From Parlor Moralists to Classroom Scientists: Female Normal School Students' Use of Nature-Study to Professionalize Public Education and Expand the Woman's Sphere

This history and environmental studies senior thesis analyzes how nature-study acted as a vehicle for the expansion of the woman’s sphere between 1890 and 1925. The idea of nature-study helped reshape humans’ conception of... [ view full abstract ]

This history and environmental studies senior thesis analyzes how nature-study acted as a vehicle for the expansion of the woman’s sphere between 1890 and 1925. The idea of nature-study helped reshape humans’ conception of the natural world from one of purely practical use into one of spiritual character enhancement by combining science with ethics and morality in both primary and high school classrooms. This new pedagogy that merged experiential learning with traditional classroom subjects could improve the integrity of the entire nation, as Nature would provide a moral model of democracy, and the agrarian values that nature-study taught could help Americans reconnect to their roots. Predominant societal beliefs at this time, conforming to the notion of separate spheres, held that women connected better than men with the natural environment because Nature, God’s creation, modeled the domestic home. Rather than view this role as a constraint, some women used it to cultivate a body of skills that distinguished them from their male counterparts, giving them a unique authority to teach nature-study. Nature-study demanded the learning of new pedagogies, prompting female educators to matriculate at normal schools, the precursors to teachers colleges, in order to learn curricula in nature-study. Becoming experts in nature-study allowed women to both rise through the ranks of professional teachers and become professional authors as they developed a niche unique to their gender, allowing them to magnify the woman’s realm to include the scientific study and understanding of the natural environment.