Faculty of Education - Theses

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Type: Masters Coursework thesis × Subject: Melbourne × Subject: Victoria × End date: 1999 × Author: Bertagnolio, Robert J. ×

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    Some had vision: P.L.C. and its teaching of science 1875 to 1912
    Bertagnolio, Robert J. ( 1989)
    In the 1980's, educators have devised programs which have encouraged girls to broaden their career aspirations. An important goal has been to persuade more girls to study maths and the physical sciences {physics and chemistry) at years 11 and 12. This thesis sets ou1 to investigate whether the 1980's has been the only period when females have been encouraged to study science, and if encouragement was given, was it limited to domestic science subjects which even today some believe are particularly suited to females. The thesis focuses in particular on science teaching at the Presbyterian Ladies' College (P .LC.) from 1875 to 1912. The cost of apparatus, the lack of qualified staff and a matriculation system which gave very little incentive to studying science subjects, meant that science was not a significant part of the curriculum in either girls' or boys' schools in the nineteenth century. Science was perceived as light relief from more rigorous study in English, mathematics and the Classics. While institutions such as the Vieusseux Ladies' College and P.LC. offered a broad and academic curriculum which included lectures in science, it was understood that this knowledge was not to be used ou1side the private sphere of home and family. Science lectures of a general nature, as a break from rigorous study, fitted comfortably with notion of a female accomplishments education and therefore were seen as a legitimate area of study for girls. During the Edwardian period science became more closely linked to economic and political power, and to the fortunes of the nation-state. In VICtoria, the Fink Royal Commission encapsulated the belief that 'hard' science needed to be developed for Australia's Mure strength and security. This paradigm of science, which exalted the physical sciences, physics and chemistry with their industrial, mechanical and technical potential, was increasingly linked to masculinity and therefore seen as inappropriate for females. Acceptable areas of science study for females were perceived to be botany and physiology - and as the Edwardian period progressed, domestic science. The domestic science movement argued that the role of wife and mother was the most appropriate for all women, and mounted a powerful and successful campaign which saw the introduction of some domestic science courses at nearly all levels of the education system. Unlike In the 19th century when P.LC. 's science teaching was typical of other girls' (and boys') schools, in the. Edwardian period P.LC. did not follow the trend, and domestic science courses remained a minimal part of the overall curriculum. Instead, James Bee and S.G. Mclaren worked collaboratively to give P.LC. students the opportunity to study the physical sciences, building the first substantial laboratory in a girls' school in Australia. This emphasis on the physical sciences gave an elite at P.LC. the opportunity to pursue careers in medicine; it also gave many a valuable lesson - that girls could succeed in areas which society had deemed to be masculine areas of study. What makes the work of Bee and Mclaren significant is that they had the commitment and vision to pursue their beliefs which were against the dominant societal views of their time. As we move into the 1990's educators must continue to confront the idea that science is gendered.