Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

Delve into the thought-provoking anthology 'The Education of American Girls' featuring a collection of insightful essays by renowned authors. From Anna C. Brackett's exploration of the education of American girls to Edna D. Cheney's profound insights on motherhood, each essay offers a unique perspective on the topic. With additional contributions from Mary E. Beedy, Mary Putnam Jacobi, M.D., and more, this anthology provides a comprehensive examination of the education, mental growth, and societal roles of women in America and beyond in the early 20th century.

The mid-18th to the early 20th century saw growing interest in the education of girls from all social classes in all regions of the world. During this time period of expanding empires and international travel, pioneering girls’ schools were established by educational entrepreneurs, predominantly men, supported by dedicated women school administrators and teachers who ensured the smooth operation of the schools and well-being of the girls attending them. The schools preceded national and local interest in educating girls, and frequently encountered resistance from the communities they sought to serve for the challenge and potential disruption they threatened to the existing gendered social order. The author examines six of these pioneering girls’ schools drawing her case studies from Britain, Colonial America, Singapore, India, Azerbaijan and Uganda. Placing each school in its geographical and historical setting, she analyses the driving forces that led their founders to undertake the oft-difficult task of funding and promoting the schools. Beliefs and gendered stereotypes regarding the roles of women in society posed further difficulties as did the conflicting educational ideologies, quality and attainment expectations to be negotiated in developing curriculum for the schools. On the global level, the school case studies illustrate how imperial expansion, and oft-accompanying religious missionary activity, exposed previously isolated communities in very diverse environments and social contexts to new ideas and influences creating tensions between desires for change and modernization and fears of loss of ethnic community. The author concludes by considering the ongoing importance of local agency, activism and social entrepreneurship in creating awareness of the need for quality education for girls in many parts of the world today.

Promoting All-Round Education for Girls presents the history of Heep Yunn School, one of the oldest girls’ schools in Hong Kong. Amalgamated from two British mission schools founded in the 1880s for destitute girls and daughters of Christian parents, and renamed Heep Yunn School in 1936, the institution has witnessed and responded to the dramatic changes of Hong Kong over the years. By the time of the outbreak of the Second World War, Heep Yunn had expanded to offer a full Chinese middle school course for girls based upon Christian principles of all-round education. The school expanded rapidly after the war and became a bilingual institution to meet the demand for English language education. Eventually English would become the primary medium of instruction soon after the introduction of nine-year universal education in 1978. Heep Yunn strives to provide a full-fledged all-round education in the midst of political and education reforms. The school opted to switch its status from a government-aided school to a direct subsidy scheme school in the early 2010s so as to retain a larger degree of autonomy. This history of Heep Yunn School documents the concerted efforts of the school council, staff, students, alumnae, and parents to achieve the evolving visions of Christian education for girls as Hong Kong grew from a colonial trading port to a global financial centre in the twenty-first century. ‘Promoting All-Round Education for Girls convincingly charts the shifting purposes and practices of girls’ education in Hong Kong. The text moves seamlessly between the history of the school and the wider context of Hong Kong’s history. Patricia P. K. Chiu illustrates how the school’s educational policy evolved according to the wider strategies and shifts that relate models of femininity and nation-building.’ —Joyce Goodman, University of Winchester ‘This solidly-referenced work provides a balanced and detailed outlook on the unique, evolving features of education in Hong Kong. It shows the effects on Heep Yunn School of major historical changes in education policy and how the school has contributed to the education of girls in Hong Kong in periods of dramatic challenge like the Sino-Japanese War and the disturbances of the late 1960s.’ —Ruth Hayhoe, University of Toronto

Persuasive evidence demonstrates that gender equality in education is central to economic development. Despite more than two decades of accumulated knowledge and evidence of what works in improving gender equality, progress on the ground remains slow and uneven across countries. What is missing? Given that education is a critical path to accelerate progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women, what is holding us back? These questions were discussed at the global symposium Education: A Critical Path to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, which was sponsored by the World Bank in October 2007. Girls' Education in the 21st Century is based on background papers developed for the symposium. The book's chapters reflect the current state of knowledge on education from a gender perspective and highlight the importance of, and challenges to, female education, as well as the interdependence of education and development objectives. The last chapter presents five strategic directions for advancing gender equality in education and their implications for World Bank operations. Girls' Education in the 21st Century will be of particular interest to researchers, educators, school administrators, and policy makers at the global, national, regional, and municipal levels.

How do NGOs influence the promotion of gender equality in education in Bangladesh? What do they achieve and which challenges are they confronted with in local contexts? The author provides insights regarding three non-formal primary education programmes.