ABSTRACT
Because most published historical studies of female educators do not deal with the twentieth century, I began in 1980 to locate subjects for a study that would test earlier scholars’ observations on the importance of the ideology that upheld the domestic ideal for women teachers by evaluating the paradoxical significance of domesticity in the lives of a new era of career-oriented women. If the traditional belief had survived as part of their vocational and personal value system, then its resilience as a social force would be documented well into the current century. Moreover, I could trace the historical and social reasons for its survival despite the contradictions inherent in using the ideal of domesticity to show women’s increased involvement in gainful employment outside the home. Thus my search centered around professional associations and other organizations likely to include women who had taught for many years. My end product was a large body of reminiscences, letters, personal interviews, and biographical sketches of 547 women teachers from three western states-Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado.
