WOMEN'S EDUCATION
I.Importance of Women's Education for National Life 1. The Primacy of Women's Education. 2. The Education of Women as Women. 3. Preparation for Home and Family Life.
II.-Special Courses 4. Home Economics. 5. Nursing. 6. Teaching. 7. The Fire Art
III.-The Future of Women's Education 8. Present Conditions in Women's Education. 9. Suggestions for Improvement. 10. Co-education. 11. Appraisals of Women's Education. 12. Recommendations.
I.-Importance of Women's Education for National Life 1. The" Primacy of Women's Education- "If Government by the initial exclusion of the masses accentuated the segregation of the masses from the privileged few, by their initial restriction of their (educational) efforts to the male population, they brought a line of division where it had never existed before, within the household." While the movement for equal education for men and women began in Great Britain about a century ago with such serious thinkers as Frederick Maurice, who was a founder of Queen',, College for woman in 1848, and John Stuart Mill, whose "Subjection of Women" was published in 1869, it did not reach India until several decades later. Even today the inequality is evident. According to the statistics issued by the Indian Ministry of Education for 1945-46, there were six and a half times as many boys and men in secondary schools and colleges as there were girls.
The underlying habits of men and women are largely fixed in the early years, and these years are spent chiefly with I the mother. If she is open minded, inquiring and alert, looking behind rumour and tradition to find the facts, concerned with the course of events, in- formed about the nature of the world around her and interested in it, and acquainted with history and literature and enjoying them, then her children will learn these interests and attitudes from her. The educated, conscientious mother who lives and works with her children in the home is the best teacher in the world of cloth character and intelligence. Much of what she learned at school her children Yet unconsciously as second nature by living in her company. In a society made up of such homes children starting to school already have a background of information, understanding and culture which result in their getting more benefit from school than otherwise would be possible.
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There cannot be an educated people without educated women. If general education had to be limited to men or to women, that opportunity should be given to women, for then it would most surely be passed on to the next generation.
2. The Education of Women as Women-General education for interesting and intelligent living and for citizenship in large part can be the same for men and women. We have heard frequent suggestions that women's education should run to pretty "accomplishments," such as drawing, painting or the like-skills which will enable well-to-do women to pass the' time harmlessly while their husbands do the really important work. This point of view should be obsolete. Women should share with men the life and thought and interests of the times. They are fitted to carry the same academic work as men, with no less thoroughness and quality. The distribution of general ability among women is approximately the same as among men.
Yet, though men and women are equally competent in academic work, and though many subjects are equally interesting and appropriate, it does not follow that in all things men's and women's education should be identical. Indian universities for the most part are places of preparation for a man's world. Little thought has been given to the education of women as women. Women must, share the same programme as men or go without. There are ways in which many women's interests or appropriate fields of work diverge from those of men, and educational programmes should take that fact into account.
In every country, no matter how far the "liberation" of women has gone, husbands and wives commonly play different parts. In general the man provides the income and the woman maintains the home. For many women who crave to achieve standards of excellence, the home provides an excellent setting. For a woman to give the home design, beauty, order and character, without being herself a slave to home- keeping and without imposing onerous prohibitions and restrictions on the freedom of movement of children, is a high art. It will not be acquired by chance, and for many women its acquisition will be impossible, except through education.
The home itself can be a Work of art, even though it must be maintained very simply and economically. In fact, simplicity may be the highest expression of beauty. In the Western world, homes tend to be crowded with belongings, as though the achievement of a, beautiful home, were a matter of acquiring furnishings or Other works of art. In Japan, great simplicity and restraint In furnishing,, and ornaments' with skill and taste in selection and arrangement,
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are the characteristics sought. The Japanese course has much to commend it. Aesthetic skill in the furnishing, and arrangement of the home can be a constant source of satisfaction to the family and to guests.
Women have demonstrated their ability to think and work alongside of men. Why not take that ability for granted and begin to recognize the ways which the education of women can well be differentiated from that of men? It is time to realize that the finest family relations result from the association of a mail and a woman who have had much of their education in common, but each of whom has developed according to his or her own nature, and not in imitation of the other.
