Who Was The Pioneer Of Women’S Education In India?
There are many things that hinder women from getting something as basic as an education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says that poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women are among the many obstacles that prevent women from fully exercising their right to participate in, complete, and benefit from education.
The result, the UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics reveals, is that there are 16 million girls in the world who will never set foot in a classroom. Why men need to play a role in women’s education Women also account for two-thirds of the 750 million adults without basic literacy, indicating that while boys in some regions of the world are equally disadvantaged, lack of access to education plagues girls more, clearly.
What’s equally evident is that to bring about concrete global changes, and bridge this gender gap in education, engaging men and boys in gender transformative programs or initiatives is of vital importance. This is primarily because women’s empowerment is not a goal that can be achieved in a vacuum.
- The everyday inequality and discrimination women face is directly associated with our relations with men, especially when it comes to accessing resources and decision-making.
- It’s therefore quite logical that eliminating these inequalities require equal, if not more, efforts by men and boys.
- Now if you’re assuming this is a new-fangled idea, think again.
History is testament to the fact that enlightened men—men who see women as equal partners with unlimited potential rather than subjects or objects to control—have played a huge role in helping women find their voice, make their stand and march towards liberation. Raja Ram Mohun Roy You may know this 19th century social reformer as the leader credited for the abolition of the Sati pratha—where a widow is burned alive on the funeral pyre of her dead husband—but there’s a lot more that Raja Ram Mohun Roy accomplished during his life.
- When it comes to education reform, Roy was one of the leading Bengali intelligentsia who believed in teaching Indians Western science, literature, philosophy and medicine.
- Not only was he one of the founders of major educational institutions like Hindu College (later known as Presidency College), the City College, and numerous English Schools across colonial Calcutta, but also advocated the need for educating women.
Education Indian women was already a target set by Christian missionaries, but it was Roy who helped popularize the concept among the elite Hindus. His argument against those naysayers who believed educating women was against Hindu culture was to delve into the shastras and prove that women’s education formed a core of ancient Hindu traditions, and had led to near-mythical women scholars like Gargi and Maitreyi. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Quite like Roy, school textbooks celebrate Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar as the Indian reformer behind the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856. What many don’t know is that Vidyasagar was a social reformer who understood that a mere act of legislation cannot change the fate of women in the country, nor would it help women fight centuries of social oppression.
Educating women was, therefore, the larger, lifelong goal he tireless worked towards. As one of the leading educators of the time, Vidyasagar held power to lobby for schools for the Indian girl child, and the fact that he exercised this power to the hilt is a fact that cannot be denied. Vidyasagar organized a fund called the Nari Shiksha Bhandar, and led door-to-door campaigns asking families to allow their daughters to be enrolled in schools.
He frequently campaigned for women’s education through contemporary English and Bengali publications like the Hindu Patriot, Tattwabodhini Patrika and Somprakash. He not only opened 35 girls schools across Bengal, enrolling 1,300 girls successfully, but also helped JE Drinkwater Bethune establish the first permanent girls’ school in India, the Bethune School, in 1849. Jyotirao Phule The fact that Jyotirao Phule, and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were the pioneers of women’s education in India is well known. Phule’s lifelong drive for women’s education stemmed from his own personal experiences as a Dalit man living in 19th century India.
- He realized that as long as the shudras, ati-shudras and women—all marginalized categories—were deprived of education, they would not be able to get a voice of their own, let alone develop as communities with self-respect and basic human rights.
- This idea was proved when Phule visited the Christian missionary school run by Cynthia Farrars in Ahmednagar (the institution where Savitribai also studied), and observed how much confidence the female students had gained.
So, in August 1848, Phule opened the first girls’ school in the house of Shri Bhide in Pune. It’s reported that on the very first day, nine girls from different social backgrounds enrolled at the school. Between 1848 and 1852, Phule and Savitribai opened 18 schools in and around Pune, all of them for girls as well as for children from Dalit families. Periyar EV Ramaswamy “Only education, self-respect and rational qualities will uplift the down-trodden,” the Dravidian social reformer EV Ramaswamy, popularly known as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, is known to have quipped once upon a time—and never have words been truer, especially for women.
You may not know much about this social reformer, but the work he did to advocate for women’s rights, especially right to education, vocation and property, is unparalleled in Indian history. Not only did he argue that ideas like chastity should not be unfairly heaped on only women, but also believed that women should have unhindered access to education, especially vocational education.
A scholar of ancient Tamil literature, Periyar used instances from these texts to prove that education is a basic women’s right. Not only did he actively campaign for women’s education, but also wanted it to be holistic with an inclusion of physical activity so that women develop physical strength as well as mental acuity. BR Ambedkar Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is popularly celebrated as the chief architect of the Indian constitution, and also as an icon for the Dalit rights movements in the country. But Ambedkar believed that women have a key role to play in the emancipation of oppressed communities, and this could be done by ensuring their own rights to property and education.
- I measure the progress of community by the degree of progress which women have achieved,” he said at the Second All-India Depressed Classes Women’s Conference held on 20 July, 1942.
- I shall tell you a few things which I think you should bear in mind.
- Learn to be clean; keep free from all vices.
- Give education to your children.
Instill ambition in them. Inculcate on their minds that they are destined to be great. Remove from them all inferiority complexes.” To achieve these goals, Ambedkar advocated for women’s right to be educated along with men in the same schools and colleges, since it would ensure that both get the same quality of education.
He believed that women’s education could help them achieve two purposes: their own empowerment, and the empowerment of others through them. However, Ambedkar argued against professional or vocational education as per the British education system, since it aims at creating a clerical nature of workers.
His emphasis, instead, was on secular education for social emancipation and freedom so that depressed classes can enhance their social, economic and political status.
View complete answer
Contents
Who started women’s education in India?
British India – London Mission Bengali Girls’ School, Calcutta ( LMS, 1869, p.12) The Church Missionary Society tasted greater success in South India. The first boarding school for girls came up in Tirunelveli in 1821. By 1840 the Scottish Church Society constructed six schools with roll strength of 200 Hindu girls.
- When it was mid-century, the missionaries in Madras had included under its banner, 8,000 girls.
- Women’s employment and education was acknowledged in 1854 by the East Indian Company’s Programme: Wood’s Dispatch.
- Slowly, after that, there was progress in female education, but it initially tended to be focused on the primary school level and was related to the richer sections of society.
The overall literacy rate for women increased from 0.2% in 1882 to 6% in 1947. In western India, Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule became pioneers of female education when they started a school for girls in 1848 in Pune. In eastern India, apart from important contributions by eminent Indian social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune was also a pioneer in promoting women’s education in 19th-century India.
With participation of like-minded social reformers like Ramgopal Ghosh, Raja Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee and Pandit Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, he established Calcutta’s (now Kolkata) first school for girls in 1849 called the secular Native Female School, which later came to be known as Bethune School. In 1879, Bethune College, affiliated to the University of Calcutta, was established which is the oldest women’s college in Asia.
In 1878, the University of Calcutta became one of the first Indian universities to admit female graduates to its degree programmes, before any British universities would begin to do the same. This point was later raised during the controversy surrounding the 1883 Ilbert Bill, a proposed legislation which would allow Indian judges to judge European offenders.
View complete answer
Who pioneered womens education?
Savitribai Phule is considered to be one of the pioneers of the feminist movement in India. She started the first-ever school for girls in the country in 1848 at Bhide Wada, Pune. – Women’s education was not the only thing Phule wanted Indians to take up. She also fought against social injustices of the time like Sati, child marriage and the still prevalent caste system and was also one of the first advocates for women’s rights in the country.(Praful Gangurde/ HT Photo) Hindustan Times, New Delhi | hindustantimes.com | Edited by Nilavro Ghosh Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule was born on January 3, 1831, in a village called Naigaon in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
She was a feminist and social reformer who fought for women’s empowerment and education in India. This year marks the 190th birth anniversary of Phule, and the day is observed in Maharashtra as Balika Din. Savitribai Phule is considered to be one of the pioneers of the feminist movement in India. She started the first-ever school for girls in the country in 1848 at Bhide Wada, Pune.
