AN EXAMINATION OF WOMEN THINKERS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED SOCIOLOGICALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY OR PHILOSOPHICALLY TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FROM A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This study is a research conducted by using the document analysis technique, one of the qualitative research methods, in order to examine women thinkers who have contributed to curriculum studies in sociological, psychological or philosophical terms by revealing the place of women in education throughout history. Although there are many scientists who have contributed to the field of educational programs, nine women who are considered to have contributed the most are included in the research. These women are Hypatia, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Addams, Maria Montessori, Melanie Klein, Hilda Taba, Nel Noddings, Jane Roland Martin and Fatma Varış from Turkey. As a result of the research, the following results emerged. Although there are women who have contributed to education programs, their number is not very high in the history of education. This is due to the fact that women's rights to education were taken away from them or that women's actions and thoughts are considered insignificant in historiography. It is also a fact that their work is often overshadowed. Nevertheless, the research shows that these women scientists have carried out important studies in many fields such as learning processes, curriculum development and teaching methods. Hypatia's experimental-based understanding of education pioneered the creation of content. Mary Wollstonecraft's views on the importance of individual development and physical activities in education were included in the programs. Addams' experimental studies, the idea that these experiments should go from concrete to abstract and that students should establish activities with each other have been guiding the development of educational programs. The Montessori method continues to be applied in many schools. Her ideas contribute to the determination of materials in the preparation of programs. Klein's developmental stages have guided the design of parent programs and the content of the programs. Taba's curriculum development model, which adopts an inductive approach and consists of eight stages, is still used in curriculum development studies today. Noddings' views were utilized in determining the aims of education and paved the way for raising more democratic and tolerant individuals. Martin's ideas have been useful in making education programs emphasize the equality of women and men in education. While Varış's curriculum stages and his emphasis on this subject are still used in curriculum development studies today, she has also been a pioneer with his egalitarian and secular views.