In a country, which has recently acquired its democracy, education for all citizens is of primary concern. During this time when South Africa finds its self in a period of transition and of prioritising items on its agenda, education in general and in particular education of those who had a little or no education at all, is high on the priority list. Women in the past have been discriminated against and thus deprived of equal access to educational experiences and the accumulation of skills and qualifications – aspects that affected their daily lives. Therefore, many women have not had opportunities for personal development, choice of work and the capacity to influence political decisions. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences that women learners encountered within an ABET programme. Due to the limited research done on women's learning within ABET programmes in South Africa, women learners have been isolated and marginalised in all levels of education. Despite this, women, who head up a third of the world’s households, are not often identified as vital role players for the sustainability of communities especially in relation to issues concerning health, social welfare and economic activities. In order to obtain a greater understanding of the experiences of women learners within ABET programmes, this study was designed to elicit the views of women in an ABET programme. Qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were utilised in this process and I used the constant comparative method of data analysis to search for recurring themes and patterns The most prominent findings emerging from the study was that women felt advantaged as members of a community of learners. It was also evident that numerous factors restricted effective learning for women. In addition, academic progress and self-confidence that would serve as a foundation for future learning also emerged as an important finding. This study has shown that although ABET programmes such as the one in which this research took place, are vital and fulfil a very real need especially for women, there are a number of factors in the programmes themselves and within society in general which hampers optimal learning by women in the programme. / Mrs. N. F. Petersen

ABSTRACT Using a qualitative methodology, I conducted this study to identify the barriers to women’s post-secondary education in Bangladesh and to investigate the possible strategies to remove those barriers, from the perspectives of three Bangladeshi women who received post-secondary education in Bangladesh and who are currently living in Canada. To explore participants’ perceptions, I used open-ended structured interviews. I then analyzed data using the conceptual framework of subsystems within an open systems theory. The study revealed that the barriers Bangladeshi women encounter when pursuing a post-secondary education are vast and complex. The findings from this study indicated that Bangladeshi women face barriers from multi-level social subsystems such as family, financial, educational, socio-cultural, political, and governmental subsystems. Six broad themes of major barriers emerged from participants’ reports: (a) financial constraints; (b) socio-cultural practices and attitudes; (c) male domination; (d) inadequate education facilities; (e) student politics and unstable political situations; and (f) corrupt government and inconsistent implementation of law and punishment. Within these six themes, the study identified various factors that hamper women’s post-secondary education in Bangladesh. The participants suggested strategies that may help those who make and implement policy find ways to minimize barriers to women’s post-secondary education in Bangladesh and beyond. The results showed that since the barriers are multifaceted, positive collaboration between the various levels of social subsystems in Bangladesh can reduce the difficulties and may profoundly change the overall Bangladeshi attitude towards women and their education. The family or the government systems alone are not enough to remove the deeply-rooted barriers to Bangladeshi women’s higher learning. Future research might explore the perceptions of a larger sample of Bangladeshi women who are in Bangladesh but could not obtain post-secondary education. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-28 14:18:40.578

Thesis advisor: Cynthia Lyerly / My dissertation examines the social, cultural, and political lives of women in the early Republic through an analysis of the first women's literary circle formed in the United States after the Revolution, the Boston Gleaning Circle. The Gleaners, as the women referred to themselves, instead of engaging primarily in charitable and religious work, which was the focus of other women's groups, concentrated on their own intellectual improvement. The early Republican era witnessed the first sustained interest in women's education in North America and the Gleaners saw women as uniquely blessed by the Revolution and therefore duty-bound to improve their minds and influence their society. My study builds on, and challenges, the historiography of women in the early Republic by looking at writings from a group of unmarried women whose lives did not fit the ideal of "republican motherhood," but who still considered themselves patriotic Americans. The Gleaners believed that the legacy of the American Revolution left them, as young women, a crucial role in American public life. Five of the Gleaners had a father who was a Son of Liberty and participated in the Boston Tea Party. Their inherited legacy of patriotism and politics permeated the lives of these young women. Many historians argue that the Revolution brought few gains for women, but the Gleaners demonstrate that for these young Bostonians, the ideas of the Revolution impacted them. Making intellectual contributions was not easy, however, and the young women were constantly anxious about their Circle's place in society. By the 1820s, the opportunities that the Revolution brought women had been closed. Prescriptive literature now touted a cult of True Womanhood told women that they were to be selfless, pious, and submissive. These ideas influenced the Gleaners and by the 1820s they no longer met for their literary pursuits, but for charitable purposes. No place in society remained for women in a self-improvement society. Instead, women had to work to improve others, demonstrating the limited opportunities for women in the antebellum period. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History.