Her efforts to spread awareness about women’s education saw her face boycotts and abuses mostly from men at the time. Jyotirao Phule, her husband, was one of the pillars of support to her in her journey to spreading awareness about the importance of women’s education and uplifting the status of women and India.
Phule was married to Jyotirao Phule at the age of nine when she was not literate. By 1851, Phule had set up three schools and was the teacher of 150 students. She would go on to established 17 schools in the country and although most of them were for upper-caste women, she and her husband set up schools for Dalit and lower-caste women as well.
Phule encouraged women to attend school by offering them stipends. Women’s education was not the only thing Phule wanted Indians to take up. She also fought against social injustices of the time like Sati, child marriage and the still prevalent caste system and was also one of the first advocates for women’s rights in the country.
- She opened a well for ‘untouchables’ at her residence in a defiant act against the caste system and also started a care centre for pregnant rape victims called ‘Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha’.
- Phule also set up a ‘Mahila Seva Mandal’ where women would gather and she would raise awareness about women’s rights.
Apart from being a pioneer of Indian feminism, Phule was a plague warrior. She helped several people when the bubonic plague hit the world, opening up a clinic with her son, Yashwant, in 1897 to help patients. The plague ended up being the reason of her demise as she passed away on March 10, 1897.
View complete answer
Who was the first woman student in India?
Who was the first Indian female graduate?
|
/td>
table>
Girlsoftensurpassboysinschoolexaminations.Theyalsoexcelinthefieldofsportsandperformingarts.But,herewetellyouaboutaperiodinthehistoryofpre-IndependentIndiawhengirlswerenotevenallowedinsideschoolsandcolleges.ParentsinIndiadidnotaccepttheideaofsendingtheirfemalechildrentoschools.In1848,whenagirlsschoolwasfoundedinMumbai,attheinstanceofveteranleaderDadabhaiNavroji,parentsagreedtosendtheirgirlsonlyononecondition.TheconditionwasthatnotasingleEnglishwordwouldbetaughttothem.ParentsfeltthatWesterneducationwillspoiltheirgirls.Theschoolhadnoothergobuttoagreetothecondition.However,theauthoritiesintheschoolintroducedtheEnglishsubjectverysecretly.WhenthisfactcametobeknowntoaGujaratinewspapercalled`Chabuk,thepaperwarnedthat“English-knowinggirlswillmaketheirhusbandsliveinhell.Ofcourse,thewarningdidnotstopallgirlsfromgoingtoschool.Theclockofprogresscouldnotbereversed.However,itissurprisingtoknowthatgirlseducationwaslimitedtothesixthstandardinitially.Collegeanduniversityeducationwasoutofquestion.TheUniversitiesofCalcutta,BombayandMadraswerefoundedin1857.Yet,forthefirst18years,nogirlstudentwasenrolled.Itwasonlyin1875,thatoneParsigentlemanSorabjeeKharsetjeeinquiredifhisdaughtercouldappearforthematriculationexaminationconductedbytheUniversityofBombay.Hisrequestwasnotaccepted.Asluckwouldhaveit,agirlnamedChandramukhiBasuappliedforthematriculationexaminthesameyearatUniversityofCalcutta.Shewasalsodeniedpermission.Itwasin1877thatCalcuttaUniversityfirstopenedthedoorsforgirlstudents,andBombayUniversityfollowedsuitin1883.Thusthegatesofhighereducationwerethrownopenforwomen.In1883,ChandramukhiBasuandKadambiniBasuofCalcuttaUniversitybecamethefirstwomengraduatesinIndia.AndCorneliaSorabjeewasthefirstwomangraduatefromUniversityofBombay.Whilethesefactssurpriseusnow,theyspeakofthepasttimesandconventions.
In 1848, when a girls’ school was founded in Mumbai, at the instance of veteran leader Dadabhai Navroji, parents agreed to send their girls only on one condition. The condition was that not a single English word would be taught to them. Parents felt that Western education will spoil their girls.
The clock of progress could not be reversed. However, it is surprising to know that girls’ education was limited to the sixth standard initially. College and university education was out of question. The Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were founded in 1857.
She was also denied permission. It was in 1877 that Calcutta University first opened the doors for girl students, and Bombay University followed suit in 1883. Thus the gates of higher education were thrown open for women. In 1883, Chandramukhi Basu and Kadambini Basu of Calcutta University became the first women graduates in India. |
| |
|
/td>
open All tips on Learning You ever wanted in one place. No need to go anywhere else. No spam. *No spam only genuine emails : Who was the first Indian female graduate?
View complete answer
Who are the pioneers of education?
Honoring Pioneers in Education Last week, on July 24, people in the west celebrated and honored early American pioneers. What is a pioneer? It pretty much means someone who does something no one else has done. You could say my great-great grandfather, James Campbell Livingston, was a pioneer for my family.
He was the eldest son of Archibald and Agnes, who both died in the cholera epidemic in Scotland when he was five. In 1853, James was the first of his family to emigrate from Scotland to the US and crossed the plains to the west when he was 19 years old. He left a legacy of sacrifice and learning for all of his many descendants.
I think of some of the pioneers of education: Horace Mann, Maria Montessori, John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Madeline Hunter, Robert Knowles, Benjamin Bloom, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Jacqueline, and Martin Brooks, and many, many others. I ponder their legacy of sacrifice and learning, and just as the pioneers pushing heavy loads forged streams and crossed mountains, the pioneers of education pushed education forward through mountains of criticism and skepticism.
I was amazed at what Horace Mann had to do to even get Massachusetts to consider public education. Jean Piaget forged the river of the prevalent behavioristic thinking to counter the belief that learning was all about providing the right stimulus. Malcom Knowles, called the “apostle of andragogy,” had a tremendous hill to climb by suggesting that adults learn differently than children.
I think of Madeline Hunter and Benjamin Bloom and how they blazed an indelible trail for generations of educators to follow today. I deeply admire the supreme efforts of educators such as Lev Vygotsky, Jacqueline and Martin Brooks, and Jerome Bruner who believed that students deserve the very best learning environments in which they could construct their own knowledge and understanding.
I look to Edutopia as a pioneer of project-based learning and constructivist principles. That is why six years and five months ago (I had to look it up), I wrote my first blog for them. The folks at Edutopia, as well as the pioneers, are not ones to be looking back at the past. As true pioneers, they have their sights firmly set on a brighter educational future.
This summer, I am grateful and super excited to be able to meet with other Edutopia bloggers/pioneers and discuss the future of education. I received an agenda for this meet-up and every single item on it was about the future. For example, as education turns more and more to electronic and digital resources to enhance learning how can educators take advantage of social media and high tech collaboration to improve their craft and promote increased student academic progress?
View complete answer
Who is called first female teacher in India?
Problems She Faced – Being the first woman teacher in India was not easy for Savitribai Phule so to speak. She was met with severe backlash from the upper caste and Brahmin community as they felt that they were tainting their religion, but they were mostly hurt by the fact that their monoply on education was being challenged.
- This resulted in regular assaults on her and her husband at the school.
- It is said that Savitribai used to carry an extra sari with her while coming to school because people used to throw stones and cow dung at her.
- They had to eventually leave because Jyotirao’s father was also a conservative man and considered what his son was doing a sin according to the way he practiced his religion.
Hence, Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule had to leave their home and move in with a friend, Usman Sheikh which is where they met Fatima Sheikh. She studied and taught alongside Savitribai and assisted the Phule’s in their venture. Jyotirao and Savitribai started two educational trusts chiefly for the upliftment and education of women and the lower caste community.
View complete answer
Who are the pioneer of basic education in India?
who was the founder of basic education? Hey student, Mahatma Gandhi was the founder of BASIC EDUCATION. Basic Education is a principle which states that knowledge and work are not separate. He promoted an educational curriculum with the same name based on this pedagogical principle.
- It can be translated with the phrase ‘Basic Education for all’.
