reaches adulthood. He has a natural sense of
morality "from reason tempered by the heart."9 Presumably woman cannot reason, so she cannot

maintain a state of morality, and must be guarded by men throughout her life. Rousseau proposes
that Sophie must be made to love virtue, although she will never understand theological rationale for
living uprightly. She must be made to feel subject to society's opinions of her. In fact, Sophie fails at
this. In the fragmentary sequel to Emile, Les Solitaires, Rousseau tells of the infidelity of Sophie who
had been "educated" to be Emile's ideal wife. Mary Wollstonecraft makes no mention of this book
and probably never read it, but she would make the right assumptions about the likelihood of
Sophie's fidelity.
Helen Misenheimer points out in Rousseau on the Education of Women that Rousseau leaves off the
sexual education of Emile in describing Sophie. In fact, she is his sexual identity. Rousseau considers
a man's union with a woman a debasement of his nature. While insisting on the importance of
motherhood, he stumbles on women's role as mothers. In addressing mothers in Book I of Emile, he
acknowledges their primacy in the education of youth. By denying women the ability to reason he
denies them the ability to raise children, which Mary Wollstonecraft later attempts to prove.
Francis Gribble proposes, "Contemporary critics contended that Jean Jacques did not mean a word
that he said; the difficulty of the modern critic is to discover that he ever said anything at all which he
did not immediately afterwards contradict."10 When accosted by a father who informed him he was
using the Emile method to raise his son, Rousseau replied that he was sorry for him but even sorrier
for his son.11 Certainly he contradicts himself in Chapter V of Emile. One must ask if woman is as
"natural" as man, and nature is essentially good, then why should the same principles of "negative
education" not apply to women? Misenheimer discusses the dichotomy of women in Rousseau's
writings. She claims that Rousseau makes woman totally subservient to man, making her into a mere
plaything for the superior sex. Yet by inserting Sophie in her place in his educational theories, he
encourages others to give the question further thought at a moment in history when social revolution
uniquely supports her. This is exactly the cause which Mary Wollstonecraft takes up. Furthermore,
by speaking of all society and not just the elite, he becomes one of the first writers even to recognize
the ordinary woman, giving her a foothold to independence. Rousseau certainly did not intend to
liberate women; he advocated the freedom of man.

Mary Wollstonecraft reputedly tried to rear one of her charges, Ann Fuseli, as a child of nature. The
experiment proved disappointing when she caught her stealing and lying.14 She considered herself a
rationalist, but she greatly admired Rousseau's "pure sentiment." She did not, however, share
Rousseau's admiration for primitive society, and took great exception to his views of women. In A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman she asserts, "Rousseau exerts himself to prove that all was right
originally: a crowd of authors that all is now right: and I, that all will be right [sic]."12

Her most famous and controversial work, Rights of Woman, was not the first work to advocate better
education for women. Among Wollstonecraft's contemporaries, there were several in France who had
written in behalf of women. Olympe de Gouges spoke boldly in defense of her sex in several
publications, one titled A Declaration of the Rights of Woman. Condorcet advocated better education
for women in Memoirs on Public Instruction. Wollstonecraft had reviewed Catherine Macaulay's
Letters on Education for the Analytical, and acknowledged her debt to the work in Rights of Woman.
Letters denies any fundamental difference in character between the sexes, attributing women's
weaknesses to faulty education and social position. Wollstonecraft repeats and develops almost every
point of her work.
Like many English intellectuals, Wollstonecraft watched the French Revolution with interest,
anticipating that the great social experiment would one day reach her shore. The Revolution "must
have seemed like a happy fusion of all she had been taught to respect by her sage London friends,
and all that she cherished by nature".And so she, like many of her countrymen, looked hopefully to
France as the great proving-ground."13 She espouses the cause of freedom in her Vindication of the
Rights of Men, written in reply to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. She
digresses occasionally in this work, criticizing the effects of wealth and rank and chiding Burke for
his fondness for waifishness and weakness in women.
In her previous work, Wollstonecraft had shown an interest in women's status without directly
addressing the matter. According to her husband William Godwin, she spent only six weeks in actual
composition, but she had been developing the ideas for Rights of Woman all her life. She found that
most writers showed either outright disdain or condescending praise of women's weakness. The
immediate cause of Rights of Woman was Talleyrand's Report on Public Institution, an outline of the
projected plan of national education under a new French constitution. Talleyrand declared that girls
should be educated with boys only until the age of eight. Wollstonecraft prefaces her book with a
letter to Talleyrand which urges him and his compatriots not to deny women their rights.13
Wollstonecraft seeks to find a rational explanation for the state of her sex. She questions whether
women are really created for the pleasure of men:
[T]hough the cry of irreligion, or even atheism, be raised against, I will simply declare, that were an
angel from heaven to tell me that Moses's beautiful, poetical cosmogony, and the account of the fall
of man, were literally true, I could not believe what my reason told me was derogatory to the
character of the Supreme Being.14

