Hedvig Amalia Aurora "Aurore" Storckenfeldt (26 December 1816 in – 21 July 1900 in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

) was a Swedish reform pedagogue. She founded the Storckenfeldtska skolan (The Storchefeldt School) in Jönköping, and served as its principal in 1847–1891, during which time it was regarded as one of the best educational institutions for females in the nation. Storckenfeldt is regarded as an important member of the pioneers of girl's education in the mid 19th century Sweden, who reformed the education of girls by establishing

girls' school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

s which offered proper academic education for females, in contrast to the earlier girl's pensions shallow education.

Life

Aurore Storckenfeldt was the daughter of the nobleman and captain Johan Adam Storckenfeldt and Magdalena Christina Uggla. She was given the education regarded appropriate for a female of her class at the time: French language, the Bible and etiquette. However, she was given private lessons by her vicar in academic subjects, which inspired her to become an autodidact. She is also believed to have been inspired by the works of

Fredrika Bremer Fredrika Bremer (17 August 1801 – 31 December 1865) was a Finnish-born Swedish writer and feminist reformer. Her ''Sketches of Everyday Life'' were wildly popular in Britain and the United States during the 1840s and 1850s and she is re ...

. After the death of her father, she supported herself as a governess. She was critical of the shallow education normally offered to women. In the 1840s, there were a growing demand of a reform of women's education to provide middle class women who were forced to support themselves with an education by which they could manage a profession suitable for their class and be useful for society. At the time of the introduction of the compulsory

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

in Sweden in 1842, there were only five schools in Sweden to provide academic education and secondary education to females;

Societetsskolan Societetsskolan i Göteborg för döttrar ('Society School for Daughters in Gothenburg') or simply ''Societetsskolan'' ('Society School'), was a Swedish girls' school managed by the congregation of the Moravian Church in Gothenburg from 1 November ...

(1786),

Fruntimmersföreningens flickskola Fruntimmerföreningens flickskola ('Women's Society's Girls' School'), was a Girls' School in Gothenburg in Sweden active between 1815 and 1938. At the time of the introduction of compulsory elementary schools in Sweden in 1842, it was one of fi ...

(1815) and

Kjellbergska flickskolan Kjellbergska flickskolan ('Kjellberg Girls' School') was a Girls' School in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was active between 1835 and 1967. History The school was founded by a fund granted in the will of the wealthy merchant Jonas Kjellberg (1752– ...

(1833) in Gothenburg,

Askersunds flickskola Askersunds flickskola (Askersund Girls' School), was a Swedish girls' school in Askersund, active from 1812 until 1906. It was the second school in Sweden to offer secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phas ...

(1812) in

Askersund Askersund is a locality and the seat of Askersund Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with a population census of 3,887 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Askersund is a popular tourist destination with swimming and nature experiences. The city c ...

and

Wallinska skolan Wallinska skolan (Wallin School) or Wallinska flickskolan (Wallin Girls' School), was a girls' school in Stockholm, Sweden. Active from 1831 to 1939, it was one of the first five schools in Sweden to offer serious academic education and seconda ...

(1831) in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. In 1847, Aurore Storckenfeldt founded the Storchefeldt School in Jönköping with room for 20 students to meet the demand for higher academic education for potentially professional middle class women. She herself was a teacher of bible, history and English language. Described as strict but skillful and interested, she made study trips in Europe. The school became one of the most notable academic institutions for women in contemporary Sweden. She also occasionally accepted poor students who could not afford a fee. From 1874, the school was given government support in accordance of the

Flickskolekommittén 1866 The Flickskolekommittén 1866 (Girls' School Committee of 1866), was a Swedish governmental committee established by the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag, in 1866 to examine organization of female education in Sweden and produce suggestions of refo ...

References

* Hedvig Amalia Aurora (Aurore) Storckenfeldt, urn:sbl:20312, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Kerstin Skog-Östlin), hämtad 2015-02-06. {{DEFAULTSORT:Storckenfeldt, Aurore 1816 births Swedish educators 1900 deaths Swedish governesses 19th-century Swedish educators 19th-century women educators