American higher education is nearly four centuries old. But in the decades after World War II, as government and social support surged and enrollments exploded, the role of colleges and universities in American society changed dramatically. Roger Geiger provides the most complete and in-depth history of this remarkable transformation, taking…

The interrelated nature of gender and racial constructs in the culture of the southern United States accounts for much of the historical prejudice against coeducation in the region's institutions of higher education. This essay offers a historical perspective on gender discrimination on the campuses of Southern universities from the attempts to…

This long-awaited synthesis approaches the past three centuries with an eye to highlighting the importance of significant schools, as well as important women educators in the emergence of secondary education for girls. At the same time, each contributor pays careful attention to the specific political, cultural, and socio-economic factors that…

The establishment of the National University of Ireland (NUI) in 1908 brought an end to a protracted dispute over the "Irish university question" which had dominated the Irish political agenda at least since the 1850s. The central issue throughout this entire period was the provision of acceptable university education for lay Catholics,…

The recent announcement that Randolph-Macon Woman's College will admit male students has triggered yet another round in the continuing debate over women's colleges. At Randolph-Macon itself, the news was met with the usual mix of public displays: As students and alumnae protested with signs reading "Coed is a four-letter word," administrators and…

The interwar decades saw a bitter recruiting war between the NUT (National Union of Teachers), the National Union of Women Teachers (NUWT), and the National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS), which like the NUWT broke away from the NUT in the early 1920s. The NAS opposed the NUT's official policy shift to support equal pay for male and female…

Explores the role of women in eighteenth-century Germany's University of Halle. Reports that the school admitted both male and female students. Explains that the university's central principle, the conquest of the world through personal effort, was viewed as well suited to women, who had not been tainted by academic tradition. (SG)

Concern over the state of education in Scotland saw the Argyll Commission set up in 1864. Its reports revealed differences in the experience of schooling throughout Scotland as well as resistance to Anglicisation. Nevertheless, the influence of English attitudes is reflected throughout the reports. So too are the themes of social control and the…

Discusses coeducation efforts at prestigious U.S. higher education institutions in the 1880s, specifically Columbia University and Barnard College (New York City). Concludes that narrative concerning women at these institutions includes the perspective that women were institution builders despite limited notions about female access and…

Explores reasons for the bitter controversy over coeducation in British universities. Focuses on male 'apostates' at the University of England (Bedford) women's college and female 'Uncle Tom's' at the University of Oxford. States politics and academic higher education relationships with each group were characterized by mistrust. (KDR)

Focuses on British notions of U.S. coeducation, generally, and U.S. women's colleges, specifically. Examines topics such as coeducation in the era of the School Inquiry Commission, coeducation in the era of the James Bryce Commission, and English views of U.S. women's colleges. (CMK)

This historic overview of Millersville State Normal School in Pennsylvania looks at the separate but equal treatment of male and female students and faculty during the late 19th and early 20th century. Although early school administrators were progressive in acceptance of both male and female students and careful to treat men and women equal in…

Explores the predominance of coeducation of secondary schools in The Netherlands, focusing on the years between 1871, when the first girl was admitted to a boys' school, and 1929. Considers topics such as the conditions of entry of the first generation of girls and the results of inquiries into school practices. (CMK)

The early women college students were pioneers. They had a difficult time obtaining an opportunity for a college education, because college was not thought to be necessary for the women of the 19th century. By overcoming many obstacles, these early college graduates were able to reap the rewards of an intellectually stimulating career. This study…

Asserts that, during the second half of the 19th Century, women in England and the United States increasingly sought and gained admission to higher education institutions. Describes the establishment of coeducation at the University of Manchester (England) and Northwestern University (Illinois) in terms of these cultural differences. (CFR)