She discovers the only reason for women's state is their lack of education. In Chapter V she attacks
several writers, especially Rousseau, who had written poor accounts of women. Wollstonecraft cites
and comments on long passages from Emile. She is not unaware of Rousseau's relationships with
women. In her chapter "On National Education," she states:
Who ever drew a more exalted female character than Rousseau? Though in the lump he constantly
endeavoured to degrade the sex. And why was he thus anxious? Truly to justify to himself the
affection which weakness and virtue had made him cherish for that fool Theresa. He could not raise
her to the common level of her sex; and therefore he labored to bring woman down to hers. He found
her a convenient humble companion, and pride made him determine to find some superiour virtues
in the being whom he chose to live with; but did not her conduct during his life, and after his death,
clearly show how grossly he was mistaken who called her a celestial innocent.15
She treats his description of Sophie with smug indignation, as when Rousseau describes Sophie's
garb, "simple as it seems, was only put in its proper order to be taken to pieces by the imagination."
To this she retorts, "Is this modesty? Is this a preparation for immortality?"16 She correctly accuses
Rousseau of depicting not a wife and sensible mother, but a pleasing mistress.
Getting to the heart of Rousseau's error, she determines:
Men have superior strength of body, but were it not for mistaken notions of beauty, women would
acquire sufficient to enable them to earn their own subsistence, the true definition of independence".
Let us then, by being allowed to take the same exercise as boys, not only during infancy, but youth,
arrive at perfection of boys, that we may know how far the natural superiority of man extends.17
She cautions that she has no desire to breed a generation of independent and unattached women like
herself, but that she seeks to develop wiser and more virtuous mothers. She believes that children's
characters are formed before the age of seven, shuddering to think of the damage done by addleheaded mothers. Without stressing independence she believes that once women gain intellectual
equality, they should be given political and economic equality as well.
In Chapter XII, "On National Education," Wollstonecraft develops her proposal. She feels that
private education is confined to the lite, and that school-children need the company of other
children. She has an aversion to boarding schools because of the interruptions of vacations. She
suggests day schools where children may spend time with other children. These need to be national
establishments, so that school-matters are not left to the "caprice of the parents."18 Like Rousseau,
she emphasizes that children must be allowed to play freely.

What is so radical about Wollstonecraft's idea is that girls are not educated relative to boys, but with
them. She states:
If marriage be the cement of society, mankind should all be educated after the same model, or the
intercourse of the sexes will never deserve the name of fellowship, nor will women ever fulfill the
peculiar duties of their sex". Nay, marriage will never be held sacred till women, by being brought up
with men, are prepared to be their companions rather than their mistresses.19
After the age of nine, girls and boys intended for domestic employments or mechanical trades will be
removed to other schools. The two sexes will still study together in the mornings, and in the
afternoons girls will learn millinery, mantua-making, and other fitting pursuits.
Girls and boys still together? I hear some readers ask: yes. And I should not fear any other
consequence than that some early attachment might take place". Besides, this would be a sure way to
promote early marriages, and from early marriages the most salutary physical and moral effects
naturally flow.20
Women should be taught anatomy and medicine to make them rational nurses of their infants,
parents, and husbands.
At the time of its publication in 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Women was considered radical
and revolutionary. By the end of the year Joseph Johnson published a second edition. An American
edition appeared in Boston and Philadelphia, and a French translation appeared in Paris and Lyons.
Aaron Burr admired it and attempted to raise his own daughter according to its principles, although
he complained in 1793 that he had "not yet met a single person who had discovered or would allow
the merit of this book."21 Contemporary reactions ranged from shock to amusement to enthusiasm.
Despite a number of mean-spirited parodies, including A Sketch of the Rights of Boys and Girls and
A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes, there is no doubt her book had a tremendous impact on British
and American feminism. Her argument that one must educate mothers so they may better raise their
children would be echoed by the advocates of "Republican Motherhood" in the first years of the new
American republic.22
Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas were savagely attacked after her death, when the horrors of the French
Revolution had convinced most Englishmen that all revolutionary theories were dangerous.
However, there is little doubt that her ideas live on, and like Rousseau's, still have an impact on
education. Public education, teaching by the exploitation of natural curiosity, practical applications,

are all ideas descended from Rousseau and Wollstonecraft. Most distinctive of these is
Wollstonecraft's radical notion that women and men be educated together.
1As cited in Ralph M. Wardle, Mary Wollstonecraft: A Critical Biography (Lawrence: University of
Kansas Press, 1951), p. 143.
2Helen Evans Misenheimer, Rousseau on the Education of Women (Washington, DC: University
Press of America, Inc., 1981), p. 64.
3Confessions, I as cited by Misenheimer, p. 21.
4Ibid., p. 24.
5Claude Fervel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et les femmes, as cited by Misenheimer, p. 26.
6Misenheimer, p. 19.
7Rousseau, pp. 322, 325.
8Rousseau, as cited by Wollstonecraft, p. 176.
9Rousseau, as cited by Misenheimer, p. 39.
10Francis Gribble, Rousseau and the Women he Loved, as cited by Misenheimer, p. 4.
11William Boyd, The Minor Educational Writings of Jean Jacques Rousseau, as cited by
Misenheimer, p. 8.
12Wardle, p. 178.
13Wollstonecraft, p. 22.
14Wollstonecraft, pp. 173-174.
15Ibid., pp. 403-404.
16Ibid., p.195.
17Ibid., p. 189.

18Ibid., p. 379.
19Ibid., pp. 380, 381.
20Ibid., p. 389.
21Matthew L. Davis, Memoirs of Aaron Burr, as cited by Wardle, p.158.
22Linda K. Kerber, "The Republican Mother," Women's America (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1991), pp. 87-95.