- The term ‘Basic’ is significant in Basic Education.
- Basic comes from the term “Base”.
- Which means bottom or foundation.
- So in the literary sense, Basic Education is the foundation of education or education at the primary level on which the edifice of the Superstructure of Higher Education can be built.
Basic Education Scheme pattern:
Pre-basic (up to 6 years ) Basic (from 7 to 14 years) Post-Basic (from 15 to 18) University education Social and Adult education
Hope it helps. : who was the founder of basic education?
View complete answer
Who was the first female minister of education?
Background and education – Doris Louise Sands was born on 19 June 1921 in St. Agnes, New Providence, The Bahamas, to Sarah Elizabeth (née Fyne) and John Albert Sands. After completing her secondary education, Sands began teaching at the age of 15. On 3 January 1943 at Zion Baptist Church in Nassau, Sands married Ratal Allen Johnson.
They subsequently had one son and Johnson worked for 17 years to earn the money to further her education. Around 1953, she was able to enroll at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education. She returned to the Bahamas in 1956 and joined the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
Granted a four-year government scholarship to further her education in Canada, Johnson enrolled in a master’s degree program in educational administration. Beginning her studies at MacDonald College of Education of McGill University, she earned her master’s degree and began work on her doctorate at the Ontario College of Education at the University of Toronto,
In the midst of her studies, the government terminated the scholarship during her third year of studying abroad, under the guise that her master’s degree had been completed. Johnson believed that the scholarship was terminated because she had been active in organizing. She helped found the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Bahamas, and in 1958 both the Bahamian Federation of Labour and the National Council of Women, traveling home intermittently during her studies to work towards enfranchisement,
She returned home, but was advised that the only available positions for teaching administrators were in outlying islands.
View complete answer
Who is the first education teacher in India?
Savitribai Phule: India’s first female teacher Born on January 3, 1831, in a family of farmers in Naigaon village in Satara district, Maharashtra, Savitribai Phule was the eldest daughter of Lakshmi and Khandoji Neveshe Patil. At the age of 9, she was married to 13-year-old Jyotirao Phule.
- Her husband was one of the greatest social reformers of Maharashtra.
- In fact, it was Jyotirao who taught Savitribai to read and write.
- She was passionate about teaching and soon enrolled herself in a teachers’ training institution in Ahmednagar.
- She also received another teacher’s training course in Pune.
EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS She started teaching girls in Maharwada in Pune with Sagunabai, a revolutionary feminist and Jyotirao’s mentor. Soon, Savitribai, Jyotirao and Sagunabai started their school at Bhide Wada. The curriculum of the school was based on western education and included mathematics, science and social studies.
By the end of 1851, Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule were running three schools in Pune with a combined strength of approximately 150 girls. It was not an easy task for them. Conservatives from their own community and from the upper castes were against them. People often hurled cow dung, mud and stones at them.
The indomitable Savitribai would often carry two saris with her while going to the schools. With her close friend and colleague Fatima Begum Sheikh, Savitribai also started teaching women and children from downtrodden castes including Mang and Mahar who were considered untouchables.
- Savitribai and Jyotirao opened 18 schools for children of different castes.
- In 1852, the British government honoured the Phule family for their contribution towards education and named Savitribai as the best teacher.
- In 1855, the couple even started a night school for farmers and labourers.
- SOCIAL WORK A staunch feminist, Savitribai, in 1852, started Mahila Seva Mandal to educate women about their rights, dignity and social issues.
She had even organised a barbers’ strike in Mumbai and Pune to protest the custom of shaving heads of widows. In 1873, Jyotirao founded a social reform society called Satyashodhak Samaj and Savitribai was its active member. The community included Muslims, non-Brahmins, Brahmins and government officials.
- It aimed to free women and other less privileged people from caste and gender oppressions.
- Along with Jyotirao, she worked tirelessly during the 1876 famines and launched 52 free food hostels in Maharashtra.
- PERSONAL LIFE The couple was childless.
- In 1874, they adopted a boy from a Brahmin widow, Kashibai.
Through this the couple wanted to send a strong message to the regressive society. Their adopted son, Yashawantrao, grew up to become a doctor. DEATH Savitribai died on March 10, 1897, battling bubonic plague. When the third pandemic of the bubonic plague broke out in 1897, Savitribai’s son, Yashawantrao, was serving as a doctor in Nala Sopara in Maharashtra.
She helped him treat and take care of the patients at his clinic on the outskirts of Pune. She contracted the disease and succumbed to it. INTERESTING FACTS 1. In 1863, Jyotirao and Savitribai started the first-ever infanticide prohibition home in India called Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha. It helped pregnant Brahmin widows and rape victims deliver children.2.
Savitribai was very vocal against caste and gender discriminations. She wrote two books Kavya Phule in 1854 and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar in 1892 which are compilation of her poems.3. Savitribai and her husband established two educational trusts — the Native Female School, Pune, and the Society for Promoting the Education of Mahars, Mangs and others.4.
- The educationist and social activist was an inspirational figure to young girls.
- She also encouraged them to write and paint.
- Her student Mukta Salve became an icon of Dalit feminism and literature.5.
- To increase attendance in her schools, Savitribai would give stipend to children.
- She held parent-teacher meetings to create awareness among parents on the importance of education.
Sources: Wikipedia, CulturalIndia.net SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON : Savitribai Phule: India’s first female teacher
View complete answer
Who is famous female teacher?
List of the 20 Most Inspiring Women in the Education Field – Indeed, the number of phenomenal women who have contributed to uplifting Indian society is endless. So many women work day and day without any expectations. Many names go unheard. These unsung heroics are slowly transforming the face of the country.
- So in this article, we bring you the stories of some of them.
- Here is the list of the top 20 most influential women in India.1.
- Savitribai Phule- Any article in the field of Women’s Education goes incomplete without mentioning this phenomenal woman, Savitribai Phule.
- She happens to be India’s first female teacher.
It is essential to understand that women hardly had access to Education during the early times, especially in India. Savitribai Phule fought all odds, such as the caste system, male dominance, etc. It was unimaginable and impossible for any woman to step up and stand for a cause.
However, Savitribai Phule broke all the chains and strove for women’s education in India. She didn’t do it in words but in action. She became a living example in herself. With the support of her husband and tireless effort to promote equal education for all, Savitri Phule and her family became a living example of breaking various preconceived notions.
Her story became a stepping stone for different other girls in India to pursue education. They also started a school for girls and the ‘Native Library’. The idea was to reach out to maximum students across the country. Just one person became the torchbearer for many.
- They also took the responsibility of a widow’s son and arranged inter-caste marriage for him.
- This evil still prevails in society.
- Savtribai Phule set a commendable, impossible example for many lives at that time.
- Today, Savitribai Phule University Pune has been built after her name.
- This university carries out the legacy of holistic education.
Indeed the whole nation salutes Savitribai Phule for her significant efforts in education and reforms in the society.2. Asima Chatterjee- Another notable woman in the Education field is Asima Chatterjee. She happens to be the first woman to be awarded a Doctor in Science by an Indian University in 1944.
- She is the first woman to be elected as the General President of the Indian Science Congress, a premier institute in scientific research.
- Her primary inclination was toward national products in Medicinal Chemistry.
- She had been awarded various accolades and titles.
- Some of these awards were CV Raman Award, PC Ray Award and the, Padma Bhushan Award, and there were many such recognitions.
She also contributed her share through her notable work in editing and writing. In the 1940s, she served as HOD of Chemistry subject at Lady Brabourne College, Calcutta. Asima Chatterjee has contributed to various research work. Her invaluable contribution to the Chemistry of Natural Products field is infinitely valuable.
- She was elected as the General President of the Indian Science Congress in 1975.
- She contributed a notable share by becoming an example to herself.3.
- Meghna Ghai, President of Whistling Woods School- Cinema, has the power to transform the masses.
- It is the most powerful medium of communication in any society.
