Uncommon women, uncommon choices: Mount Holyoke College alumnae in Hong Kong and their choices, experiencesand outcomes of attending a women's college

Abstract

Perhaps in the majority of higher education institutions, women’s issues no longer register as being a significant and important area of research. Perhaps the value of a women’s college is the culture of these institutions where women’s voices matter, where resources are focused on women and where issues related to women are always a part of the agenda. This in itself makes women’s colleges a fascinating topic of study. The aim of the study was to understand why Mount Holyoke College alumnae based in Hong Kong chose to attend Mount Holyoke, their experiences while at Mount Holyoke and how it has affected them in terms of further education and their careers. My research had several sub-themes and the literature reviewed was also in separate categories. I looked at the history of women’s colleges in the United States, as well as the changing patterns of enrollment and recent history of women’s colleges in the United States. Women’s colleges comprise a very small number of institutions in the United States and as many are liberal arts colleges, can be seen as a sub-group of liberal arts colleges. I therefore reviewed literature on liberal arts colleges as well to situate that in the broader picture of higher education in the United States. I could not neglect looking at women’s colleges around the world, as they are crucial in understanding the role women’s colleges in the United States have played. By framing my research using ‘centers’ and ‘peripheries’, I sought to explore some of the contributions that women’s colleges in the United States have played, whether as the ‘center’ or the ‘periphery’ institutions.