Women's education at the turn of the century?

Question

how well were women expected to be educated in 1900 - 1910? Did they go to school with the boys in the family, or were they expected to stay home and learn domestic skills?

Answer 1

There was a very large difference, most of which as dependent on a family's wealth.  There were many women finishing college, even doctorates degrees during this time.  There were also women only finishing a few grades to learn to read and write.

Answer 2

Grade schools educated both boys and girls.  Many girls and boys would leave school after the eight grade and go to work.  A much smaller number went on to high school. The percentage of both sexes who went on to college was much smaller than it is now, but in well-off families the girls were almost as likely as the boys to go to college.

If you want a good picture of what college life was like for a girl in the 1900s, you could not do better than to read jean Webster's delightful novel 'Daddy Long-Legs' (published in 1912) describes the heroine's college education in some detail.

Then, as now, single women had to earn a living, unless they were from wealthy families, so most girls would be required to do more than learn domestic skills.  A lot of working-class girls would go into domestic service, but many went to work in factories, or in shops.  Girls worked in offices as secretaries and typists, and as telephone operators.  Middle-class girls might become nurses or teachers or social workers or librarians.  Some went into journalism. Some became doctors or lawyers, a relatively small number compared to today, but larger than the percentage in the post-WW1 generation, where interest in higher education and careers declined among girls.

Although most women would expect to give up their jobs when they got married, unless they were very poor, they would still mostly expect to work while they were single, and some stayed single in order to be able to pursue careers.

However, being a wife and mother was not a despised occupation in those days the way it is now, it was something most women looked forward to.  Having to work and look after a family as well was not considered a particuarly desirable thing to do by most people.  Those who had to do it were usually glad enough to give up working outside the home if they got the opportunity.

Answer 3

it is too short a period to give a precise answer and for which country are you refering to? if it is chile or sweden your answer would differ so be precise

Answer 4

Hmmm.  Good question.  I am just now reading "A Room of One's Own."  You should check it out.  

My guess is that it depended on how rich her parents were.  If they had money, she  got educated.  If they didn't - she did not.  I am sure there are some exceptions.  

Of course, if you think about it, it's the same today.  

My other guess is that until 1950-ish, when De Beauvoir published what was called a great slap in the face of the American wife, a woman's main role was to be a mother and a wife.  Imagine Leave It To Beaver's mom reading "The Second s*x."  I would've loved to time travel and see that S**t go on....