Also, looking at the current world, the transformation of the cinematic platform is very much visible. From big screens to OTT, from mainstream drama to education and intellectual genres, films are taking shape in almost all the spheres of life. Realising this importance, Meghna Ghai started an institute, a community where the future aspirants can evolve and brainstorm to produce valuable creative films.
Meghna Ghai was born and brought up in such an environment. She grew up watching her father Subhash Ghai’s movies. So no wonder she profoundly understands the pulse of cinema. Taking the responsibility to educate the masses, she is now running one of the prominent film schools in India. It was started in the year 2006 and currently has become a dream of thousands of young aspirants who want to study and train in cinema.
Students here are exposed to wide-ranging genres, opinions, and viewpoints. It gives them a holistic approach to developing a better understanding of cinema. Meghna Ghai is truly an inspiration for many. She has led a path for thousands of aspiring students in India.4.
Chandraprabha Saikiani- No wind will be a hurdle when a woman strives with the storm of rage and grit to empower herself. Chandraprabha Saikiani shares an extraordinary story of how she defeated all the odds and got herself educated no matter what. After receiving her education, she started her endeavour at 13.
Truly she touched and uplifted so many lives that India could not imagine at that time. Chandraprabha has received a scholarship to study at Nagaon Mission School. Her significant contribution to Education is still relevant in Assam state. She started Asam Pradeshik Mahila Samity, which is currently running as well.
Also, Chandraprabha Saikiani Centre for Women Studies was opened in 2009 by Tezpur University.5. Vimla Kaul- She is an example of the great saying, ” Be young at heart and not age.” Vimla Kaul, at the age of 80 years, is going all out and providing education to children in a small village Madanpur Khadar, Delhi.
For the past 20 years, she has continued this educational endeavour. She closely noticed a lack of commitment and worked in the education field for underprivileged students. Vimla took responsibility on her shoulder and strove to uplift kids in the capital city.
The prominent region is Sarita Vihar. Despite the lack of infrastructure and proper building, Sarita Kaul is unstoppable and continues with excellent work.6. Shukla Bose- She is a truly modern age example of inspiring women in the Educational field. Bose shares a 2-decade long experience in the corporate industry.
However, despite all the lucrative offers and a lavish lifestyle, she felt a need to uplift people’s lives. So she left her job in hospitality and started her endeavour in “Parikrma Humanity Foundation ” intending to introduce at least one student (living in the family) from each family of Banglore.
Bose believes in holistic and dynamic education. Recent reports have stated that students at Parikrama are performing as great as any other prominent school in the country. Truly Shukla Bose is bridging all the gaps, be it gender disparity, economic disparity or any kind of difference. Today up to 1,600 students are attending Parikrma.
Indeed Shukla Bose is an inspiration for all Indians.7. Ramabai Ranade- Ramabai Ranade was born around 1863. Getting married at an early age of 11 to an educator MG Ranade, Ramabai, got encouraged to complete her education. She soon specialised in various subjects and became an active member of Prarthana Samaj (founded by her husband).
- She organised various educational programs for women and poor people as well.
- These people were trained in wide-ranging subjects such as vocation, language and healthcare.
- She fought against child marriage.
- She formed Seva Sadan in the later stage of her life.
- This movement was dedicated to deprived and distressed women.8.
Mahadevi Verma- She is a prominent writer, poet, and educationist in India. She has added unparalleled joy to so many people’s childhood in India. Many would recall the story of a squirrel as a fond memory of their student life. She has widely been known for contributing to the “Chhayavaad ” movement.
She has also been regarded as one of the prominent poets in Hindi Kai Sammelan. Later on, she became the Vice Principal of Prayag Mahila Vidyapeeth. Her stories and folklore, such as Yama, Neelkanth, Gillum, etcetera, are countless notable works that have touched many’s hearts and are alive to date. She also received many awards and accolades during her lifetime.
It includes Padma Bhushan, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, Jnanpith Award and Padma Bhushan. There is so much when it comes to the acknowledgement and works of Mahadevi Verma. All one knows is she resides in everyone’s heart with the notable work she contributed in her lifetime.9.
Durgabai Deshmukh- She is widely known as Iron Lady. An Indian fighter, social worker, lawyer, and politician, Durgbai Deshmukh was a member of India’s Constituent Assembly and Planning Commission. Born in Andhra Pradesh, Durga was married at an early age when she was eight years old. However, she left her husband in pursuit of completing her education.
She finished her bachelor’s in BA degree and Masters’s in MA in the 1930s. Despite all odds, the iron lady stood tall and unwavering. She obtained a law degree in 1942. It is important to understand this was when India was still under the control of the British Raj.
This meant education was a far fetched goal, that too for a woman to complete her studies, it becomes nothing more than a dream. Durgabai Deshmukh continued despite whatever the circumstance was. She fiercely participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement. Durgabai was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
She propagated Gandhi’s ideas and educated countless women by training them in various skills such as weaving and stitching. She understood that the shortcomings of a nation were lying in prevalent superstitions, lack of education and inferior treatment of women.
Making their upliftment core of her life, Durgabai strove in that direction throughout her life. She was awarded national and international awards. These included: the Paul G Hoffman Award, UNESCO Award (for outstanding work in the field of literacy), Nehru Literacy Award, and Padma Vibhushan.10. Roshini Mukherjee- Do you know the founder of the Exam Fear online platform? Is it the largest study platform for aspiring students studying from classes 6 to 12 in the various subjects and NEET preparation? The woman behind all this transformation is Roshini Mukherjee.
When the world is online, why not harness maximum value online only? This young lady based her education model on these lines only. It is not a hidden fact that so many students struggle with studies during their school days. What fears most of them is not about solving a problem but about fear of study itself.
- This further leads to anxiety about failing or not being able to fit the standards.
- Roshini could vividly see all these problems and couldn’t ignore them under the carpet.
- She, therefore, started her new endeavour of Exam Fear to help kids of various age groups.
- It seemed a completely different decision for the people around them as she left her lucrative IT job and threw herself into pursuing her passion for teaching.
In her early stages, she created simple YouTube videos. It provided education content for free. She would explain complex concepts with a straightforward approach. Her way of teaching is broad and very conducive. She utilises a visual approach and visual depiction to explain the study topics.
She has made thousands of videos and has reached a number of students. Roshini continues to inspire everyone with her simplistic and inspiring approach.11. Mukti Dagli- “Lack of vision could not stop Mukti’s vision.” At the age of 7, young Mukti lost her vision. However, that did not defeat her. She got herself trained in diploma training for blind students.
She pursued her BA degree in arts and passed it with first division. It is often said that struggles bring out polish one’s life like a diamond. However, for her, the definition of her existence was different as that experience acquainted her with the realities which people otherwise are not.
She translated it into her mission and went on to teach blind people, especially women. She started Mukta Seva Kunj. It is a non-profit school for visually impaired women. People here are trained as beauticians, chefs, electrical engineers, etcetera. Her idea of education and learning is not limited to only studies.
Her concept is based on true empowerment and social reform. Understanding the grasp of marriage in the system, Mukti Dagli took up that responsibility too. She successfully arranged 164 weddings in the last ten years. She supported the marriage of blind pairs.
- Truly the nation salutes Mukti Dagli for the contribution she made.
- She has been an integral medium in transforming so many lives in the country.
- Mukti has been awarded the Padma Shri award.
- She also received Nari Shakti Puruskar for uplifting women.
- Her idea was simple and straightforward.
- She has experienced the crushing realities of life.12.
Vasudha Prakash- She happens to have completed her education in doctoral studies in the USA. She would often base her research on special schooling in India. Understanding the ground reality of education in India, Vasudha Prakash took off her dream a step ahead.
She started the Online platform. She has focussed on compulsory and inclusive education. V-Excel strives to empower specially-abled students through art, dance and music. Vasudha believes in holistic training, and therefore, she also imparts skill development in various vocational programs such as cooking, car washing, gardening, planting and more.
She envisions expanding her endeavour in the next 15 years.13. Radha Goenka- Modern Times problems call for Modern Day solutions. Radha Goenka is one such social entrepreneur who understands the pulse of the situation and is thriving to impact the Indian education system in her unique way.
