Regional Disparities in Girls’ Schooling: A Panel Data Analysis of Rural Finland, 1880-1938

Heidi Hirvonen, University of Helsinki

Finland was a latecomer in primary education in the European context. By the turn of the 20th century only about one third of children aged 9 to 13 were enrolled in primary school. In 1880 the share of girls in rural primary schools was slightly above 40% of all students, and the difference between the genders slowly converged before the enactment of compulsory education in 1921. Despite the relatively high share of girls in Finnish rural primary schools in the late 19th century, there was significant variation between the rural municipalities. The share of girls was notably low in two vastly different areas of Finland: the relatively wealthy Ostrobothnia region in the west, and the more disadvantaged Karelia district in the east. This paper analyzes the regional variation in girls' primary school enrollment utilizing a new municipal-level panel dataset collected by Professor Sakari Saaritsa's working group. The convergence of girls’ and boys’ schooling coincided with two significant changes in the primary education landscape: the vanishing of separate schools for boys and girls and the feminization of the teacher profession. According to the 1866 Common School Decree, girls and boys had to be taught in their own schools or in separate classes. Despite moral concerns, co-educational schools were established primarily for economic reasons and quickly became the prevailing model of education in the countryside. The feminization of the teacher profession concurs with changes in the position of women in the society, such as the universal suffrage in 1906. Teachers were respected members of rural communities and potential role models especially for girls as teaching was one of the first professions for which women were trained, and where they could gain a professional status and a livelihood.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 124. Capturing Gender Inequality through Fine-Grained Spatial Data: Sex Ratios, Schooling and More