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The British Federation of University Women. p. 25.

LONDON.

The International Federation of University Women.

PAMPHLET No. 2.

HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Senior Tutor for Women Students, University of Manchester.

INTRODUCTION.

The movement for the education of girls is of recent growth, dating back less than a century, to the decade 1840-50. Before that time there was no public provision for them, educational endowments being used for boys only. The earliest tangible sign of the progress of the movement was the foundation in London of Queen's College, Bedford College and the North London Collegiate School for Girls, and in the provinces of the Cheltenham Ladies' College. This inaugurated the era of public secondary education for girls, who now have their large, well-equipped schools in every town.

At first the education given was necessarily very simple; but as the schoolgirls of the new age grew up, the need for a more extended training became apparent. It was met partly by an extension of the teaching given in certain of the schools; partly by the establishment of a system of lectures for older girls, notably at Queen's College, London, and in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. Before long it became clear that some more systematic higher education must be provided, and efforts were made to enlist the sympathies of the Universities. University professors undertook to repeat their lectures for the benefit of girls; but the number of girls was for some time too few to finance these schemes, and it was apparent that either their numbers must be increased by the provision of residence, or expenses must be reduced by obtaining the admission of girls to the classes held for men. Both measures were attempted. A residential College for girls was established at Hitchin , afterwards removed to Girton, near Cambridge ; Newnham Hall was founded in Cambridge in 1871; and in Oxford, Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville Hall . Before long residence in or near London was provided by Bedford College, Westfield College, and the Royal Holloway College at Englefield Green in Surrey.

Meanwhile, a great impetus had been given in 1878 to the higher education of women throughout England by the opening to them of the examinations and degrees of the University of London. This University was at that time purely an examining body, and teaching had to be provided locally; but the possibility of obtaining the hall-mark of a University degree greatly increased the number of girls seeking instruction in the provincial towns, and many institutions gradually opened their doors, among the first being Owens College, afterwards the University of Manchester. At Glasgow, Queen Margaret College, availing itself largely of the services of University lecturers, was founded in 1883.

Further advance was marked by the statutory permission given in 1892 to the Scottish Universities, granting them power to admit women to graduation and to provide for their instruction. And in 1893 the Royal Charter for the new University of Wales definitely enacted that women should be eligible for all privileges accorded to men. Every University incorporated since that date has adopted a similar enactment. The last two strongholds of masculine privilege, Oxford and Cambridge, held out for many years. Quite recently, in 1920, Oxford has capitulated with a whole-hearted grace, which has won for this ancient University the gratitude of all women. Cambridge alone now still refuses to women the privilege of membership and graduation, but it cannot be long before there also admission will be granted. One may safely prophesy that the completion of the century will see the admission of women to full University rights.

Except a few privileges likely for some time to be reserved for men at Oxford and Cambridge, and certain which cannot legally be bestowed .

THE GENERAL EDUCATION SYSTEM.

Elementary education is entirely free in public schools, supported jointly by the State and the Municipal and County Councils. Many of the good Secondary Schools, moreover, have preparatory departments, in which fees are charged; and there is a large number of private Kindergarten and other Preparatory Schools, charging small fees and offering a mediocre education. Middle-class parents prefer to send their children to these rather than to the public Elementary Schools, fearing possible contamination to morals and manners in the latter.

Secondary education in England and Wales is carried on in several classes of institution.

Many parents of the more wealthy or aristocratic families still entrust the education of their girls to private governesses, from whom they require chiefly a knowledge of languages and the usages of polite society, supplemented, perhaps, by music and painting. The movement for the more complete education of women has not as yet gained much strength among those sections of society in which a girl is not expected to earn her own living.

Teachers of the public schools are for the most part prepared professionally, after completing their Secondary School course, at special Training Colleges, supported by State and Municipal grants--in some cases supplemented by fees from the student. This professional course for teachers in Elementary Schools covers two years. In a few of the Universities also, arrangements are made for a two-year course; in others, however, only teachers for Secondary Schools are now prepared. These study first for their degree during three years, following this up by a fourth year devoted to professional training. During the whole course the University fees are paid by the State through the Board of Education, and a substantial grant is made to the student for maintenance. Many women who could not otherwise meet the expense of a University career are thus enabled, at the cost of undertaking to teach for a certain number of years, to pass through the University practically without expense.

