(D) Report by Dame Adelaide Anderson, DBE, on the Education of Girls and Women in China

• Author: Anderson, Adelaide
• Pages: 181

(D) REPORT BY DAME ADELAIDE ANDERSON, D B E, ON THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN CHINA

The principle of co-education for men and women, and in some degree for boys and girls, has become gradually recogmsed in China duing the past fourteen years since the beginning of the republic At the same time, there is, mi practiee, in addition to privately conducted girls' schools and colleges a separate arrangement for education of girls in middle schools and normal colleges under the Provincial Governments, in certain Christian universit3 colleges (Yenehmng at Peking, 1908, Ginling at Nanking, 1915, and Hwa Nang at Foochow, 1914) and in a Central Government institution for higher educa tmin m the Peidng Teachers' College for Women, which enrolled 286 studpnts

m 1922, and supphes teachers of higher grade to a small extent to the provmcial middle schools and normal colleges for girls, who are evidentlv needed, for men teachers appear to be more numerous than women teachers n the girls' schools visited Further, there is the more recently founded 'New University for Women,' which is housed m buildigs belonging to the Ministry of Education at Peking Some of the Christian colleges, hltherto exclusively for men, have within the last few years opened their doors to women, e g, Yale-in China, Boone,

Canton Christian College, Shanghai Baptist College It is chiefly since 1919 that important national universltles have been thrown open to women, possibly a consequence of the students' movement of 1919

In 1920 the South-Eastern University, Nanking, and the National University of Peking began to admit women In 1921, Nankal College, Tlen tam, followed suit, and the movement has extended to practically all large universities and colleges This co-educational movement is of the highest importance for the requisite maintenance for women of the higher tests and standards m academic educa tion, and for enabhng women duly to share m the higher branches of learning and research At the same time, there is evidence of authoritative belief among Chinese educational leaders that, as in Western countries, there is indisputable need for the foundation of at least some special colleges and other institutions for women Unavoidably, the greater part of education for professional and vocational life in universities and colleges must conform for these purposes to types and standards best suited to preparation of men, who are, and will be, the great maonrty A higher proportion of the much smaller number of women students must, on the other hand, enter different valks of life-foremost, marriage, home-making, and the training of children, secondly, constructive social welfare work and auxiliary health work, m addition to the work of fully qualified medical women Those great matters-the home and social welfare work —oall for special thought m the interests of the whole community, as well as for their natural appeal to high qualities of mind and character in women as individuals Further, says Mrs C Y Tang, M A, in the bulletin (No 9, Vol II) issued by the Chinese National Associaton for the Advancement of Educatien, which she has presented to the delegation for consideration' The girls of conservative families are often deprived of the opportunity of going to co-educational colleges, no matter how talented they are Some famihes are not willng to send their girls to these institutons ' The Committee for Women's Education m the National Asbociation for the Advancement of Education has already proposed to the trustees a definite plan of establishng a national university for women, and the plan has been endorsed 'With a college education a woman will be able to shoulder more weighty responsibilities With liberal education and professional training she will be more qualified to respond to the many calls of her community and nation ' One of the important professions, besides that of teaching, is working i the field of social service Such problems as child labour women's employment, long hours, low wages and poor working conditions should be analysed and, if possible, solved In the community the improvement of housing, diet and public health should engage the most serious attention of social workers Without doubt, there are a great many girls whose interests and talents qualify them to be professional social workers, and, to meet such needs, high schools, colleges, universities, and particularly vocational schools, should offer courses in theoretical and applied sociology and technique of social service ' These are reasonings used by a Chmese woman of university degree, educated m America, yet experience in Grear Britain reinforces them Althougl academic degrees and nstitutions n Gret Britain have been thrown open long since to women, it is till indispensable to eoatmue the higher resldential colleges for women at Oxford, Oambridge and London universites and elsewhere, m addition to developing university hostelf for women in such

universities as Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, &c, presided over by women of npe experience of life, as well as high academic qualificatlons And special courses in sociology at Bedford College for Women, and at King's College,

London, m domestic science and i the technique of mstltute management, have long offered just such higher teaching in various branches of social service as the women of China now urgently need Not only is such special higher technological teaching needed in modern industralised countries, a g, for women sanitary inspectors, health visiting, industrial welfare superintendance, as well as hospital nursing In China the demand also for collegiate education for girls additional to co educational opportunities is evidenced by the successful I Fang Collegiate School for Girls, founded and carried on by Miss Tseng Pao-shen, its pnnclpal, a B Se of London University, and a great-grand daughter of the Marqms Tseng Kuo fan, m the Memorial Temple to the Marquis at Changsha The aims of the school and college are ' to tram young women capable of taking...