Higher Education In The Late 1800's

Throughout history, women generally had limited opportunities for higher education. Schooling for women in America has gone through tremendous transformations. In the years leading up to the late nineteenth century, women were expected to be trained in social aspects rather than academics so college would be out the question. The importance of feminine educational neglect, discrimination toward women, and the investments of higher education among women in the United States will be the focus of this research. In order to build a strong educational system, along with the idea of equal opportunity, rectifying gender righteousness in America is to overcome social norms that discriminate against young women.

Historical Background

In the early

According to Higher Education in Mid 19th and Early 20th Century America, Donald G. Kohrs depicted in 1884-1885, 528 females were enrolled, which was 85.2% of women (Kohrs 30). With the high rate of female student enrollment, women were more than mentally prepared to achieve a higher success in education. The expenditures associated with males and females differed greatly. During 1868-1872, Howard University tuition cost, including Boarding Hall was $55.25 for a term of twelve weeks. Opposed to women, at Pacific Female College, expenses consisted of board and living necessities at a rate of $150.00, not including the college courses. A college course was valued at the price of $200.00 quarterly. Although many institutions were available to women, the curriculum remained unfair due to the fact that women were not involved in academic tasks. Kohrs observed that, “women who attended these educational in during this period in American institutions did not focus on the classics but, in sharp contrast to their male counterparts, were often trained in the natural sciences” (Kohrs 30). Women were directed toward educational courses which would help them become qualified for teaching positions and other female oriented career

In her book, In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America, she unearthed the struggle of American women to gain access to college and to understand the importance of a woman's education. During this period in society, new ideas on career choices and advanced female roles were discussed. A major contribution to her findings is that “the process of women’s entry into higher education has been integrally linked with economic and social factors that have shaped American life” (Solomon 18). Solomon provided this resourceful research for women to show their struggle for educational equality during the nineteenth century. American women have this amazing book as a guide for feminine equality. The lives of both men and women in the United States were affected by the changes in higher