Historical Dictionary of Women's Education in the United States

(Hardback)

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Description

The history of women's education in the United States presents a continuous effort to move from the periphery to the mainstream and this book examines both formal and informal opportunities for girls and women. Through an introductory essay and nearly 250 alphabetically arranged entries, this reference book examines institutions, persons, ideas, events, and movements in the history of women's education in the United States. The volume spans the colonial era to the present, exploring settings from formal institutions such as schools and colleges to informal association such as suffrage groups and reform organizations where women gained skills and used knowledge. A full picture of women's educational history presents their workin mainstream institutions, sex-segregated schools, and informal organizations that served as alternative educational settings. Educational history varies greatly for women of different races, classes, and ethnicities. The experience of some groups has been well documented. Thus entries on the Seven Sisters women's colleges and the reform organizations of the Progressive Era convey wide historical detail. Other women have been studied only recently. Thus entries on African American school founders or women teachers present considerable new information that scholars interpret against a wider context. Finally, some women's history has yet to be adequately explored. Hispanic American women and Catholic teaching sisters are discussed in entries that highlight historical questions still remaining. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and concludes with a brief bibliography. The volume closes with a timeline of women's educational history and a list of important general works for further reading.

Reviews

"[This] is a captivating collection of original essays on the history of women's institutions, organizations, and reform efforts as well as biographical accounts of notable school founders and advocates for women's education. The Dictionary brings together, for the first time, scholarship on immigrant women, ethnic institutions and the work of religious minorities, new scholarship on African American educators, and the educational and social-reform work of women associated with organizations for young girls. It is the "new work" that we all have been waiting for."-Sally Schwager Lecturer on Education and Director, Women's History Institute Harvard Graduate School of Education
"An enormously useful reference for anyone interested in women's history or the history of education. Linda Eisenmann has brought together a rich and wide-ranging collection of entries which illustrate the diversity of institutions, organizations, and sources from which women gained their education. Particularly notable is the way the volume honors the traditional history of women's education and at the same time captures the experiences of minorities and other groups about whom much less has been written."-Barbara Beatty Associate Professor of Education Wellesley College
Highly recommended for libraries with education collections.-Choice
The book is a valuable contribution to scholarship in women's studies and will be an important addition to reference collections in academic, special, and public libraries.-ARBA
The dictionary, a user-friendly text that covers a timespan from the colonial period to the present, provides a comprehensive reference tool for scholars, educators, students, and general readers who are interested in women's education and history.-Harvard Education Review
This reviewer is aware of no comparable reference work that combines both biographical and historical materials on the subject of women's education in the United States into a single encyclopedia handbook....Historical Dictionary of Women's Education in the United States is recommended for academic, public, and high-school libraries.-Reference & User Service Quarterly
This volume is a valuable resource for learning about the educational history of women in the U.S. It would be a useful reference tool in academic and large public libraries.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Highly recommended for libraries with education collections."-Choice
"The book is a valuable contribution to scholarship in women's studies and will be an important addition to reference collections in academic, special, and public libraries."-ARBA
"The dictionary, a user-friendly text that covers a timespan from the colonial period to the present, provides a comprehensive reference tool for scholars, educators, students, and general readers who are interested in women's education and history."-Harvard Education Review
"This volume is a valuable resource for learning about the educational history of women in the U.S. It would be a useful reference tool in academic and large public libraries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"This reviewer is aware of no comparable reference work that combines both biographical and historical materials on the subject of women's education in the United States into a single encyclopedia handbook....Historical Dictionary of Women's Education in the United States is recommended for academic, public, and high-school libraries."-Reference & User Service Quarterly

Author Bio

LINDA EISENMANN is Assistant Professor of Education in the doctoral program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where she teaches the history of higher education and the history of urban schooling.