The aim of this study has been to investigate the position of women teaching in English universities, in terms of both their objective status and their subjective views of their place in the profession, Recent studies made in other countries, such as Germany, have shown that 'the female don' has not as yet gained equal recognition as a member of the academic world. Information on the situation in Great Britain has not heretofore been available. Especially since university teaching in this country is on the threshold of a great expansion, with concomitant structural changes, it has seemed worthwhile to explore the occupational image and reality of the academic women in England. The present empirical study, carried out in 1964, included interviews with 100 women engaged in full-time teaching at eight selected universities. The sample was designed to include approximately equal numbers of married and single women because special attention was to be given to the problem connected with the 'dual role' as mother and professional woman. In order to test and supplement the present sample, and also to provide comparisoxs between women and men in the profession, the data derived from the sample have been compared with available national figures based on the University Teachers' Survey of the Committee on Higher Education. The present study describes English academic women in terms of various social and family characteristics, educational and professional attainments, career and recruitment patterns, and perceived motivations for becoming a university teacher. In addition, opinions are analyzed as expressed by the respondents on such topics as preferred or disliked aspects of their work - e.g. teaching as against research and administration -, the respective amounts of time devoted to such activities, promotion prospects, notions of discrimination, and other views of their position in the academic world. With regard to the present shortage of academic staff, there is need for a recruitment policy taking into account the special situation and needs of married women who comprise a potential source of prospective teachers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:341424 |
| Date | January 1966 |
| Creators | Sommerkorn, Ingrid |
| Publisher | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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