In some Universities, and particularly in those which still offer a two-year training course for teachers in Elementary Schools, the "training students" form a class somewhat apart from the others, regarded as to some extent socially, and perhaps also intellectually, inferior. In others no distinction whatever exists, except that the "training" student has to satisfy the fairly stringent regulations of the Board of Education, in regard to making satisfactory progress year by year.

Teachers in the preparatory departments of Secondary Schools have usually received a thorough professional training; but those in the small private Kindergartens have commonly very meagre qualifications.

In the better schools the education of girls is good, and though there is cause for complaint as to "overpressure," attention is given to the physical condition of the pupils; of late, it is becoming customary to have girls medically examined at school from time to time. Science and Mathematics are often not as well taught as in boys' and mixed schools; but the teaching has rapidly improved during the last decade, and a good deal of practical work is always included. In languages, much headway has been made and new methods are earnestly followed; but the general level of linguistic study is still below that in most continental countries. The general level of Secondary education is good; but the schools suffer from a multiplicity of external examinations, for which public opinion compels them to prepare pupils.

The more advanced pupils are prepared for the Entrance Examinations of the different Universities, and they afterwards compete for one of the many scholarships offered by the local educational authorities or by the Universities. Competition for these is very keen. Recently an examination of higher standard--for the "Higher Certificate"--has been instituted by the Board of Education, preparation for which is regarded as carrying on the school education to a level comparable with that of the first year at the University. It is still, however, in an experimental stage, and the amount of recognition to be awarded by the more conservative Universities is as yet uncertain.

The Board of Education is the Government Department, which concerns itself with the education of both boys and girls in all stages. It maintains an army of Inspectors, men and women, for schools of all types; it conducts examinations for Secondary Schools; and it makes arrangements, through Training Colleges founded by various bodies, for the professional training of teachers for both Elementary and Secondary Schools. It works for the most part through locally appointed Education Committees, paying grants to them for all Schools and Training Colleges under their control. It lays down a scale of salaries to be paid to teachers in various types of Public School. The Board also undertakes, when requested, to inspect and certify as "efficient" schools privately conducted, but it does not exercise any supervision over the larger number of such schools. Recent regulations, raising the salaries of teachers in "State-aided" Schools, and providing good pensions, are likely to crush out of existence many of the less efficient of the private schools; some educationalists fear that even the more efficient may now find it difficult to secure good teachers; and they hold that in that case, valuable freedom of initiative in education may be lost to the nation.

The University Training Departments in the larger Universities regard it as part of their natural function to initiate new and experimental methods in education; and some of them have special schools established for the purpose. Excellent pioneer work of the kind is described in the records of the Fielden School, under the University of Manchester. This University has established a Faculty of Education, in which one of the Professors devotes his whole time to the superintendence of the work of students for the research degree of Master of Education.

THE UNIVERSITIES.

Where there are various Colleges within the University, it is customary to make application for admission to the University through the College selected.

Queen Margaret College is the name given to the women's side of the University of Glasgow; all applications from women for entrance to the University must be made through the College.

In Cambridge, all women students must be members of either Girton or Newnham College, and can only receive permission to attend University lectures or examinations through the College.

In Oxford, the body of Home Students ranks as a College, and has a Principal.

The following Universities are ancient foundations:--Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast , and Dublin . The other Universities are grouped together as "Modern." The Scottish Universities, however, being chiefly non-residential, and situated in large cities, have many features in common with the modern group.

In other Universities, instruction is carried on mainly by means of lectures; the amount of written work is smaller, and there is practically no "coaching," either of individuals or of small groups--except where the number studying a given subject is extremely small. There is a trend of opinion in favour of the appointment of Tutors to give general guidance to those wishing for it, but the expense at present bars any innovation on a large scale in this direction. Some of the residential Halls provide tutors for their students. In all scientific subjects a considerable amount of practical work in the laboratories is required of the student, with more or less individual guidance from the Demonstrators in charge of the laboratories.

It is the vice of most of the modern Universities to require attendance at too large a number of lectures, leaving too little time for study and thought. And though the evil is readily recognised, and efforts are made from time to time to reduce the amount of attendance required, the zeal and autocratic power of the Professor in charge of any given subject has usually succeeded in defeating them.

In English Universities it is customary to call courses for a first degree either Honours or Pass Courses. The Honours Course is specialised--only one subject with a minimum amount of one or two related subjects. A Pass Course is more general. Both types of Course cover, as a rule, a period of three years before the Final Degree Examination; which may, or may not, be preceded by subsidiary examinations in the earlier years. It is the rule in most of the Women's Colleges in Cambridge and Oxford that Honours Examinations only may be prepared for; in other Universities and Colleges, the women, like the men, can choose between Honours and Pass. There has been of late years a growing tendency to choose the more specialised course; it has more prestige, and the Headmistresses of Girls' Secondary Schools have preferred specialists as teachers. But there are slight indications that this preference is becoming less marked; and there may possibly before long be seen a revival of the demand for a more general education--which is manifestly suited to certain types of mind.

