The Science Education of American Girls (Studies in the History of Education

by Kim Tolley

The Science Education of American Girls provides a comparative analysis of the science education of adolescent boys and girls, and analyzes the evolution of girls' scientific interests from the antebellum era through the twentieth century. Kim Tolley expands the understanding of the structural and cultural obstacles that emerged to transform what, in the early nineteenth century, was regarded as a "girl's subject." As the form and content of pre-college science education developed, Tolley argues, direct competition between the sexes increased. Subsequently, the cultural construction of science as a male subject limited access and opportunity for girls.

Genres: Education, Science, History, History Of Science

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2002

Reviews

[Dani]

A very interesting account of, as the title says, the science education of American girls. The main argument made by Tolley is that science was originally the domain of girls in schooling, with the classics being made for boys (for 224 pages of reasons and how this eventually changed in the mid 19th century onward). She also argues that women were often the creators of this change, but that wasn't always clear to me in the book? She also jumped around the time periods sometimes, which made it confusing (like bopping around from WWI to the Great Depression).