This dissertation examines Tift College, formerly in Forsyth, Georgia, and the problems Tift faced as Georgia Baptist's women's college. Many of these difficulties were a result of the beliefs of Georgia Baptists on educating women and the fact that Georgia Baptists placed a greater value on education for males. This work also examines the role of feminism in a southern women's college. To complete this task, the dissertation examines the beliefs and attitudes of Georgia Baptists about education in general, and educating women in specific and how funding played a part in their education. The dissertation addresses Tift's struggle to remain a separate school for women and examines ideas of womanhood at Tift as determined by the curriculum imposed on the women, as well as documenting what Tift students felt about womanhood based on their statements in class papers, journal and newspaper articles, and various other archival sources. These data show how attitudes and beliefs changed over the years, and while a strong feminist spirit may not have been achieved, the changes that were evident affected the purposes of the college. As the student body became more diversified, students were no longer content to become genteel, southern ladies or "polished cornerstones." Going against traditional roles, many students argued for a curriculum that would allow them to compete with men in the job market.

Women's college culture has been found to have qualities that promote the success of the women who graduate from these institutions. This research sought to identify aspects of women's college culture that students perceive as having impacted their aspirations for an advanced degree. Fifty-eight women at two southern women's colleges were interviewed. The participants were members of each college's senior class and had spent their entire undergraduate years at the same institution. After an email solicitation was sent to all members of the senior class, participants were accepted until there were eight women in each of the three categories. These three categories; Keepers, Droppers, and Aspirers; were developed in order to study participant perceptions by whether they maintained or dropped their previous educational aspirations or had developed new aspirations for an advanced degree while attending a women's college. The interviews were completed over a two-month period with each interview lasting from 45 to 60 minutes. Participants were asked about the importance of aspects of women's college culture on their aspirations for an advanced degree as well as other factors that they perceived as having influenced their decision whether or not to pursue an advanced degree. The majority of the White women in this study confirmed the positive impacts of women's college culture including high academic expectations, a mission and history that supports women, more female role models, a caring, supportive environment, and an abundance of opportunities for involvement and to learn about oneself. In addition, participants confirmed the importance of peer relationships and romantic relationships on their educational aspirations. Some women, however, perceived these same factors as having a negative impact on their degree aspirations. These negative impacts included the Bubble effect, in which women felt that the women's college experience had sheltered them from the realities of the world outside of their present environment, the Burn-Out effect from over involvement in extra-curricular and academic activities, and confusion over field of study interest due to the many opportunities to learn about oneself offered by a liberal arts curriculum. Other findings indicate that despite the supportive environment of women's colleges, women's college students still perceive romantic relationships as negatively impacting their or their friend's aspirations for an advanced degree. In addition, the need to be taken seriously, whether their families are supportive of further education, and how well informed they are about financial aid issues, all were reported to impact educational aspirations. Unexpectedly, male role models were found to have a positive impact on women's aspirations despite the many female role models at women's colleges.The African American women college students in this study reported their experiences of attending a women's college much differently than did the White women. Although they felt they had received a quality education, the African American women were dissatisfied with the lack of representation of the African American culture at the women's college they attended. They felt the women's college culture had negatively impacted their aspirations for an advanced degree because of the lack of representation of African American culture in the women's college environment. Almost all African American women in this study dropped their previous aspirations for an advanced degree because of the discouraging effect of the overwhelmingly White culture of the colleges they attended.Overall, this study found that college culture was perceived to have a clear positive impact for one group of students, no significant impact for another, and a negative impact for the third group of students. In addition, based on the perceptions of the students and the researcher's limited observations, the two colleges were found to have institutional cultures that differentiate themselves from each other. This finding challenges previous researchers' assumptions that all women's colleges share a single culture.This study adds to previous literature about women's college culture and aspirations for an advanced degree in a number of important ways. Key findings include the identification of negative, as well as positive, impacts of women's college culture for some women, the importance of male role models for women's college students, and the dissatisfaction of the African American women in the study with their experience at a woman's college. / Ph. D.

