An Overview of Girls' Education in America

1. Educating
Girls
An Overview of
Gendered Education in America
Photo Credit National Geographic, copyright National Geographic Society

2. History:
Girls Are Different
Photo Credit National Geographic, copyright Bambang Hidajat

3. “And since the Americans have bravely
established their liberties, (not withstanding the vain
efforts of tyranny) we hope that their modesty will
keep them from exercising that despotism over
us, which they so openly despised in their master. . . .
and now, may they wish to see the fair sex on an
equal footing with themselves, enjoying all the
blessings of freedom.”
- New York female academy student, 1794

4. History
 1700s – Finishing Schools
 1800s – Girls‟ Schools, Young Women‟s
academies, and Coeducation
 1972 – Title IX
 1974 – Women‟s Educational Equality Act
 1991 – How Schools Shortchange Girls
 2006 – Title IX amended

5. From the 1700s
Finishing Schools
 Arts, such as
music, embroidery, drawing, and painting
furniture
 Refinement and social graces
 Dancing
 Hosting a ball
 Etiquette and manners
 How to be a wife: cook, clean, and keep a
household

6. 1700-1800s
Dame Schools
 Instruction for a small group of children led
by a woman in her home (in place of parents
educating their own children)
 Equivalent to an elementary level education
 Begun in colonial times based on English
methods
 Prepared boys for town schools or
academies
 Girls might be allowed to attend town
schools during summers or holidays

7. 1800s
Women‟s Seminaries and Academies
 Colonial women were involved in family
businesses and commerce
 Literacy was needed for all
 Movement for single-gender seminary or
academy modeled after English finishing
schools, to provide a “moral, literary, and
domestic education”
 Prepared female teachers for Catholic girls‟
schools
 Women were the foundation of „good
manners‟ and a positive influence on men

8. 1800s
Coeducation
 Taught boys and girls in the same schools
 Included secondary schools
 Common in the west due to small classes
 Tracked programs:
 College preparatory (boys)
 Vocational (girls, minorities)
 For girls through the 1960s:
 Nursing
 Secretarial
 Teaching
 Motherhood

9. History:
Girls Are the Same
Photo Credit National Geographic, copyright Wahyudi Andriano

10. 1972
Title IX
 Mink Equal Opportunity in Education
Act, Congresswoman Patsy Mink
 “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…”
 BIG changes to school athletics
 Several states passed laws to include
schools not receiving Federal funding

11. 1974
Women‟s Educational Equality Act
 “promotes education equity for women and
girls through competitive grants.”
 Training for teachers to encourage gender-
equity in classrooms
 Guidance and counseling to increase
opportunities for women in technologically
demanding workplaces
 Evaluating and replicating exemplary gender
equity programs
 From $6 million in 1976 to just under $2
million in 2009

12. 1991
How Schools Shortchange
Girls, American Association of University
Women
 Classrooms have progressed in terms of
gender equity
 Girls‟ academic performance has increased
 Girls continue to face unique challenges
 Compared to male peers, girls have less
self-confidence and lower self-esteem
 General inequity in society continues to
impact education

13. 2006: But, girls ARE different
Amendments to Title IX: separate gender
education
 provide school districts with flexibility in the
implementation of single-sex programs
 Coeducational facilities reinforce gender
stereotypes through “gender intensification”
– „poetry is for girls,‟ „computer science is for
boys‟
 Gender separate format can boost grades
and test scores
 Teacher training is KEY in separate gender
instruction

14. “We can conclude from the research that there are
significant differences in how boys and girls learn. The
cognitive differences are brain based; behavioral differences
can be brain based or a result of responses from brain-
based differences. The very architecture of the brain and the
resultant differences in sensory perception and physical
skills differ markedly between the sexes in the classroom
and in society.”
-Virginia Bonomo, 2010

15. Sensory Differences
Girls
Boys Retain
have 35% Sensory
less Memory
hearing Details
Well
Boys use
Targets
And
Spatial
Memory

16. HOWEVER!
 When developing computer
software, educational tools, or
curriculum, there is no lowest common
denominator:
Girls AND Boys
 Research BOTH genders and adjust the
material to perform well with both
 Assessing these materials requires unbiased
methods (no interviews)

17. “It is understandable why, when the statistics
emerged showing boys‟ underachievement, it was
concluded that schools had gone “too far” in redressing
girls‟ inequalities. It is also understandable why these same
measures were adopted to tackle the problems boys were
experiencing with school. However, this meant that the
construction of traditional gendered subjectivities of boys
and girls were left unchallenged and, hence, the ongoing
production of lower levels of self-confidence amongst girls.”
-Christine Skelton, 2010

18. Implications
Photo Credit National Geographic, copyright Joshua Kast

19. What Girls Want
“When you compete with girls, you
compete on skills.” -„Debbie,‟ 2008
Throughout the research, girls have wanted:
 Opportunities
 Respect
 Challenges
 Community
 Recognition
Socially, girls now have the ability
and, increasingly, the economic motivations to
pursue higher education

20. Identity Economics
Standard Economic Theories +
Individuals‟ Identities
 „Insiders‟ versus „Outsiders‟
 In work: nurses and male nurses
 In school: jocks and drop-outs
 Identity utility: gaining or losing face through
actions that agree with or disagree with
identity
 Schools AND Companies must promote
„insider‟ identity that is attainable regardless
of gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status

21. In Coeducational Schools
“Boys will be boys, right? If I lagged
behind, people would think I‟m not okay. It‟s
the same with boys and teachers. Teachers
seem willing to push the boys more than
they push the girls. Girls are just expected
to be good.”
 Gender equity means adjusting instruction
for Each Student, regardless of gender
 There‟s no such thing as, or need
for, „gender-blind‟
 Boys need more Motivation, Activity, Efficacy
 Girls need more
Support, Recognition, Community

22. What About All-Girl Schools?
 Research indicates positive outcomes:
 Self-confidence
 Encouragement
 Leadership
 Community
 Opportunities for public-
speaking, technology, science, math, and
writing
 Less disruption/distraction
 Ability to experiment with multiple roles
(class clown, bully, sports champ)
 Skills transfer to coed high schools
What about all-girl classes?
• Research suggests school climate has a
big impact despite individual class makeup

23. What About the Boys?
Improvements for girls are always good
for boys: their sisters, mothers, wives, and
daughters benefit, and:
 Valuing girls and traditionally „female‟ studies
such as art and music provides boys greater
access to some of life‟s finest things
 Improving teacher awareness of individual
needs ultimately impacts every
student, providing tailored instruction
 Feedback that validates students‟ efforts
over abilities increases motivation
 Challenging students increases motivation

24. What About the Boys?
Our biggest stumbling blocks:
 Research suggests that girls‟ educational
attainment is strongly influenced by their
mothers; boys, by their fathers. Boys who
have no fathers need strong male role
models and mentors.
 In peer groups, boys may be less likely to
find encouragement to pursue higher
education. Boys need „insider‟ identities.
 Parents are less likely to ask sons about
school, and may have lower expectations for
sons‟ academic achievement. Parents need
to understand their impact.

25. Educating Girls
Educating Everyone
Younger and Warrington state that single-sex
classrooms experience success due to culture
– an environment of
collaboration, encouragement, and common
purpose and values.
Effective teachers view community as essential
to the inclusion and engagement of every
student.
Focusing on girls neglected social realities and
has gone as far as possible. Future efforts
need to acknowledge, and honor, individuals of
both genders.