Macao Female Teachers, Social Status Changes, The 20th Century

Macao has been the Chinese sacred territory since old times, with morethan 400 years of being the junctions between the eastern and western cultures.The Chinese residents account for the major population and the main body ofculture and education development is inherited and influenced by itsmotherland. The local education system has been developed from the "feudalimperial civil service examination system" to the modern education systemgradually, and its education mode changes along with the cultural andeducational transformation in China.On the other hand, Portuguese people rented and were living in Macaosince the mid 16th century, the western culture has then been mingled with thelocal peoplein the small city. After the eruption of Opium War in the mid 19thcentury, the Portuguese occupied Macao and the society encountered a hugechange. Under the mingling between the two groups of people, the easternand western cultures interweave and develope a unique individual educationstructure. Under this kind of distinctive environment, a new profession forwomen is created. This emerging profession along with the social changesresults in the education transformation finally.This article concerns with the female teacher development since 20thcentury, from a few number of female teachers evolving to the major teachingteams. The research focuses on the discussion of the four periods in order toanalyze the social transformation and characteristics of the female teachersand their influence in the 20th century in Macao. The first stage dates back tothe end of Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China (1900s to 1930s),which is regarded as the Enlightenment of Female Teachers. This researchattempts to reveal the females who received education in this period, theiremployment conditions and the education changes. This will comprehensivelyanalyze the reason for the poor female education under the 400 years ofmingling eastern and western cultures, and will reflect the low social statusand the exploitation of the female teachers.The second stage can be considered as the preliminary development ofthe female teachers in Macao, dating back to the Sino-Japanese War until theestablishment of the New China (early 1930s to early 1950s). This articlemainly elaborates the domestic and external political factors affecting thefemale education, and the changing social status of female teachers.After the establishment of New China and the Domestic Revolution inPortugal (early 1950s to early 1070s), female teachers underwent the regulardevelopment in Macao. This study attempts to discuss the reason for the development in female teachers in the perspectives of political, social andeconomic situations.The Domestic Revolution in Portugal until the Handover of Macao toChina (early 1970s to 2000) is the full development and golden period offemale teachers. The research displays the increasing population of femaleteachers, the upgrading qualification of female teachers, their major dutiesand social engagement.