The least popular of all her novels, Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park (1814) depicts a heroine, precariously situated in the margins of the aristocracy, who is intellectually educated rather than accomplished. As the timid Fanny Price navigates the morally fraught social world of Mansfield Park, Austen comments on the exclusion and mistreatment of women in the British public sphere at large as well as criticizes the practice of educating women into accomplishment as exemplified by the sparkling socialite, Mary Crawford. This thesis positions Austen in context with educational writers William Cowper, the poet, and Mary Wollstonecraft, the philosopher. I analyze all three writers’ messages about education, along with the implications of the genre/form with which they choose to enter public discourses, including the poem, the political tract, and the novel. Considering the historical and cultural conceptions of the novel as trivial and feminine during Austen’s day, her decision to employ this form suggests that she is interested in reforming the novel into a platform for serious public engagement. Austen ultimately anticipates the Victorian novel by revealing the form’s potential value as intellectual exercise and an important tool for women to join public conversation. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

GIVING VOICE TO STUDENT AND ALUMNAE OPPOSITION DURING THE TRANSITION TO COEDUCTION BY A COLLEGE FOR WOMEN By Rebecca Jean Grandstaff Clarke, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011. Co-Director: Mary Hermann, J.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Counselor Education School of Education Co-Director: Teresa J. Carter, Ed.D. Assistant Professor and Adult Learning Program Coordinator, Teaching and Learning Department School of Education This dissertation provides insight into students‘ and alumnae‘s experiences during the transition and legal proceedings as their former college for women transitioned to coeducation. Previous research on the transition of single-sex colleges to coeducation has primarily examined the process from an organizational perspective. This study focuses on the participants‘ personal and intimate involvement in these events. A phenomenological approach was utilized (Creswell, 1998; Moustakas, 1994). Data collection was through in-depth interviews with three students who recently graduated from the college and acted as the plaintiffs during the legal challenge and four alumnae who served as leaders of the opposition group funding the legal challenge. Data analyses lead to the development of textural and structural themes which described the essence of the experience. The results of the study indicated that the admission of men changed the campus and classroom environment at this former women‘s college. Classroom dynamics changed; campus crime increased; and the students engaged in acts of physical confrontation and intimidation. Aspects of the students‘ and alumnae‘s experiences left an indelible impression on their lives. For the students, participating in the student protests over the coeducation decision was a transformative experience, resulting in a stronger sense of social activism. The experience of supporting and funding the legal challenge ultimately caused the alumnae to lose faith in the educational and legal systems. The study has implications for college boards and administrators considering coeducation, for alumnae considering a legal challenge to a decision by their alma mater to transition to coeducation, and for women interested in enrolling in a college for women.

