Progressive Era reform and private secondary schools for women, 1890-1920.
Item
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Title
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Progressive Era reform and private secondary schools for women, 1890-1920.
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Identifier
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AAI9618105
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identifier
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9618105
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Creator
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Siroky, Allen James.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Barbara Welter
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, History of | History, United States | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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This study of the activities of officials of private female secondary schools in the Northeast during the Progressive Era focuses upon a group of female reformers whose work in education has been generally overlooked in the study of progressive reform, as has been their link with its social gospel aspect. The women (and a few men) headed female private secondary schools in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania from approximately 1890 to 1920. They provided young women with an education reflecting a communitarian social focus typical of progressive educational ideals and of a non-sectarian Christian approach typical of the social gospel.;Many women's school administrators and faculty members were advocates of reforms like woman suffrage, temperance, child labor laws, and consumer protection, exalting the efficacy of democratic society while acknowledging its dependence upon a well-educated, knowledgeable citizenry. Their educational methods addressed development of the "whole child." In promoting a consciousness of social issues in their students, they correlated school with society, demonstrating an affinity with the contemporary "Progressive" or "New" movement in education generally associated with such advocates as John Dewey, G. Stanley Hall, Marietta Johnson, and Francis Parker.;Leaders of women's schools also promoted greater social sexual equality, believing their female students to be capable of the same type of academic, spiritual, and physical development as counterpart male students. By simultaneously emphasizing the school community ("school spirit") and individual development through various means of self-expression, women's school officials aimed to develop self-confident, "socially useful" women. Evidence indicates that numerous alumnae of such schools did indeed make notable social contributions during the twentieth century, many in fields previously regarded as predominantly male.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
