In Scotland the universities are open to women. Glasgow has the largest number of women students of all British universities (1,464). In the Secondary day schools, boys and girls work side by side. There are good boarding schools for girls only; e.g.—St. Leonard's school, St. Andrews (1877) ; George Watson's, Edin burgh. (See also EDUCATION : England, etc. ; Secondary Educa tion, etc.) The Continent.—On the continent the universities are, gen erally speaking, open to women. Girls receive a solid education in state schools in France, Germany, the Scandinavian countries and Holland. Educational legislation of the last few years shows a tendency to assimilate the curricula in girls' schools to those for boys except in countries where dual schools have been the rule (e.g., Italy, Czechoslovakia) where the tendency has been in a contrary direction. In France the assimilation is absolutely com plete. Competition for all certificates and "agregations" is now secured to women, though posts in boys' secondary schools and in the universities are still practically confined to men. (See also EDUCATION : France, Germany, etc.).
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-Bremner, Education of Girls and Women (1897) (historical survey of girls' education in England and Scotland in all its different branches) ; Burstall and Douglas, Public Schools for Girls 0910 (survey of the movement for the reform of girls' education in England and Scotland) ; Clough, Life of Anne J. Clough (1897) (includes history of the movement for Higher Education [ I ] in the north of England, [2] in Cambridge, with the rise and development of Newnham College) ; Mannus, The Jubilee Book of the Girl? Public Day School Trust (1923) ; Stephen, Emily Davies and Girton College (1926) (includes an account of girls' education in the early Victorian period and of the pioneer work of Emily Davies, Madame Bodichon, Mrs. Garrett Anderson, etc.). (M. J. T.) The first settlers brought with them from Europe the traditional belief that marriage was the only reputable vocation for women. During the colonial period the dame schools appear to be the first place and up to a short time prior to the Revolution practically the only place outside the home where girls might secure ele mentary instruction, though they were organized to prepare boys for the grammar schools. In certain localities girls were favoured. In New Hampshire when Hampton engaged a schoolmaster in 1649, and when Dover did likewise in 1658, it was with the under standing that instruction be given to all children both male and female. In Philadelphia in 1689 the Society of Friends estab
lished their public school, the predecessor of the famous William Penn charter school which was open to all classes and to both sexes. At Nazareth, Pa., the Moravians organized a school for girls in 1750. These, however, were the exception. In time the grammar schools greatly increased in number, though only a few admitted girls and then only at certain hours or at certain times of the year. In 1784 Dorchester, Mass., permitted girls to attend from June 6 to Oct. 1. In 1789 Boston established the "double headed school," and a private school for girls, the "academy," was opened at Medford, Mass., which was the forerunner of similar institutions eventually established in large numbers.
In 1821 Emma Willard established her Female Seminary at Troy, N.Y., and in 1837 Mary Lyon founded Mt. Holyoke sem inary at South Hadley, Mass. Similar schools followed in New England and in the South. By the middle of the 19th century the public high school had developed to provide secondary education for the great mass of the people and very largely to displace the academy and the seminary. Co-education is almost universal in the public schools ; the number of girls attending them has become slightly in excess of that of boys, and equal educational opportuni ties are provided for both sexes. For the benefit of girls, courses in home economics have been added in practically all high schools and in the upper grades of the best grammar schools.
Higher Education for Women.—In 1833 Oberlin college, founded in Oberlin, 0., signified its willingness to admit women. In 1865 Vassar college was established at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and was the first separate college of unquestioned standing for women.
In 1839 the first State normal school was established at Lexington, Mass., and in 1842 the New England Female Medical college was founded.
Preparation in the fields of medicine, journalism, dentistry, law, science, architecture and engineering is obtainable in the universi ties and technical schools. Secondary and higher liberal education is passing through a period of readjustment. Professional educa tion is being standardized in the hope of producing more liberal and better trained persons. Vocational education is developing rapidly. (M. S. D.)