Ingrid Jespersen (1867–1938) was a Danish

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

and school principal. The founder of Copenhagen's Ingrid Jespersens Gymnasieskole in 1894, initially a primary school for girls, she introduced a number of groundbreaking measures in support of girls' education in Denmark.

Bibliography

The daughter of the bookseller Edvard Julius Marie Jespersen (1831–1904) and his wife Henriette Klein (1831–1922), Jespersen was born in

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site of ...

on 24 January 1867. Raised in Copenhagen with her siblings, from the age of 11 she set her mind on becoming a headmistress. After attending

N. Zahle's School N. Zahle's School (Danish: N. Zahles Skole) is a private school located on Nørre Voldgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Named after its founder, Natalie Zahle (1827–1913), it now consists of two independently run primary schools and a Gymnasium. Hi ...

, she completed teacher training at N. Zahle's seminary in 1889 and went on to qualify as a school principal in 1891. For the next three years she was not only head of Elisabeth Gad's School but taught women at the ''Hjælpeforening for kvindelige Haandarbejder'' under L.I. Brandes. In 1894, she founded Ingrid Jespersen's Girls School in the

Østerbro Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located clo ...

district of Copenhagen. Starting with only 19 pupils, she extended the school over the following years. In 1897, when there were 100 pupils, new buildings were added followed a series of additional extensions up to 1932. The school was given the status of a gymnasium in 1906, the first students matriculating in 1908. Despite various educational reforms, the institution continued to operate as a private school with Jespersen as principal until 1930. Thereafter she continued as chair of the school board for the remainder of her life. She was responsible for various pedagogical developments: the first physics and chemistry laboratory in a Danish school in 1903, the inclusion of housekeeping in the curriculum, and the first girls' school to include carpentry as part of the matriculation examination. The school was also the first to offer foreign travel for its pupils with trips to Italy, Switzerland and Austria. On the academic front, Jespersen introduced a far more demanding curriculum than that required by the authorities, taking a special interest in covering the main figures of the

Modern Breakthrough The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...

. She also taught poetry, encouraging her pupils to write verse. Under the pen name Hella S. Lynge, she published two books for schoolgirls: ''Kursuskammerater'' (Coursemates, 1894) and ''Ungdom'' (Youth, 1896). She also served on various school boards and commissions. Jespersen spent her retirement translating several of

Pearl S. Buck Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'' a bestselling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. In 1938, Buck ...

's works into Danish. In 1930, she was awarded the Danish

Medal of Merit Several countries award a military or civil medal called Medal of Merit: * Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) * Medal of Merit (Denmark) * Medal of Merit of the Dominican Woman * Medal of Merit of the National People's Army (East Germany) * Medal of M ...

. Ingrid Jespersen died on 22 November 1938 in Ullerød, Karlebo Municipality. Her ashes are buried in the cemetery of Egebæksvang Church, south of

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jespersen, Ingrid 1867 births 1938 deaths People from Kongens Lyngby Danish educational theorists Danish headmistresses Heads of schools in Denmark 19th-century Danish women educators 20th-century Danish women educators 19th-century Danish people Women school principals and headteachers