On the history of the female teaching profession: Historiographic challenges and international perspectives

The authors survey existing research on the history of the female teaching profession in Western Europe. They focus on the question in how far the profession of women teachers has acquired specific gender-related characteristics. The feminization and professionalization of the job takes place in afield of tension created by norms defined by men and by social changes in the relation between the two sexes. National cultures differ in their impact on the institutional and social definition of the female teaching profession.