At the time I began work in university, I entered a world which was leisured, privileged and patriarchal, in the United Kingdom at least...I came from a world in which only 3% of the population aspired to university. I belonged to a world in which, having got where I was through the eleven-plus and "A" levels, there was almost a sense…

This article explores feminist interventions in urban school politics. First, it argues that the female contribution was an essential component to politics and policy making in the 120-year period that London had a single education authority. Second, it suggests that these women politicians were advocates of a cultural praxis that involved…

Reflects on the process of writing a biographical account about the female educator activist, Mary Bridges Adams. States the writing method should transpire in an analytical, linear, sociological narrative approach. Concludes that the past has been told from a masculine gendered narrative, not giving due attention to representing women. (MER)

Discusses the feminist work of Shena D. Simon. Conceptualizes two goals: (1) to move Shena Simon from the margins of history; and (2) to use biography to explore questions of political identity and gendered dynamics of political involvement. (KDR)

Focuses on Mrs. Bridges Adams who was a supporter of state maintenance committed to educational opportunity for workers' children. Focuses on her political recruitment, her contribution to the work of the London School Board (England), and her role in the struggle to save the school board system. (CMK)

Emphasizes four points of entry that history provides for historical analysis: (1) doing of history as the capacity to explore origins and ideas; (2) history as a vehicle for social choices and alternative possibilities; (3) biography as a window to view social change; and (4) exploration of intersections between human aging and social structure.…