- She has pursued higher education at Pennsylvania University.
- Had she wanted, she would have got the best offers from all around the world.
- However, she wanted to work for her own country and started making an effort toward it.
- She first noticed that parents spend their hard money on inexpensive education of students in private schools in the country, although government schools provide free education.
She tried to understand why the quality of education, facilities available etc., are dismal in government schools. So Radha has set out to fill this gap and improve the quality of teaching and facilities in government schools. Her organisation has developed a unique curriculum which promotes the English language and creative learning.
Her organisation is an NGO that has partnered with 2000 government schools. Here the idea is to empower students with innovative thinking and independent learning. The growth has been tremendous and exponential. Her organisation has reached out to up to lakhs of students in a matter of 1 year (since 2019).14.
Sangeetha Rao- She is a Special Education educator/ teacher. Her journey didn’t start as an educator straightaway. She was a fashion designer before undertaking education full time from 2007 onwards. She pursued her Special education diploma, and after that, there was no turning back.
Sangeetha closely studied the USA education model. This helped her bring freshness and creativity to the current Indian education system for specially-abled students. Sangeetha Rao is focused on changing the map of education by providing conducive spaces to such kids where they feel welcomed and appreciated.
There are various learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and more. In such situations, a student is either unable to learn or understand a situation like other children. Sangeetha believes that this problem can only be solved by providing students that space and ambience where they feel understood and included.15.
Seema Mahajan- True education will only come when a person understands its depth. It is not just about studying or rot learning. Education provides holistic nurturing to the students to shape their future in a promising direction. Seema understood the importance of entrepreneurship today. Especially in India, which is a land of local businesses.
But the country witnessed a dramatic change wherein significantly fewer students would opt for entrepreneurship. This calls for support for aspiring students in this domain. Along with other MBA faculty members, Seema started her endeavour to support second and third-generation entrepreneurs in this country.
- Having been a faculty of one of the top B-Schools of the nation, NMIMS Mumbai, she understands the pulse of the business in the country today.
- She started her own Family Business and Entrepreneurship initiative through one of the most prominent Business schools, Pravin Dalal School of Family Business and Entrepreneurship Management.
Seema has provided platforms to many families and eager aspirants with a collective initiative. The nation salutes the efforts of women like Seema.16. Geeta Dharmrajan- Students require creative learning. Geeta Dharmrajan is a teacher and an educator who writes children’s books.
She is an editor and a social worker. Understanding the need to impart holistic education to the children, Geeta started her initiative, popularly known as the school. She published various children’s magazines, articles and editions. Katha school was established in 1989. This institute started with five students, and today it is a family of more than 20,000 women students.
In total, there are up to 45,000 students in the Katha family with up to 43 training labs. More than 2000 slum volunteers support the Katha family. Truly just an igniting mind of this single individual has transformed many lives.17. Amudhavalli Ranganathan- The d aughter of famous entrepreneur CK Ranganathan is leaving no stone unturned to uplift education in Indian society.
- Utilising her privilege to channel it in a holistic direction, Amudhavalli started a preschool CK Wonder Kidz in 2014.
- We all are known to CK groups of Institutions.
- She plays an active role in improving the education systems at all levels.
- COVID 19 hit many with a lack of access to formal education.
- However, it didn’t deter the spirits of the doers.
Amudhavalli is one of them. She instead came up with new ideas to impart education continually. She also organised online classroom sessions in various states, such as Tamil Nadu. Another significant improvement we saw this year was National Education Policy.
Amudhvalli is determined to apply the new guidelines in the CK Educational groups at various levels.18. Begum Zafar Ali- She paves the way for many others when a single woman stands up. Begum Zafar Ali is one such woman. She hailed from Kashmir, where education would be a distant dream for many, especially for women.
Begum was the first woman to enrol in Kashmir. She went on to become an inspector of schools in the state. She played many roles in empowering women in her lifetime. She worked as an Educationist, Deputy Director of Education, Women’s Liberation Activist, and a legislature in Jammu and Kashmir state.
Her story sets a true example that nothing is impossible. Despite crushing circumstances, Begum became a source of inspiration for many other women in the coming generations.19. Uma Pathak- We can move forward to an equitable society only when the underprivileged are educated. Education can bring about true transformation in the quality of life of a country.
Uma Pathak is working with these notions only. Taking inspiration from her father, Uma decided to start the SPS foundation in 2018. In villages in India, parents often do not allow their children, especially daughters, to pursue education. Uma understands the depth of such a situation and is working to educate as many as possible by providing a safe environment.
- The current pandemic has not been a barrier for her.
- Instead, her concern is to reach out to as many as possible.
- She has distributed masks, gloves and sanitisers to various people in India, such as Aligarh, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
- It is important to understand that education infrastructure plays a key role in the development of kids in the longer run.
So with her endeavour, Uma is currently working to uplift as many by renovating government schools, buildings and colleges.20. Kumari Shibulal- Many students in the country miss out on their education because of the lack of financial support. Kumari Shibulal understood this need, so she started Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiative (SFPI).
Under this initiative, they began offering scholarships to the students. At first, the scholarship was provided to only two students in 1999. The organisation supports underprivileged students across various education levels. They have various programs for different levels of education. Ankur is a residential scholarship program which is offered to school going students.
Another scholarship program called Sathiya is offered to students aspiring for a career in hospitality. Under the SFPI, students who wish to pursue higher education are provided flagship programs like Vidyadhan. Documentum is also another initiative dedicated to students who wish to shape a career in hospitality.
- Students who wish to participate in the scholarship are supposed to fulfil specific eligibility criteria, such as one must secure a minimum of 95% in class 10th and must have a family income of less than Rs 2 Lakhs.
- Over the last 20 years, many students have received benefits under this scholarship.
- This scheme helped up to 17,000 students in their educational development.
Moreover, this scholarship has benefited 200+ doctors and 900+ engineers. : Indian Female Educationist: 20 Most Inspiring Women
View complete answer
Who was the first woman to educate?
Education – Savitribai was illiterate at the time of her marriage. Jyotirao educated Savitribai and Sagunabai Shirsagar, his cousin sister at their home along with working at their farm. After completing her primary education with Jyotirao, her further education was the responsibility of his friends, Sakharam Yeshwant Paranjpe and Keshav Shivram Bhavalkar.
View complete answer
Who was the first woman educator?
Women Educating Women in the New Nation – Image : Mills College Women as far away as the Pacific Coast also had access to higher education by 1852, when the Young Ladies Seminary was established at Benicia, California – the first women’s college west of the Rockies.
- Susan Tolman Mills served as its president for 19 years.
- Women’s Education in Colonial America In the 18th century, most wealthy parents were willing to invest in education for their sons because it increased his chances of establing a profitable career.
- In general, the purpose of women’s education in colonial America was to become skilled at household duties in order to find a suitable husband.
A woman who was well educated in academic subjects was thought to be unusual and not good marriage material. Education in colonial America was based on European traditions. Wealthy girls might be taught by a governess or sent to a convent school to learn the basics of reading and writing.
Middle class families could generally only afford to educate their sons and in lower class families neither the boys nor the girls were educated. As America grew, private tutors were slowly replaced by town schools. In New England, both girls and boys attended a dame school, which offered a program equivalent to that of today’s kindergarten.
A local woman would take in several children and teach them their numbers and ABC’s as well as some other basic curriculum such as reading and writing while going about her daily chores. The program prepared boys with the basic skills needed to enroll in a town school.
- The female students were taught skills such as sewing and knitting.
- After dame schools, boys were given the option to continue their education but most girls were not.
- All but a few towns in New England specifically barred girls from town schools.
- Towards the end of the 18th century, girls were permitted to attend town schools, but the change was slow and girls were often taught separate from the boys.