Esta pesquisa pretende compreender o funcionamento interno e a estrutura de duas Congregações católicas francesas instaladas no Brasil na primeira metade do século XX: as Irmãs da Sagrada Família de Bordeaux e as Irmãs de Nossa Senhora do Calvário. Utilizando como fontes a memória coletiva construída por elas e também as narrativas das próprias religiosas que vieram para o Brasil, recolhidas em crônicas, cartas e entrevistas, acompanhase as práticas desenvolvidas por essas instituições - a recordação, a imitação e a pregação - ao longo de três períodos distintos: o da suas fundações na França, na primeira metade do século XIX; o da sua vinda para o Brasil; e o da fundação de seus colégios na década de 1950. A partir de uma história institucional que se apresenta rigidamente cristalizada e homogênea, esta investigação questiona a imagem que essas freiras construíram de si próprias, no passado e no presente, analisa a margem de autonomia e mudanças possíveis para essas mulheres dentro dessas instituições, delineia quais os percursos traçados por elas em um novo país, aponta quais os conflitos com a sede e explora as possibilidades de reconstrução ou reinvenção das Congregações no trânsito França-Brasil. As conclusões dessa pesquisa articulam-se em torno dos três temas que perpassam todo o trabalho: recordação e mudança, imitação e poder e táticas e estratégias na pregação. / This research intends to understand the internal operation and the structure of two French Catholic Congregations installed in Brazil in the first half of the century XX: the Sisters of the Sacred Family from Bordeaux (France) and the Sisters of Ours Mrs. of Calvary. Using as sources the collective memory built by them and also the narratives of the own nuns that came to Brazil, collected in chronicles, letters and interviews, following the practices developed by those institutions - the memory, the imitation and the preaching - in three different moments: the foundations in France, in the first half of the century XIX; the arrival to Brazil; and the foundation of their schools in the decade of 1950. Starting from an institutional history that comes crystallized and homogeneous, this investigation analyze theimage that those nuns built of them own, in the past and in the present, it analyzes the autonomy margin and possible changes for those women inside of those institutions, it delineates which the courses drawn by them in a new country, it show which the conflicts with the headquarters and explores the reorganization possibilities or of to reinvent the Congregations in the exchange France-Brazil. The conclusions of that research pronounce around of the three themes that search all the work: memory and change, imitation and power and tactics and strategies in the preaching.

À la fin du XIXe siècle, les premières femmes arrivent à l’Université comme étudiantes dans les domaines traditionnellement attribués aux hommes. Elles sont devenues le début du processus de féminisation d’une institution avec une forte personnalité masculine, crée au Moyen Age et renforcée grâce à l’Humanisme et l’Illustration. Malgré les conceptions misogynes contre la capacité intellectuelle des femmes, pendant le XXe et le XXIe siècle elles sont devenues professeurs et même fonctionnaires administratives, directrices et doyens au sein de l’institution universitaire. Mais la participation des femmes à l’Université n’est pas accidentelle ou par hasard, c’est le produit de la relation entre l’évolution historique de l’éducation des femmes, l’évolution philosophique de la pensée féministe et l’évolution institutionnelle de la même université. La présente thèse cherche la vérification des relations de ces trois éléments dans la participation académique et administrative des femmes à l’Université de Montpellier. / At the end of the XIX century, the firs women arrive to the University like students in the domains that traditionally were attributed to men. These women become the beginning of the feminisation process of one institution with a strong masculine personality, created at the Middle Ages and reinforced during the Humanism and the Enlightenment. Despite all the misogynous conceptions about the intellectual capacity of women they become professors and even administrative officers, directors and deans within this institution. But this participation of women at the University it’s not accidental, it is the product of the relation between the historic evolution of women’s education, the philosophical evolution of feminism and the institutional evolution of the University itself. This thesis seeks for the verification of the relation of these three elements at the academic and administrative participation of women at the University of Montpellier.

Understanding why, when, and with whom women engage in opportunities for HIV & AIDS education is critical in exploring the extent to which popular education strategies promote transformational learning among women in Malindi, Kenya. Three central questions animate this research: a) What do rural women who participate in HIV & AIDS popular education programs learn about HIV & AIDS, b) through what range of pedagogical practices and theories does their learning occur, and c) how does this learning contribute to transformative changes that improve women's health, at both individual (e.g., beliefs, behaviour) and communal levels (e.g., group actions)? Employing a qualitative research design, face-to-face interviews, and document analysis of secondary sources enabled a rich and in-depth exploration of specific learnings and actions among Kenyan women. Qualitative analysis of eight semi-structured interviews reveals three dimensions of transformative learning among adult women in Malindi, including a) striving towards openness, b) culture of support, and c) connected knowing. These inter-related themes outline the potential for Kenyan women's HIV & AIDS education to move beyond instrumental, and communicative, to more empowering transformative learning. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-13 15:18:43.535