In Cambridge the examination for the first degree is called the "Tripos"; in Oxford it is called "Schools."

Recently every University has created a Ph.D. degree, open to graduates of any approved institution, British or foreign. It is given for advanced work only, the results of which must be embodied in a dissertation; and study must have been prosecuted during the greater part of two years in the University conferring the degree. It may be conferred in any Faculty. Many of the other higher degrees, M.A., M.Sc., B.Litt., etc., etc., are also open to graduates from other approved institutions.

The Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, holds a special position among independent Colleges, granting a diploma of its own which is regarded as equal in standard to a University degree.

In London, the position of medical study is peculiar. It is mainly in the hands of ancient Medical Schools, each with its own large Hospital--Bartholomew's, St. George's, Guy's, St. Thomas's, Westminster, etc.--out of which, in fact, the Teaching School has developed. These great Medical Schools followed the policy of the University of Edinburgh, opposing to the admission of women such relentless hostility that eventually the women had to create and finance a separate school. Thus came into being the London School of Medicine for Women, which succeeded in making a working arrangement for clinical instruction at the Royal Free Hospital. Though women are now admitted to the Medical Schools of University and King's Colleges, and the Charing Cross Hospital, most of the great Hospital Medical Schools are still closed to them, and the London School of Medicine for Women remains the chief centre for the medical education of women in London.

Pharmacy is taught at most of the Universities, but all pharmacists must prepare, at the Universities or in special schools, for examinations held by an outside body--the Pharmaceutical Society. Degrees in Dentistry are conferred by some Universities, and an excellent training is provided, but the profession of Dentistry is still unregulated by the State, and unqualified persons freely practise. This makes Dentistry less popular as a profession among persons of University education; but there is a great field for qualified dentists, and women would do well to enter upon it in larger numbers.

Languages studied at the Universities are Greek, Latin, French, German, Oriental languages, and more recently, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. The teaching in modern languages is carried on partly by native, partly by foreign lecturers; except in Oriental languages, which are practically always taught by Englishmen. There is a tendency observable at present in the Secondary Schools, and in the Universities, to give less attention than hitherto to Greek and Latin.

Faculties of Commerce have been established in the great civic Universities of Birmingham and Manchester, and recently in London; Leeds and Liverpool also give teaching in Commerce. Economics is a subject of study--sometimes the subject of an Honours Schools--in most of the Universities. The London School of Economics has unrivalled facilities for research and advanced study.

In the Fine Arts there is practically no University study. Throughout the country there are Schools of Music, some of which are recognised, as in London and Manchester, as institutions affiliated to the University; but none of them are mainly under University control. The Schools of Art existing in many of the larger cities are also self-governing institutions. A movement has been set on foot for bringing some of these into closer connection with the Universities, and the Slade Art School in London is closely connected with University College; but on the whole very little progress has yet been recorded. The nearest approach to recognition of the existence of the Fine Arts , is the establishment of Schools of Art and Architecture in the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester, but these are concerned very largely with Architecture rather than with the Fine Arts.

The study of Law in England is carried on to some extent in the Universities, many of which have Faculties of Law; but the examinations which admit to practice as Barristers are controlled by the Council of Legal Education , and those admitting Solicitors are held by the Law Society. Preparation for these examinations is mainly post-graduate, and must, in part at least, be carried on in the Inns of Court or under the Law Society. Colonial and foreign students may, under certain conditions, be admitted. The admission of women is of very recent date. No woman has as yet quite completed all the formalities entitling her to be "called to the Bar"--that is, to be recognised as qualified to plead before the Courts; but a considerable number are now engaged in preparing for the profession, as solicitors or barristers.

The study of Agriculture, Horticulture and kindred subjects is provided for in nearly all the Universities, which maintain their own practical and experimental farms. It is, however, more usual to pursue these studies in various independent colleges, where practical work plays a larger part than scientific training. For women there are, among others, Horticultural Colleges at Swanley and at Studley, and the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. These colleges for the most part prepare pupils for the examinations of the Royal Horticultural Society. The University College of Reading makes special provision for education in Horticulture and Agriculture, which is rendered valuable by close co-operation with the Department of Science; and the College awards its own Diploma.