3. Preparation, for Home and Family life- Wise education for a woman will not leave her preparation for home and family to the bitter and wasteful school of experience. Her education as a woman should include practical "laboratory" experience in the care of a home and family. Equipment for a girl's education might well include. include:
1. A baby home.
2. A nursery school, which incidentally would relieve nearby mothers during a part of the day.
3. A club for school children and adolescents.
4. A little home for convalescents.
5. A small home for old people.
6. A home setting where students may have experience home Maintenance and operation, and where they may act as hostesses.
A woman should learn something, of problems that are, certain to come up in all marriages, and in the relations of parents and child- ren, and bow they may be met. Her education should Make her familiar with problems of home management and skilled in meeting them, so that she may take her place in a home with the same interest and the same sense of competence that a well trained man has in working at his calling.
To make such a suggestion for women's education is to emphasize the fact that there has been inadequate study of that field in India, inadequate training of teachers for women's education, and inadequate provision for full education for women in our college and universities; though some institutions such as the women's Christian College and Queen Mary's College for Women, both at Madras, and the Isabella Thoburn college at Lucknow, are doing pioneering work to that end. These needs have been recognized in
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previous educational surveys, in which considerable attention has been given to women's education. There is need that the theory of equality of opportunity, but not necessarily identity of opportunity, shall find increasing expression in practice.
The greatest profession of women is, and probably will continue to be, that of home maker. Yet her world should not be limited to that one relationship. There are varied conditions which may properly lead a woman to seek fulfilment of her life in other fields. Among the great contributors to human welfare have been some men who determined to forego home and family in order to commit themselves wholly to the chosen work of their lives. Women should have this same opportunity. The place of wife and mother offers opportunity for exercise of the highest qualities and skills, yet for a woman to decide that she can best fulfil her aims by living a single life should not put her under a social disability. Sometimes, also, there is a, period before marriage during which a young woman can do useful work, such as teaching or nursing. Sometimes the loss of a husband makes her the bread winner for the family, When children are grown, there often remain ten to twenty five years of vigorous life in which a woman may wish to have a useful career sometimes husband and wife wish to share a common occupation through the years. Sometimes with women, as with men, the needs homes and family leave time for useful and interesting occupations. For all such circumstances educational opportunities should be available.
One of the desirable development, of Indian life, and education for both men and women is a great increase in the kinds of work open to them. If only a few callings are recognized there is excessive competition for the available places, many kind of ability find no opportunity for expression, and, many kinds of needs remain un- supplied. A wholesome and interesting society will have many and varied occupations and professions. The educational system at all level, should prepare men and women for such varied callings.
II.-Special Courses Descriptions of some fields of work peculiarly appropriate to women will indicate directions which women's education might well take in Indian colleges and universities.
4. Home Economics-It is unfortunate that courses in home economics and home management are held in low repute and are shunned by women students, who insist on the same courses as men. We are informed that in one of our most progressive universities where special provision was made for courses in home economics no women students have chosen to take them. There are several
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reasons for this bias. Women cannot yet take for granted their equality with men, and feel that they need to prove it by being identical in their studies. Also, certain class consciousness and snobbery Still remain. There has been little vocational guidance to help girl students to understand and appreciate the nature and opportunities of a woman's world and to prepare for it.
A mastery of home economics is useful both to the home keeper and to the woman who, from choice or necessity, is to practise a Profession outside the home. According to one of the best schools in this field, "Courses in Home Economics deal with the effective feeding and clothing of the family and others : the care and guidance of children; the family relationships; the growth of artistic sense and taste which brings beauty into the home: the organization and running of the home on a sound economic, social and hygienic basis; and the care and use of equipment".
The effective organization and management of a well-to-do home is a highly skilled calling. In the old days, in families at all social levels with traditions of excellence, this art with in its skill and refinement was passed from mother to daughters through the generations. A home economics course should preserve and transmit the best of those ancient arts, with such additions and improvements as modern science and research have made possible, and make them the possesSion of many.
