A “mission to civilize”: the popular educational vision of the Anglican Mothers’ Union and Girls’ Friendly Society (1886-1926)

• Autor(a) principal: Anderson-Faithful, Susan
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de História da Educação (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/rbhe/article/view/38774
• topic: Mothers’ Union; Girls Friendly Society; Anglican; Education; Motherhood; Sindicato de Mães; Sociedade de Amigas de Moças; Igreja Anglicana; Educação; Maternidade

Abstract The Mothers’ Union (1886) and the Girls Friendly Society (1874) were official Anglican Church of England organisations. They drew on a religiously informed ideal of womanhood, and asserted the significance of women as exemplars of Christian citizenship with a mission to improve society. They asserted mothering as a significant educational project. This article identifies three main ways in which this popular educational mission was accomplished: first, through the example of the mother in the home; second, through the informal education inherent in organisational practices; and third, through overt educational practices. Despite conservative social values, the extensive membership of the organisations is indicative that their mission to promote women as religious educators had widespread appeal.