Education for women: a historical analysis of mixed vocational schools

Abstract

This article is part of a doctoral research project that addresses the education of women in Brazil during the modernization period in the 20th century. The research has already collected initial data from the Register and Grades Book of a school in Franca-SP, dated from 1924 to 1979, revealing that the enrollment of women began to be recorded only from 1930 onwards. The enrollments allowed girls aged 12 to 16 to enter courses such as Dressmaking, White Clothes, Lace and Embroidery, and Flowers and Hats. Women's education was marked by gender and class segregation, with vocational courses that reinforced traditional domestic roles, such as home care and motherhood. The criticism of the educational model of the time highlights how the school functioned as an instrument to keep women in predetermined roles, perpetuating social hierarchy and gender division.