A well-ordered home helps to make well-ordered men. Many a competent manager of business or of public affairs has become, so in part because as a boy he lived in a home that was intelligently and efficiently managed by his mother. Order and efficiency thus became second nature to him. It is doubtful whether many men ever achieve orderly and efficient living whose early home environment was one of confusion and disorder. Probably there would be no quicker way to raise the general standard of economy and efficiency in Indian life than to make women interested and competent in the efficient, economical and convenient planning and management of their homes. A spirit of pioneering, of experiment and research in the planning and management of even a simple home, can add variety and zest to living, as well as economy and convenience, and can stimulate originality and resourcefulness in the children of the home. Thus good home management is more than a convenience for the housewife and her family; it is the foundation of the orderly state, and the teaching of good home management is the first lesson in good government, a, Confucius said.
For the management of the private home, the entire field of home economies is an undivided unit. As an occupation for earning
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one's living, however, further specialization is frequently necessary. Occupations within the general field of home economics include Child Development, Family Relations, Food and Nutrition, Home Economics, Education, Housing and Design, Institution Management, and Textiles and Clothing.
A well designed course in Home Economics will include first, the elements of a general education, except as they have already been acquired in secondary schools, as described under General Education in the chapter on Courses of Study; second, some "core courses" which are desirable for everyone in the field; and third, more specialized courses as needed or desired by the individual student. *1
The field of Home Economics is frequently looked upon as solely for women. The ultimate aim of the home economics curriculum is to help women and men to see the true dignity of home making, and to give it an ideal worth. This is the need for men as well as for women. Especially in Institutional Management men share the field with women. Courses in this field generally include administration, financial budgeting, food in quantity, equipment and labour management.
There is room for a large extension of home economics teaching in Indian higher education. It should rank in dignity and worth with any other calling.
5. Nursing-In Europe and America nursing is an honoured profession for women and it would be to the interest of our country if it should have the same standing here. The widespread Western systems of clinics, hospitals and health centres could not be operated without their help. India is much in need of a large expansion of nursing service, both in city hospitals and for rural field service. Nursing education for women should be developed as quickly as is possible with the maintenance of good standards.
The School of Home Economics of Michigan State College has a Core curriculum of courses required of all students in Home Economics, as follows: (1) On Encouragement of Continuous Intellectual Aspects of Family Life ;(4) Economic Aspects of Family life; (5) Family Health; Intellectual Growth in Members of the Family ; (2) Aesthetics in the Home (3) Social and Psychological Aspects of Family Life; (4) Economic Aspects of Family Life; (5) Family Health; and (6) Household Technology.
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Even in the wealthiest and most highly industrialized countries there are not nearly enough professionally trained nurses to care for all those who are ill. Their work is supplemented by that of "prac- tical" nurses who have had shorter periods of training. The same needs exist in India. Professionally trained nurses in hospitals will act as surgeons' and physicians' assistants, will handle difficult cases, supervise village health workers, and will teach nursing. Much of the actual care of patients will be in the hands of "practical" nurses with but limited school training. For diploma grade nurses the required course may well be two years after ten years of schooling.
To become professional nurses, students should begin their training after high school, should do work equivalent to that required for the B.Sc. degree, and should receive the, degree of B.Sc. in Nursing. Their studies should include general education, as described in the chapter on Courses of Study, together with course in physical and biological science as preparation for the specialized courses of nursing education. The nursing courses should be combined with actual Practice at caring for the sick. The duration of the course should be, the same as that required for the B.Sc. degree.
Expansion of nursing education should take place as fast as buildings and equipment can be made available, competent teachers can be trained, and suitable girl students, are available. In few profes- sional fields in India does the need exceed the supply as it does here.
6. Teaching-For the earlier years of schooling,women are the natural teachers, and for all the later stages of education they have their place. With the expansion of education in democratic India the call for well-educated and well-trained teachers for elementary and secondary schooling will probably long exceed the supply. Especially for the teacher's calling, it is important that education shall not be limited to narrow specialization, but that well proportioned general education shall provide a broad foundation for special interests.
7. The Fine Arts-Before completing his or her general education every student is expected to acquire some measure of appreciation of the fine arts. To a steadily increasing extent,, women will fine vocational opportunities in the arts. The teaching of vocal and instrumental music in schools child colleges will provide sonic such opportunities. The furnishing of music as entertainment will increase. In a democratic country with generally distributed economics resources the number of people who will use the services of entertainers will be far greater than in a society where wealth and opportunity are largely concentrated. Along with men, women will excel in dramatic painting, illustration, ceramics,and in textile design and craftsmanship.