Modernity and tradition: the schooling process in the European cultural environment and the educational inclusion of girls

In the early days of schooling in the various European states, knowledge and learning differed according to gender. Girls' education was centred on preparation for family life, in tune with the role they were to play in society. It was based on a sexist curriculum, which focused on subjects associated with domestic learning, family obligations and religious/moral duties. This educational tradition was maintained in the different contexts that comprised the European cultural environment, and diversity was ignored. Girls were incorporated later into the educational system, although the rate of schooling was higher in protestant regions than in catholic countries.