The 1780s and 1790s witnessed a number of important educational experiments for women in Pennsylvania. One of the most pivotal events in the history of women’s education was the opening of the Young Ladies Academy in Philadelphia in 1787. It was said to be the first all female academy in America, and it set an example for the many academies and seminaries that were opened in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Sponsored and supervised by many of Philadelphia’s male religious and political leaders, including Benjamin Rush, the Academy offered an extensive curriculum to its students: reading, writing, English grammar, mathematics, geography, rhetoric, composition, chemistry and natural philosophy – all taught by male teachers.
Less than a year after it opened the Academy had enrolled almost one hundred girls. It also gave young women a visible civic role by holding annual public examinations for graduates. These events, which were well attended by prominent Philadelphians, featured orations by students and prizes for academic merit, and sermons by male visitors.
Benjamin Rush gave his lecture Thoughts Upon Female Education in 1787 at the first public ceremony. Rush believed in education for women, only for the purpose of passing on their knowledge to their young sons. Some Academy students challenged limitations imposed by men. In her 1794 salutary speech to the Young Ladies’ Academy, Priscilla Mason argued: Our high and mighty Lords (thanks to their arbitrary constitutions) have denied us the means of knowledge, and then reproached us for the want of it.
Being the stronger party, they early seized the sceptre and the sword; with these they gave laws to society; they denied women the advantage of a liberal education; forbade them to exercise their talents on those great occasions which would serve to improve them.
- In 1783, Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, appointed the first women teachers at any American college or university, Elizabeth Callister Peale and her sister Sarah Callister – members of the famous Peale family of artists – taught painting and drawing.
- In 1803 Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts was the first institution of higher learning in Massachusetts to admit women.
It was founded as a co-educational institution, but became exclusively for women in 1837. In 1826, the first public high schools for girls were opened in New York and Boston. Women’s Education in the South In the South plantations were too far apart to support a local school; therefore, private tutors were hired to teach the sons.
The girls in the family were sometimes allowed to sit in on these lessons, and in some cases a governess was hired to teach the girls, who were taught reading in order to study the Bible, and writing and arithmetic to record household expenses. Girls were taught subjects like social etiquette, music, needlework, cooking and nursing.
In much of the South during colonial times the education of slaves was strictly forbidden. In 1740, South Carolina passed a law which prohibited anyone from teaching a slave to read or write. There were cases, however, where slaveholders felt it would be useful for their slaves to read and write in order to help with jobs such as record keeping.
Other slaveholders felt that it was important for their slaves to be able to read the Bible. Quaker and Moravian communities believed in educating both genders. Quakers believed that the gifts of both sexes should be cultivated and proposed that both girls and boys schools be started. While they believed in the education of both sexes, girls education focused mainly on domestic skills.
Quakers promoted the education of African Americans and in some instances they were given access to formal schooling. However, African American schools received little support from whites and constantly suffered from a lack of funding. Perhaps the most prominent example of an educated African American woman during colonial times was Phillis Wheatley, whose education was extremely rare for the 1700s. Image : Phillis Wheatley Monument Boston Women’s Memorial on Commonwealth Avenue Taken from the west coast of Africa and sold as a slave in Boston, Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) became the first African American woman to publish a book in America. On December 23, 1836, the Georgia Female College in Macon, Georgia was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
- The school opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839, with almost 100 students.
- Their first baccalaureate degree was awarded to Catherine Brewer on July 16, 1840, first in alphabetical order in a graduating class of 11.
- It was renamed Wesleyan Female College in 1843, then shortened to the present name in 1917.
Women’s Education in the New Nation After the Revolutionary War, there were many changes in women’s education. Themes of independence and self-reliance meant that the success of the nation required highly intelligent citizens. These new expectations led to the concept of Republican motherhood: the belief that the patriots’ daughters should be educated so they could teach the next generation.
However, this expansion of women’s education was not meant for their own benefit but to place them in a position to mold future generations into good citizens. Women who made efforts to participate in politics were ridiculed, but the Republican Mother was seen as acting in the interest of raising patriotic children.
Savitribai Phule: The Pioneer Of Indian Women’s Education | Feminism In India
Despite its intents and purposes, many women took advantage of these new opportunities. Judith Sargent Murray was one of the women associated with the Republican Motherhood movement, but her thoughts on the education of women were much more radical. She believed that the accusation that women were intellectually inferior stemmed not from the way they were raised – boys were encouraged to learn while girls were not.
Murray also emphasized the importance of teaching girls about women’s past achievements to empower them. America’s youth also began choosing their own spouses based on romance and companionship. In response, parents felt that an education would make their daughters more attractive to well-bred husbands.
Education was also regarded as beneficial for those women who married less reliable men, in which case they would be more capable of educating their own children and managing the family’s business affairs. Female Seminaries The Female Seminary Movement began around 1815 and was led by women such as Sarah Pierce (Litchfield Female Academy, 1792); Catherine Beecher (Hartford Female Seminary, 1823); Zilpah Grant (Ipswich Female Seminary, 1828); and Mary Lyon (Wheaton Female Seminary, 1834).
- The goal of these women was to form schools that would offer women an education equal to that of men by holding their pupils to the same high standards.
- The female seminaries established in every colony were limited to young ladies from families who could afford to pay tuition, and focused on ladylike accomplishments rather than academic subjects.
Some of these seminaries later grew into colleges, while others became private high schools, but none were not true women’s colleges until years later. As noted by the Women’s College Coalition: The formal education of girls and women was intimately tied to the conception that society had of the appropriate role for women to assume in life.
Republican education prepared girls for their future role as wives and mothers and taught religion, singing, dancing and literature Seminaries educated women for the only socially acceptable occupation: teaching. Only unmarried women could be teachers. Many early women’s colleges began as female seminaries and were responsible for producing an important corps of educators.
Sarah Pierce The academic curriculum at Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy reflected Pierce’s belief that women and men were intellectually equal. She continuously improved and expanded her academic curriculum, offering many subjects rarely available to women, including logic, chemistry, botany and mathematics.
At the same time, Pierce experimented with innovative ways to combine academic and ornamental subjects. Students drew and painted maps and made charts of historical events for geography and history lessons. While Sarah Pierce might have presented a role model for women seeking a career without marriage, she emphasized the prevailing belief that women’s proper role was in marriage as a partner.
Two of her most famous students were Catherine Beecher, educator who opened the Hartford Female Seminary in 1823; and her sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). Zilpah Grant Grant began teaching at the early age of fifteen.
- Eventually she saved up enough money to enter Byfield Academy and study under the charismatic clergyman Joseph Emerson, a leading advocate of women’s education.
- At Byfield, she befriended Mary Lyon, who later taught with Grant for several years.
- From 1824 to 1827, Grant served as principal of Adams Female Academy at Derry, New Hampshire.
Grant then founded Ipswich Female Academy, where her curriculum blended rigorous academic studies, moral oversight and teacher training. Grant expected her students to study for the joy of learning, rather than working for grades or prizes. Institutions of higher education for women were primarily founded during the early 19th century.
Lyon served as principal at Ipswich before leaving in 1837 to found Mount Holyoke. Mount Holyoke Mary Lyon traveled outside of New England to survey various schools in the summer of 1833, going as far as Detroit. The most important of these visits was to Emma Willard ‘s Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, which had set the model for female education since its founding in 1819.
Lyon was determined to take Willard’s work to an even higher level, Lyon began searching for interested donors. Image : Gate at Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Massachusetts Chemist and educator Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke College (then called Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in 1837, opening the gates to further education for women. The country was in an economic depression when Mary Lyon began looking for funds.
She traveled alone by stagecoach to gather contributions, which ranged in value from six cents to a thousand dollars. Fundraising was hard work, and sometimes discouraging. She wrote to a friend: “There are more than nine chances out of ten that the door of Providence will be closed against all future operations toward founding a permanent institution,” Most people still believed that women could not withstand the mental and physical demands of higher education.
Lyon was determined to prove them wrong. She studied chemistry, traditionally taught only to males, and excelled at it. Her personal struggle to obtain an education inspired her to make higher learning available to all women, particularly those of limited means.
- Driven to establish a permanent school for women, Lyon learned from the accomplishments of other educators in order to minimize opposition to her seminary.
