EDSA700 Y22
Unit 4
Feminism and Education
Introduction
• One of the greatest injustices of the world is the injustice of
patriarchy: rule of women by men
• Unfortunately it is often propagated by women and men in
schools: girls and boys learn what they see and hear happening
around them
• As such then, women are fighting for the need to have greater
power in society
• They reject the notion that they are inferior to men
What is patriarchy?
• Let’s look at the meaning of the term ‘patriarchy’: ‘the rule of
the father’ (Higgs & Letseka, 2022:102-103)
• The older males have supreme authority: over the law and
morality
• They have certain rights: the rights to own property, ownership,
political and religious control, and the authority to rule others
• Feminism seeks to focus on:
oSexual stereotyping
oCreating a bigger place for women in the world
oRejecting the view that women are inferior to men
Feminism: A family of philosophies
• Liberal feminism
oDrawn on philosophies of Empiricism and Scientific Rationalism
oAim: Achievement of legal, social and economic equality between
the sexes
oMary Wollstonecraft (1792): women should also be educated: they
are capable of rational and logic thought
oLucretia Mott (1848): women should earn the same as men and
have access to higher education
oSojourner Truth (1851): women are not frail creatures
oFrom 1970s women started to enter well-paid employment and gain
access to senior positions, and gain social and political rights
• Phenomenological feminism
oHuman experience cannot be interpreted solely in terms of the
masculine experience
oIt rejects the idea that only men are ‘real’ people and that
women are less real and less authentic
• Radical feminism
oFocus on effect of motherhood and reproduction as the basis of
women’s subordination to men
oWomen should seek complete autonomy from men (Critical
Theory)
oThere needs to be an ultimate liberation of all forms of
oppression
African feminism
• Patriarchy is deeply embedded in societies in Africa: women are
oppressed
• Need for social and political reform, combat violence against
women, conflict resolution, economic empowerment
• It is group focused: ‘the sisterhood of Africa’
• Women in Africa also suffer from oppression of colonialism,
and Western and African patriarchal cultures
• African women want to present an African voice and speak for
themselves
• Akin to radical feminism which is based on Marxism (Higgs &
Letseka, 2022:104)
Feminism and other philosophies
• Scientific Rationalism: questioning accepted opinion
• Critical Theory: challenges status quo
• Empiricism: looks scientifically at problems related to social and
political rights
• Hermeneutics: women’s interpretation of existence is authentic
• Phenomenology: women’s felt experiences
Can you add to the reasons why feminism fits into so many
philosophies? Give this some thought as you work through this
topic.
Feminism and education
• Women should have the same educational opportunities as men
• Logic and rationality considered male traits: females identified with
emotion, intuition and nurturing
• The first college was opened in 1869 in Britain
• Today women have more access to all forms of education
• There is also a radical element and questions are being asked about
authority and power
• Inclusion and cooperation is focus today: no marginalisation of
anyone including in schools
• Most teachers are women – what about men?
• Curriculum: Is there a space today for learners to talk about their
feelings about their bodies, social and sexual violence, etc.?
Educators and feminism
•Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935): a liberal feminist
oWomen should enjoy social and economic equality with men
oSearching for a true democracy
oScientific Rationalism: all should be taught to think rationally
• Nel Noddings: phenomenological feminism
oMaths teacher
oEmphasis on caring and teaching of whole child
oChallenges the use of tests to assess children: it tends to
control
oRadical feminist approach: where there is no caring, children
might grow up to not live up to their ethical ideals
• Jane Rowland: radical feminism/phenomenological feminism
oEducation and the home are linked: a lot of teaching goes on in the
home: they are not separate entities
oAlso against schools as examination ‘factories’
oWe need to rethink education as we are all educational agents
• Maxine Greene: hermeneutics/phenomenological feminism
oNeed to include the arts in the curriculum: helps learners create
meaning and use their imagination and re-imagination of new social
structures
oAll learners bring their own understandings and interpretations
• Ileana Jiménez: radical feminism
oTeacher who focuses on safety in schools for marginalised groups of
people e.g. sexual harassment of girls and women
oPower of personal expression to challenge social mores and norms
The influence of feminism on education
• Education still regarded as being at the mercy of patriarchy
• Waldorf schooling: children have their own rights and should
be encouraged to reach their potential
• Montessori schooling: children have the need to explore, play,
manipulate and create
• Teacher unions have opened the way for dialogue
• Liberal feminism: Girls should also be encouraged to study the
sciences
• Phenomenological feminism: Emotional and psychological
benefits
• Radical feminism: learning should not only be about mastery
Questions to consider:
• Which ideas of feminism can be used in education and the
classroom to the benefits of teachers and learners? How?
• In what ways does feminism fail in education?
• Consider your own personal experiences in this regard both as a
learner and a teacher.
• This will be discussed in our next live session.
