2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A HISTORICAL STUDY ON TRANSFORMATION OF IDEAL AND CURRICULUM OF WOMEN'S COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1880-1916
| Project/Area Number |
10610281
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Educaion
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| Research Institution | Soka University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKAMOTO Tatsuro SOKA UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR, 教育学部, 教授 (60153912)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1998 – 2000
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| Keywords | WOMEN'S COLLEGES / UNITED STATES / EDUCATIONAL HISTORY / GENDER AND EDUCATION / CURRICULUM / EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY |
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| Research Abstract |
This study consists of the following three parts :
1) Mount Holyoke Female Seminary's transformation into a full-blown college brought conflict into school's long-established "ethos of seminary." The upgraded curriculum, which was required to obtain charter, was essentially a copy of outdated curriculum of men's colleges.
2) Woman's Education Association's effort to open the door of Harvard College for women, on its first stage, won a partial victory and Harvard Examination for Women was born. The Examination was, however, contradictory to education reform initiated by Charles W. Eliot in that he focused his ideal of university's excellence on original lectures and research while the Examination was based on an old recitation system.
3) Association of Collegiate Alumnae's search for a new standard of corporate membership was greatly influenced by other organizations' effort of standardization and accreditation. The unique futures of Association's requirement of admission that paid full attention to women's educational needs did challenge the conventional definitions of academic excellence, but they were not free from "the spell of liberal arts."
The study highlights a historical paradox of women's higher education. Although women tried to make "progressive" educational reform, by following men's education as the model, the net result was often outdated, "regressive" one.
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