- She wrote: It is desirable that the plans relating to the subject should not seem to originate with us, but with benevolent gentlemen.
- If the object should excite attention, there is danger that many good men will fear the effect on society of so much female influence, and what they will call female greatness.
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary was chartered in 1836 and opened its doors to students on November 8, 1837. It embodied two major innovations in women’s education: rigorous academic entrance exams and a demanding curriculum – which conspicuously lacked a single class in drawing or needlework.
This school served as a model for those to come. Oberlin College In 1833 Oberlin College became the first coeducational college in the United States, and the first college in the United States to regularly admit African American students, beginning in 1835. The school admitted four women in 1837: Mary Kellogg, Mary Caroline Rudd, Mary Hosford and Elizabeth Prall.
All but Kellogg earned their Bachelor’s degrees in 1841. Mary Jane Patterson graduated in 1862 as the first black woman to earn a Bachelor’s degree. The college was listed as a National Historic Landmark on December 21, 1965, for its significance in admitting African Americans and women.
- Oberlin was also active in social reform; it was a key stop along the Underground Railroad, the system of conductors and safehouses that aided slaves in their effort to gain their freedom.
- The fight to learn was a valiant struggle waged by many tenacious women – across years and across cultures – in our country.
Pioneers of secondary education for young women faced arguments from physicians and other experts who claimed either that females were incapable of intellectual development equal to men, or that they would be harmed by striving for it. Emma Willard worked in several schools before founding the first school for women’s higher education, the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York.
- With the success of her school, Willard was able to travel across the country and abroad, to promote education for women.
- She wrote: reason and religion teach that we too are primary existences the companions, not the satellites of men Education should seek to bring its subject to the perfection of their moral, intellectual, and physical nature in order that they may be the means of the greatest possible happiness of which they are capable, both as to what they enjoy and what they communicate.
SOURCES Mount Holyoke: Fighting for a Dream The History of Women and Education Wikipedia: Women’s Colleges in the United States Wikipedia: Women in Education in the United States Educating the Youth of Pennsylvania: Schools for Women
View complete answer
When did women’s education began?
Timeline – 1727: Founded in 1727 by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula, Ursuline Academy, New Orleans, enjoys the distinction of being both the oldest continuously operating school for girls and the oldest Catholic school in the United States.1742: Moravians in Pennsylvania established the first all-girls boarding school in America, the Bethlehem Female Seminary to serve the Moravian community in and near Bethlehem.
- In 1863 it became a college.
- In 1913 it became Moravian Seminary and College for Women,
- Historians accept Moravian as the oldest—though not continuously operational because of its current co-ed status—specifically female institute of higher learning in the United States.1772: Salem Academy and College began as a school for young girls in 1772 in the Moravian town of Salem, North Carolina which had been established just six years earlier by Moravian missionaries.
It is the oldest educational institution for both girls and women in the United States.1783: Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, appointed the first women instructors at any American college. Elizabeth Callister Peale and Sarah Callister taught painting and drawing.1803: Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts was the first higher educational institution to admit women in Massachusetts.
It was founded as a co-educational institution, but became exclusively for women in 1837.1826: The first American public high schools for girls were opened in New York and Boston.1828: The South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute was founded in Columbia, South Carolina.1829: The first public examination of an American girl in geometry was held.1831: As a private institution in 1831, Mississippi College became the first coeducational college in the United States to grant a degree to a woman.
In December 1831 it granted degrees to two women, Alice Robinson and Catherine Hall. Ingham University in Le Roy, New York, was the first women’s college in New York State and the first chartered women’s university in the United States. It was founded in 1835 as the Attica (NY) Female Seminary by Mariette and Emily E.
Ingham, who moved the school to Le Roy in 1837. The school was chartered on April 6, 1852 as the Ingham Collegiate Institute, and a full university charter was granted in April 1857. After financial difficulties, the college closed in 1892 and its property was sold at auction in 1895. Over several years, the college’s former buildings were demolished; the stone from the Arts Conservatory, the last campus building to be dismantled, was used to build the Woodward Memorial Library at the same location in Le Roy.
Ingham University was the alma mater of Sarah Frances Whiting, who later founded the physics department and establish the astronomical observatory at Wellesley College.
1836: Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College ), Macon, Georgia: It is the oldest (and the first) school which was established from inception as a full college for women offering the same education as men. Awarded the first known baccalaureate degree to a woman.
1837: Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts, due to declining enrollment, became a single-sexed institution for the education of women exclusively.1837: Mount Holyoke College, first called Mount Holyoke Seminary, was founded by Mary Lyon in South Hadley, Massachusetts.1844: Margaret Fuller is the first woman permitted to use the Harvard College library 1849: Elizabeth Blackwell, born in England, became the first woman to earn a medical degree from an American college, Geneva Medical College in New York.1850: Lucy Sessions earned a literary degree from Oberlin College, becoming the first African American woman in the United States to receive a college degree.1851: The Adelphean Society, now called Alpha Delta Pi Women’s Fraternity, was founded at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia and became the first secret society for women.1855: The University of Iowa becomes the first coeducational public or state university in the United States.1858: Mary Fellows became the first woman west of the Mississippi River to receive a baccalaureate degree (from Cornell College ).1862: Mary Jane Patterson became the first African-American woman to earn a BA in 1862.
She earned her degree from Oberlin College.1863: Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi graduated from the New York College of Pharmacy in 1863, which made her the first woman to graduate from a United States school of pharmacy.1864: Rebecca Crumpler became the first African-American woman to graduate from a U.S.
college with a medical degree and the first and only African-American woman to obtain the Doctress of Medicine degree from New England Female Medical College in Boston, MA.1866: Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first American woman to earn a dental degree, which she earned from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery.1866: Sarah Jane Woodson Early became the first African-American woman to serve as a professor.
Xenia, Ohio’s Wilberforce University hired her to teach Latin and English in 1866.1869: Fanny Jackson Coppin was named principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, becoming the first African-American woman to head an institution for higher learning in the United States.1870: Ada Kepley became the first American woman to earn a law degree, from Northwestern School of Law.1870: Ellen Swallow Richards became the first American woman to earn a degree in chemistry, which she earned from Vassar College in 1870.1871: Frances Elizabeth Willard became the first female college president in the United States, as president of Evanston College for Ladies in Illinois.1871: Harriette Cooke became the first woman college professor in the United States appointed full professor with a salary equal to her male peers.1871: Japanese women are allowed to study in the USA (though not yet in Japan itself).1873: Linda Richards became the first American woman to earn a degree in nursing.1877: Helen Magill White became the first American woman to earn a Ph.D., which she earned at Boston University in the subject of Greek.1878: Mary L.
Page became the first American woman to earn a degree in architecture, which she earned from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.1879: Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first African-American in the U.S. to earn a diploma in nursing, which she earned from the School of Nursing, New England Hospital for Woman and Children in Boston.1881: American Association of University Women founded.1883: Susan Hayhurst became the first woman to receive a pharmacy degree in the United States, which she received from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy,1886: Winifred Edgerton Merrill became the first American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics, which she earned from Columbia University.1889: Maria Louise Baldwin became the first African-American female principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast, supervising white faculty and a predominantly white student body at the Agassiz Grammar School in Cambridge.1889: Susan La Flesche Picotte became the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree, which she earned from Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania,1890: Ida Gray became the first African-American woman to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, which she earned from the University of Michigan.1892: Laura Eisenhuth became the first woman elected to state office as Superintendent of Public Instruction.1894: Margaret Floy Washburn became the first woman to be officially awarded the PhD degree in psychology, which she earned at Cornell University under E.B.
Titchener, Late 1800s, exact date unknown: Anandibai Joshi from India, Keiko Okami from Japan, and Sabat Islambouli from Syria became the first women from their respective countries (and in Joshi’s case the first Hindu woman) to get a degree in western medicine, which they each got from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), where they were all students in 1885.1900: Otelia Cromwell became the first African-American woman to graduate from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.1903: Mignon Nicholson became the first woman in North America to earn a veterinary degree, which she earned from McKillip Veterinary College in Chicago, Illinois.1904: Helen Keller graduated from Radcliffe, becoming the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.1905: Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, born in England, became the first woman to earn a degree in any type of engineering in the United States, which she earned from Cornell University.
