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Democracy's AngelsThe Work of Women Teachers |
eBook Available
A groundbreaking study of the limits that "democratic" ideals placed on the work of women teachers.
Following the Second World War, women teachers filled a labour shortage in schools and Canadian newspapers rushed to feature their presence. One caption even called the teachers "pretty enough to send dad to school with junior." Envisioned as shining examples of "proper" femininity, female educators were expected to produce a new generation of housewives for a strong democratic nation. Democracy's Angels is a daring exploration of the limitations of that vision, which ultimately confined women to teaching a model of citizenship that privileged masculinity and reduced women's authority.
In an analytical tour-de-force, Kristina Llewellyn unravels the ideological underpinnings of democracy as the objective for postwar education. Schools were charged with producing rational, autonomous, politically engaged citizens, but women were not associated with these qualities. Claims to scholarly knowledge, professional autonomy, and administrative positions were reserved for male teachers. Using rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship and extensive interviews with former teachers, Llewellyn reveals the ways in which women negotiated and even found opportunities within these troubling limitations.
An unflinching look at the difficult realities of women's work experiences in postwar Canada, Democracy's Angels illustrates the intrinsic connections between gender, education, and democracy.
In an analytical tour-de-force, Kristina Llewellyn unravels the ideological underpinnings of democracy as the objective for postwar education. Schools were charged with producing rational, autonomous, politically engaged citizens, but women were not associated with these qualities. Claims to scholarly knowledge, professional autonomy, and administrative positions were reserved for male teachers. Using rigorous interdisciplinary scholarship and extensive interviews with former teachers, Llewellyn reveals the ways in which women negotiated and even found opportunities within these troubling limitations.
An unflinching look at the difficult realities of women's work experiences in postwar Canada, Democracy's Angels illustrates the intrinsic connections between gender, education, and democracy.
Details
216 Pages, 6 x 9
ISBN 9780773540507
September 2012
Formats: Paperback, Cloth, eBook
“This book illustrates beautifully the paradox of a school system (indeed a nation) that was intent on producing ideal ‘democratic’ citizens for a modern - though abstractly defined - democratic state while simultaneously denying women the full rights of the imagined democracy.” Helen Raptis, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Victoria
"Democracy’s Angels provides a fascinating insight into Canadian women teachers’ lives in a period not that well-trod by historians. Recommended reading for history studentsand teachers, those working on school reform and public policy in Canada, and on gender issues in education in general." History of Education Quarterly
"Llewellyn is to be congratulated on this remarkable study - one which opens up new vistas for understanding the circumstances in which female teachers worked during the immediate post-war decades, and the ways in which they served, and resisted, the interests of the elite in promoting 'proper' forms of citizenship among high school students of the times - 'democracy’s angels' indeed!" Histoire sociale / Social History
"Democracy’s Angels provides a fascinating insight into Canadian women teachers’ lives in a period not that well-trod by historians. Recommended reading for history studentsand teachers, those working on school reform and public policy in Canada, and on gender issues in education in general." History of Education Quarterly
"Llewellyn is to be congratulated on this remarkable study - one which opens up new vistas for understanding the circumstances in which female teachers worked during the immediate post-war decades, and the ways in which they served, and resisted, the interests of the elite in promoting 'proper' forms of citizenship among high school students of the times - 'democracy’s angels' indeed!" Histoire sociale / Social History
Kristina R. Llewellyn is assistant professor of Social Development Studies at Renison University College, University of Waterloo.
Acknowledgments viii
Introduction 3
1 The Purpose of Educational “Democracy” 21
2 “Democratic” Knowledge, Teacher Professionalism,
and the Female “Weak Link” 50
3 Moral “Democracy” and the Woman Teacher’s Citizenship
Performance 78
4 More Responsibility, Less Power: Gendered Participatory
“Democracy” for Schools 103
Conclusion 131
Appendix: Biographical Sketches 135
Notes 147
Bibliography 173
Index 195
Introduction 3
1 The Purpose of Educational “Democracy” 21
2 “Democratic” Knowledge, Teacher Professionalism,
and the Female “Weak Link” 50
3 Moral “Democracy” and the Woman Teacher’s Citizenship
Performance 78
4 More Responsibility, Less Power: Gendered Participatory
“Democracy” for Schools 103
Conclusion 131
Appendix: Biographical Sketches 135
Notes 147
Bibliography 173
Index 195
