ABSTRACT
The key focus of this chapter is how both education provision and the curriculum available to girls was influenced by the perception of femininity. This placed women in a subordinate role within the private sphere of the home and gave priority to their role as mothers. The state became increasingly significant in providing education, but for most of the period it argued that girls’ curriculum should reflect their domestic roles. Women campaigners in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries had a significant impact in promoting education opportunities for girls and women, often gaining success by targeting their persuasive efforts towards those in political power. Eden argues that, in spite of considerable positive change, there has been a failure to challenge underlying ideologies and assumptions about masculinity and femininity that still affect women’s educational experiences. A major area in which change has been more apparent than real is in familial responsibilities for childcare.