It was a degree in civil engineering.1908: Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first African-American Greek letter organization for woman, was founded at Howard University.1909: Ella Flagg Young became the first female superintendent of a large city school system.1915: Lillian Gilbreth earned a PhD in industrial psychology from Brown University, which was the first degree ever granted in industrial psychology.
Her dissertation was titled “Some Aspects of Eliminating Waste in Teaching”.1917: Sigma Delta Tau sorority, a Jewish women’s Greek letter organization was founded at Cornell University in response to antisemitism.1918: The College of William & Mary admitted 24 women to the entering undergraduate class.1921: Sadie Tanner Mossell became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D.
in the U.S. when she earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania 1922: Sigma Gamma Rho sorority was founded. It was the fourth African-American Greek letter organization for women, and the first African-American sorority established on a predominantly white campus, Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.1922: Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson became the first woman to earn a Ph.D.
from Harvard, which she earned in education.1923: Virginia Proctor Powell Florence became the first African-American woman to earn a degree in library science. She earned the degree in 1923 from the Carnegie Library School, which later became part of the University of Pittsburgh.1925: Zora Neale Hurston became the first African-American woman to be admitted to Barnard college.1926: Dr.
May Edward Chinn became the first African-American woman to graduate from the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College.1929: Jenny Rosenthal Bramley, born in Moscow, became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics in the United States, which she earned from New York University.1931: Jane Matilda Bolin was the first African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School.1932: Dorothy B.
Porter became the first African-American woman to earn an advanced degree in library science (MLS) from Columbia University.1933: Inez Beverly Prosser became the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in psychology, which she earned from the University of Cincinnati,1934: Ruth Winifred Howard became the second African-American woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D.
in psychology, which she earned from the University of Minnesota.1935: Jesse Jarue Mark became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in botany, which she earned at Iowa State University.1936: Flemmie Kittrell became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D.
- In nutrition, which she earned at Cornell University.1937: Anna Johnson Julian became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D.
- In sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.1940: Roger Arliner Young became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D.
- In zoology, which she earned from the University of Pennsylvania.
Marion Thompson Wright became the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in History, which she earned at Columbia University.1941: Ruth Lloyd became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in anatomy, which she earned from Western Reserve University.1941: Merze Tate became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D.
- In government and international relations from Harvard University.1942: Margurite Thomas became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D.
- In geology, which she earned from Catholic University.1943: Euphemia Haynes became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D.
- In Mathematics, which she earned from Catholic University.1945: Harvard Medical School admitted women for the first time.1947: Marie Maynard Daly became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D.
in chemistry, which she earned from Columbia University.1949: Joanne Simpson (formerly Joanne Malkus, born Joanne Gerould) was the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, which she received in 1949 from the University of Chicago,1951: Maryly Van Leer Peck, became Vanderbilt University ‘s first chemical engineer graduate.
Peck also became the first woman to receive an M.S. and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Florida,1952: Georgia Tech ‘s president Blake R. Van Leer admitted the first women to the school and his wife Ella Wall Van Leer setup support groups for future female engineers.1962: Martha Bernal, who was born in Texas, became the first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology, which she earned in clinical psychology from Indiana University Bloomington.1963: Grace Alele-Williams became the first Nigerian woman to earn any doctorate when she earned her Ph.D.
in Mathematics Education from the University of Chicago.1965: Sister Mary Kenneth Keller (1914? – 1985) became the first American woman to earn a PhD in Computer Science, which she earned at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her thesis was titled “Inductive Inference on Computer Generated Patterns.” 1972: Title IX was passed, making discrimination against any person based on their sex in any federally funded educational program(s) in America illegal.1972: Willie Hobbs Moore became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D.
in Physics, which she earned from the University of Michigan.1975: In 1975, Lorene Rogers became the first woman named president of a major research university, The University of Texas.1975: On July 1, 1975, Jeanne Sinkford became the first female dean of a dental school when she was appointed the dean of Howard University, School of Dentistry.1976: U.S.
service academies (US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, US Air Force Academy and the US Coast Guard Academy) first admitted women in 1976.1977: The American Association of Dental Schools (founded in 1923 and renamed the American Dental Education Association in 2000) had Nancy Goorey as its first female president in 1977.1977–1978 : For the first time, more associate degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States.
More associate degrees have been conferred on women every year since.1979: Christine Economides became the first American woman to earn a PhD in petroleum engineering, which she earned from Stanford University.1979: Jenny Patrick became the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D.
in chemical engineering, which she earned from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.1980: Women and men were enrolled in American colleges in equal numbers for the first time.1981–1982 : For the first time, more bachelor’s degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States. Degrees conferred in United States since 1970 by year, degree type, and gender. Dashed lines are projected. Since 1982 more bachelor’s degrees have been conferred on women.1982: Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, 458 U.S.718 (1982) was a case decided 5–4 by the Supreme Court of the United States,
The court held that the single-sex admissions policy of the Mississippi University for Women violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,1982: Judith Hauptman earned her PhD in Talmudic studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York, thus making her the first woman to earn a PhD in Talmud,1983: Christine Darden became the first African-American woman in the U.S.
to earn a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering, which she earned from George Washington University.1984: The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1984 ruling Grove City College v. Bell held that Title IX applied only to those programs receiving direct federal aid. The case reached the Supreme Court when Grove City College disagreed with the Department of Education’s assertion that it was required to comply with Title IX.
Grove City College was not a federally funded institution; however, they did accept students who were receiving Basic Educational Opportunity Grants through a Department of Education program. The Department of Education’s stance was that, because some of its students were receiving federal grants, the school was receiving federal assistance and Title IX applied to it.
The Court decided that since Grove City College was only receiving federal funding through the grant program, only that program had to be in compliance. The ruling was a major victory for those opposed to Title IX, as it made many institutions’ sports programs outside of the rule of Title IX and, thus, reduced the scope of Title IX.1986–1987 : For the first time, more master’s degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States.
More master’s degrees have been conferred on women every year since.1987: Johnnetta Cole became the first African-American president of Spelman College,1988: The Civil Rights Restoration Act was passed in 1988 which extended Title IX coverage to all programs of any educational institution that receives any federal assistance, both direct and indirect.1994: Judith Rodin became the first permanent female president of an Ivy League University (specifically, the University of Pennsylvania,) 1994: In 1994, the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, sponsored by congresswoman Cardiss Collins, required federally assisted higher education institutions to disclose information on roster sizes for men’s and women’s teams, as well as budgets for recruiting, scholarships, coaches’ salaries, and other expenses, annually.1996: United States v.
Virginia, 518 U.S.515 (1996), was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Virginia Military Institute (VMI)’s long-standing male-only admission policy in a 7–1 decision. (Justice Clarence Thomas, whose son was enrolled at VMI at the time, recused himself.) 2001: Ruth Simmons became the eighteenth president of Brown University, which made her the first African-American woman to lead an Ivy League institution.2004–2005: For the first time, more doctoral degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States.
- More doctoral degrees have been conferred on women every year since.
- As of 2011, among adults 25 and older, 10.6 million U.S.
- Women have master’s degrees or higher, compared to 10.5 million men.
- Measured by shares, about 10.2 percent of women have advanced degrees compared to 10.9 percent of men—a gap steadily narrowing in recent years.
Women still trail men in professional subcategories such as business, science and engineering, but when it comes to finishing college, roughly 20.1 million women have bachelor’s degrees, compared to nearly 18.7 million men—a gap of more than 1.4 million that has remained steady in recent years.2006: On November 24, 2006, the Title IX regulations were amended to provide greater flexibility in the operation of single-sex classes or extracurricular activities at the primary or secondary school level.
View complete answer