Women and Education

Abstract

Schools for the Boys?, Losing Out, Just a Bunch of Girls and Learning to Lose are all titles of books on gender and education published in the last decade. Titles of books are important because they have to summarise the contents in short, eye-catching phrases and although I could add many more to the above list, they all point to the same fact; that is, female educational experiences are different, and unequal, to those of males. In many ways, present day schooling inhibits women’s and girls’ confidence, skills and abilities. Whether the focus of research has been on female pupils, teachers/lecturers, or students in further and higher education, the findings have all illustrated how females receive and perceive different messages about their aptitudes and abilities from those of males, which has implications for their place in the family and the labour market. The intention in this chapter is to examine women’s education but, given that this involves issues of ‘race’, social class and feminist perspectives, a difficult decision arises as to what should be included and what should be set aside. As a feminist, it seems to me that a starting point has to be my own experiences. In addition, this book is aimed at students who are ‘new’ to the theoretical underpinnings of Women’s Studies courses. I can recall the confusion experienced when I was a primary school teacher interested in the area of gender issues in education but having to read sociological theory divorced from my reality.