Woman and Education

Abstract

The question of how and why Edith Stein, whose work had been predominantly speculative, spoke and wrote about the philosophy of woman and the philosophy of education can be answered only in the light of conditions in German society at the time and of her own personal experiences in the role of philosopher and educator. In one of her first lectures on the subject, which was presented to the educational committee of the Federation of German Catholic Women in November 1930 at Berndorf on the Rhine,¹ it is evident that she was responding to the current desperate situation of German education, which she described as a shambles, calling for complete demolition and reconstruction from the ground up. She was not alone in this view; on all sides there were calls for educational reform, and the problems plaguing women’s education were seen as part and parcel of the general crisis.