Abstract
In both Quebec and Canada as a whole, the history of
women’s education is no longer a new appearance on the
historiographical scene. As a field of research, this history
has developed considerably in the last twenty years and can no
longer be regarded as unknown territory. Whether it involves
educational levels, specific educational paths, institutions, or
programs intended for women, research has progressed
sufficiently to allow an overview of this crucial component of
women’s history to begin to emerge. As a result of such
progress, henceforth no synthesis of the history of education
worthy of the name can afford to ignore women’s education.
However, there is a big difference between piecemeal integration
and wholesale integration into the global context to which a
synthesis refers and from which the overall perspective emerges.
This raises the issue of the conditions necessary for such an
integration. This paper examines a number of recent works in
Canadian history and reflects on their treatment of the history
of women’s education and history more generally, and the
implications for the future.
