A Study On The Decline Of American Women's Colleges In The Middle & Later 20th Century

The American women's colleges have played an important role in women's higher education of United Statessince the thirties of the 19 th century.They havesent a batch of educated women to American Society andmadeoutstanding contributions.It has experienced five stages of the breeding,growth,prosperity,decline and adjustment.It has been also influenced by political,economic,cultural and social factors.Later period of the 20 th century is a period of rapid social change.The number of women's colleges is affected by the federal policy,the feminist movement,the economic crisis,and the school organization impact.Then it began to shrink significantly.The number of women's colleges is less than 60 until now.And the number of collegesis continuing to reduce.In this paper,From the social background of the United states and the performance of American women's colleges in different periods,the paper will explore further the historical reasons of influencing their rise and fall.A review of the American women's colleges before its decline,the paper will focus on the manifestations,external causes and internal causesfor the decline of American women's colleges in the Middle& Later Twentieth Century.In the analysis of external factors,the paper manages to explain it from the angle of politics,economy and culture,In the internal analysis,the paper will explore mainly from the women's colleges itself,comprehensive universityand other factors.On the whole,the American women's colleges has gone into decline,however,in order to survive and develop,the existing American women's colleges began to explore the path of characteristic development,it deserves our attention.Although China and the United States women's colleges development are in different political,economic and cultural background,they are comparable and referential.Through the study of the history,the internal and external causes of decline,and the way of today's development,the paper will provide some suggestions for the development of women's colleges in China.