Physical Culture.--Very little attention is at present paid by University authorities to physical training and education, no University giving a professional training in physical culture. For women a number of independent Colleges provide full courses of instruction suited to prepare teachers in the subject; for men teachers there is practically no provision. Any systematic teaching in gymnasium exercise is usually given to men by ex-Army instructors; coaching in games , is given by special experts. For a nation which, unofficially, attaches immense importance to physical "fitness" and to athletic games, the neglect of scientific study of the subject, and the absence of official provision for systematic exercise, is astonishing. Universities and Colleges for the most part limit themselves to supporting financially the provision of gymnasium and athletic grounds, where such students as desire if may indulge in open-air games or indoor exercise. In the residential Universities the early part of the afternoon is by common consent left free for recreation; but in the great civic Universities, for the most part non-residential, this is rendered impossible by the necessity for freeing the later afternoon for the return journey of students from a distance. As a result, large numbers of students never take any recreative exercise; and for all of them the possibilities are extremely limited. In these civic Universities, moreover, the athletic grounds are nearly all inevitably situated at a considerable distance from the University buildings. In these circumstances, opportunities for playing games are practically limited to "match teams," the chief game played by women being hockey. The part of the average student is therefore mainly that of an onlooker, and this is likely to continue so, unless the Universities should decide to take more full official direction of the physical development of their students. There are signs of a movement towards this; but the difficulties are great, and very little has been achieved. The Board of Education has set an example by insisting that all students training to be teachers, at the Universities or elsewhere, shall take a minimum of some form of physical exercise.

Social Science.--Several Universities carry on Departments for the study of Social Science, usually in close connection with University Settlements and with such organisations for charity and relief as exist in the district. Women enter these "Schools" in some number; since there are many openings for them as organising secretaries, and some few as investigators into social conditions. Birmingham, Glasgow, and Liverpool are good centres for this study; and the London School of Economics offers an excellent training in methods of research.

Household Economics.--Very little has as yet been done by the Universities for this subject of study. Most of the large cities support Municipal Schools of Domestic Economy; but these are unconnected with the Universities, and give a training which is purely practical. It is much to be desired that encouragement should be given to a more scientific study of questions of nutrition and diet, and methods of institutional management. The only institution of University rank concerning itself with this study is King's College for Women , London.

The study of Education has already been discussed.

There are vacations at Christmas and at Easter, dividing the terms, and varying in length from a fortnight to four or five weeks. In the Long Vacation there is no systematic instruction for the ordinary University student, though from time to time "summer schools" are held for students from outside, more especially in Universities situated in an attractive environment. In Cambridge there is also a Long Vacation term, during which tuition is given, without lectures, to those University students who desire it.

Lectures are usually given and laboratory work done in the morning and afternoon; in Faculties of Commerce there are also evening lectures.

Women lecturers are not so rare, though their numbers are still comparatively small. They are most numerous in Education, but are appointed also in other Faculties, salaries being the same as for men. The main avenue to University teaching for women lies through the Colleges for women only, where they, of course, form the entire residential staff; the tutorial system of Cambridge and Oxford thus affords employment in higher teaching to a considerable number of women. Further, the residential Halls attached to the mixed Universities provide posts of responsibility and prestige for a considerable number of educated women as Wardens or Principals. The recognition accorded to these officials by the University itself is, however, not always entirely satisfactory.

Upon the whole, the present position of women upon the staffs of the Universities and Colleges is one of comparative subordination. Very few occupy senior posts of importance and prestige. Except in the Women's Colleges, the higher direction of the teaching and the general administration are still almost wholly in the hands of men; and this is the case even where, as in Wales, the number of men and women students is fairly equal.

On account of the comparative scarcity of women in senior positions, it is usual in most non-residential Colleges and Universities to employ some senior woman as a member of the administrative staff, charged with the duty of superintending the general welfare of the women students. Her status and duties vary greatly--from those of a mere chaperon to those of a Senior authority, consulted in all matters concerning women students individually and collectively, and responsible for making representations as to any matter, academic or social, affecting them. It is partially realised that women students, having often received a different education from that given to boys and having the prospect of other careers and other spheres of work, may be specially affected by academic legislation; and in matters of building and equipment their needs are always to some extent special. The most enlightened Universities and Colleges therefore afford considerable powers and status to this woman official . In residential Universities the Heads of the Women's Colleges have the necessary academic information, official status, and knowledge of their students' needs.

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