Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Åbo (Swedish Women's School of Åbo) or only Svenska fruntimmersskolan (Swedish Women's School) was a

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 ...

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

(Swedish: Åbo) in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, active from 1844 to 1955. Alongside its equivalent in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, ''

Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Helsingfors Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Helsingfors ('Swedish Women's School of Helsinki') or only Svenska fruntimmersskolan ('Swedish Women's School') was a Girls' School in Helsinki in Finland, active from 1844 to 1974. Alongside its equivalent in Åbo ( fi ...

'' (1844-1974), it was the first state school for females in Finland. From 1919, it was called Svenska flickskolan i Åbo (Swedish Girls' School in Åbo).

History

The sister schools of Åbo and Helsinki were founded as a result of a debate about women's education in Finland. Already in 1793,

Jakob Tengström Jacob Tengström (4 December 1755 - 26 December 1832) was a Finnish prelate who became the first Archbishop of Turku and Finland. Biography Tengström was born on 4 December 1755 in Kokkola, Finland. He was the nephew of Anders Chydenius and the ...

in '' Åbo Tidningar'' criticized the schools for girls in Finland for being shallow and useless, and called for girls to be given a more useful education. At that point, the only schools open to females were temporary schools managed by single women who educated upper class students in various accomplishments, such as French and music, with the purpose of becoming "ladies", wives and mothers, such as those of Christina Krook,

Anna Salmberg Anna Salmberg, née ''Brinck'' (1788, Copenhagen – 1868, Åbo), was a Finnish educator. She was the founder and manager of '' Salmbergska flickpensionen'' ('Salmberg Pension for Girls'), one of the most famed and fashionable educational instituti ...

and

Sara Wacklin Sara Elizabeth Wacklin (26 May 1790 – 28 January 1846) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish educator and writer. She was a pioneer in educating girls, and can be regarded as the first female university graduate in Finland. She can also be regarded ...

. This debate resulted in the decision that girls should be included in the reform of the school system in 1843, and the following year, the ''Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Åbo'' was founded in Åbo, and the ''

'' in Helsinki. The school was founded and financed by the state, after the example of the '' Fruntimmersskolan i Viborg'', and it was followed by similar private schools in smaller cities in Finland in the following decades, especially after the school reform of 1856, often referred to by the name "fruntimmersskolan" in their respective cities, and with a similar pattern. Initially, the school was reserved for Swedish speaking students from the upper- and middle classes, the Swedish language being the language of the upper classes in Finland. It was placed under the supervision of the Lutheran archbishop of Finland, and the education was focused on education the students in subjects considered suitable for women: a large proportion of the lessons were focused on handicrafts, and during lessons by a male teacher, the students were chaperoned in the class room by a female assistant. After

Maria Tschetschulin Maria Tschetschulin (1852–1917), was a Finnish clerk. She was the first woman to attend university in Finland. Maria Tschetschulin, who was of Russian descent through her Russian father, was the daughter of the steam boat owner Feodor Tschet ...

was accepted as the first woman university student in Finland in 1870, the character of the education changed, and eventually serious

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

classes were introduced to prepare girls for university. In 1870, the supervision of the church was abolished, in 1872, the demand that all students must be members of the Swedish speaking upper classes was dropped. When the dispensation for female university students was dropped and women were accepted at the same terms as men in 1915, girls and boys started to receive the same education in the school system, and the girls' schools in Finland started to be changed to coeducation, a development which was completed in the 1970s. In 1955, the ''Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Åbo'' was closed, merged with its rival, '' Heurlinska Skolan'' from 1861, at that time the largest girl school in Finland, and became the ''

Åbo Svenska Flicklyceum Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; 16 ...

'', which in turn was merged with the

Katedralskolan i Åbo Katedralskolan i Åbo (the Cathedral School of Åbo) is the Swedish-language upper secondary school of Turku, located at the Old Great Square (the town, former capital of Finland, is known as ''Åbo'' in Swedish). The school believes that it was ...

1971.

References

* Spoof, Karin A. (red.), Svenska fruntimmersskolan, Svenska flickskolan i Åbo 1844-1944: minnesskrift, Åbo, 1944 * https://web.archive.org/web/20140714220809/http://www.uppslagsverket.fi/bin/view/Uppslagsverket/Flickskolor * B.F. Godenhjelm, Suomalaisen naissivistyksen työmailta, 1912 * Helsingin suomalainen tyttökoulu 1869-1919, 1919 * L. Ketonen, Suomen tyttöoppikoulut autonomian aikakaudella, 1977 * http://www.finland.gr/Public/default.aspx?contentid=207983&nodeid=31957&culture=sv-FI
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* http://www.helsinki.fi/sukupuolentutkimus/aanioikeus/sv/artiklar/omyndig.htm * http://info.edu.turku.fi/stolof/files/SOS%20AU%20Tidningsbilaga%202003.pdf * Siegberg, Arthur: Den högre kvinnobildningen i Finland, dess utveckling och mål., W. C. Fabritius & Sonner, Kr.a. {{DEFAULTSORT:Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Abo Educational institutions disestablished in 1955 Defunct schools in Finland Educational institutions established in 1844 Girls' schools in Finland 19th century in Turku