Focuses on the culture of femininity which pervaded and underlaid the work of women's teacher training colleges in Britain during the first half of the 20th century. The text argues that despite being the largest provider of higher education for women, women's training colleges have so far been largely "hidden from history". It includes an exploration of the translation of the social practices and family organization of the middle-class home into the institutional setting of women's teacher training colleges; and the constructuion of the role of principal - the conflict between her public "masculine" power and the private needs of her femininity.