Between the World Wars, a strong current of thought saw "the rural" as a reservoir of the spiritual capital of the nation, a view that stimulated back-to-the-land movements across western Europe. But the inter-war period also saw growing encounters of the urban and rural worlds, one of the interfaces being rural adult education. This…

Quality education for women on an equal basis to that of men had its initial inception in the American West. When Oberlin College admitted women to full status in 1833, the movement had begun. Coeducation and why it was a Western phenomenon is discussed. (MLW)