The historical study of women provides a sociological and philosophical base for the roles women have played in America as well as how they have been treated and perceived throughout the years (Button & Provenzo, 1989; Hughes & Hughes, 1997). Undoubtedly, educational organizations have been instrumental in maintaining the status quo regarding the gender roles of men and women in our society (Brunner, 2000; Pigford & Tonsen, 1993; Shakeshaft, 1989). Though American educational systems are unique in themselves, assessing the history of women in these organizations by employing a feminist framework will help develop an understanding of how the past still influences the present in small, rural schools.
Although the history of American education spans over four centuries, it is important to note how European attitudes toward women influenced American colonists (Kerber, 2002). Female colonists in America were perceived to be inferior and corruptible (Bullough, 1973; Button & Provenzo, 1989; Kerber, 2002). Their education consisted of learning basic math and writing in addition to learning to read the scriptures. Their limited education was a result of the belief that the mental capacities of women were less than those of men; thus, girls often received special textbooks designed to minimize the strain on their mental faculties (Bullough, 1973; Kerber: 2002).
In the 1700s, however, America began to experience social and cultural changes. Academies that were privately controlled and funded were established that offered a broad range of subjects. Parents paid masters to teach their children the subjects they thought were important. During this time too, girls were accepted into beginning schools where they studied English, Latin, or feminine skills such as needlework, playing the harpsichord or spinet (Button & Provenzo, 1989; Kerber, 2002). After the American Revolution in 1776, the teaching of classics began to decline in the United States, and schools were no longer staffed by masters, but rather by teachers (Kerber, 2002). While the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Ordinance of 1787 provided free lands for the institution of schools, financial support for these schools was minimal. Consequently, the status of being a teacher was viewed as low due to the clientele of the schools, for the rich continued to send their children to academies (Button & Provenzo, 1989). Because expansion of the United States Territory in the early 19th century brought with it a significant increase in the population, both natural and from immigration, the need for a common school system became evident.
During this time, America became urbanized as a result of the settling immigrants in homogeneous clusters in large cities where they could find work (Bullough, 1973; Kerber, 2002). By the early 1830s, forty percent of all laborers in factories were children, few of which had an opportunity to learn to read or write (Thayer, 1965). Horace Mann’s concept of a common school was developed and implemented in an effort to reach poor immigrant children as well as to share the values and ideals held by society. These common schools taught both subjects and values, and all children were able to enroll so that they could become socialized (Kerber, 2002). Mann’s school, which was patterned after the Pestalozzian model, focused the emphasis of the school improving a child’s character so that he/she could take his/her place in society (Button & Provenzo, 1989; Church & Sedlak, 1976; Kerber, 2002). But despite this new trend in American education, girls were still considered inferior and their educational opportunities remained gender biased (Kerber, 2002).
Throughout the 19th century, women in America were still considered second-class citizens and were only allowed an education during the summers when boys vacated the classrooms to return to work on the family farms (Kerber, 2002). The curriculum during this time period was gender oriented, specifically either male or female. American females were being educated in social skills such as music, dancing, handwriting, drawing, a little French and some religious reading (Bornstein, 1979; Button & Provenzo, 1989).
Bornstein (1979) wrote, “ . . . the history of women in American society is a sorry record of deprivation and oppression, guided in protection. . . . ” (p. 331). Coser (1981), Novarra (1980), and Kerber (2002) agree with Bornstein claiming that not only have women been held back in developing their skills, but traditionally, when they did not obtain jobs outside of their roles as wives and mothers, they were associated with jobs that had little room for advancements such as secretaries, nurses, and teachers.
From Stories of Women Superintendents in Small, Rural Schools: A Narrative Nonfiction Study By Dr. Lana L. Comeaux
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