Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book attempts to set the movement for women's educational reform in the context of some broader themes of mid-Victorian social history. It describes the system of institutions created by the organizers of the movement for women's educational reform. The book investigates the social origins of the organizers and establishes how their backgrounds helped shape the form and content of the educational system they created. It examines the old-fashioned private schoolmistress in the context of her small, family-like establishment. The book explains why some teachers abandoned the old-fashioned, privatistic ideal and chose rather to adopt a more professional profile. It describes how their new institutional setting - the girls' public school - enabled reforming headmistresses to attempt to realize their professional aspirations. The book also examines the experience of the students in the reformed educational institutions.