Ancient Egyptian #Women Inspire Children Today #WomensHistoryMonth

Can reading about remarkable historical women inspire girls and women today?

Research suggests yes. In “How Knowledge of Ancient Egyptian Women Can Influence Today’s Gender Role: Does History Matter in Gender Psychology?“ published in Frontiers in Psychology, the authors report, “Several studies on gender psychology have revealed that social learning and cultural factors affect gender roles and gender behavior.” This study looked specifically at gender inequality in the Middle East. It declares, “Ancient Egyptian female pioneers in science, arts, and even in ruling Egypt as Pharaohs can improve today’s gender role in Egypt and Middle Eastern countries.”

Most teachers probably realize that all girls benefit from seeing female role models in history and in today’s society. However, some educators may tend to focus on European and American examples. This could be a result of unconscious bias, or because these examples are the easiest to find. Teachers may also promote their own childhood heroines, wanting to share the role models who inspired them.

However, seeking out a wider range of cultural examples has benefits. The paper’s authors quote a social learning theory that states, “Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if the model is similar to the observer and has an admired status.” In less academic words, children (and adults) are inspired by seeing examples of people like themselves – same gender, same culture. Thus we can combat problems such as sexism and racism, and inspire young people to greater heights, by showing them real world examples of great people from their background.

In other words, Black children benefit from seeing Black role models, Native American children benefit from seeing Native American role models, and so forth. That’s why the paper focuses on the benefits to women in the Middle East learning about female role models in ancient Egypt. It seems reasonable that girls in the US who have families of a Middle Eastern background might also benefit from learning about great women in ancient Egypt.

Both girls and boys benefit from seeing a wide range of female role models throughout history. In addition to gender equality, these examples show racial and cultural equality. They help counter the Western prejudice that tends to show all inventions and advances in civilization as coming from European cultures.

(As a side note, many books and television shows promote the idea that aliens were responsible for the pyramids and other advances in Egyptian or Mayan culture. This stems from a belief that non-European ancient cultures could not possibly have developed scientific advances without outside help. Learning more about ancient cultures can help counter this racism. People will understand that the great pyramids did not suddenly appear out of nothing. Instead we can trace the development of the pyramid through trials such as The Step Pyramid of Djoser and mistakes such as the Blunted or Bent Pyramid)

The article cited above discusses the roles of ancient Egyptian women in medicine, science, education, social life and more. It also compares ancient Egyptian women to ancient Greek women. I recommend reading it.

For some children’s nonfiction on ancient Egypt, see this post: Books and Websites on Ancient Egypt for Classroom Use. But don’t stop with nonfiction! Historical fiction can also offer examples of strong female characters from different cultures and in different times. These previous posts offer guidance:

Find some middle grade Historical Fiction Set in Ancient Egypt.

Learning from the Maya includes a short list of middle grade historical fiction set in Latin America. Celebrate Diversity during Hispanic Heritage Month has links to resources for nonfiction and fiction relating to Hispanic heritage.

And here’s another list of Middle Grade Historical Fiction with Fantastic Female Characters.

Historical Fiction Makes Learning Fun and Connecting Kids to History include examples of using historical fiction in the classroom. In Back to School: Historical Fiction Resources for the Classroom you’ll find links to lesson plans for my historical middle grade novels, and links to many other resources relating to historical fiction.

Fantastic History: Bringing Legends to Life Part 1 and Part 2 list some historical fantasy novels from different cultures. See also Time Travel Novels for Middle Grade Readers.

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Chris Eboch’s novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with a ghost hunter TV show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs. 

Get lesson plans to use with The Well of Sacrifice, The Eyes of Pharaoh, and The Genies Gift at the “For Teachers“ tab on her website.

Chris's writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting. Learn more at www.chriseboch.com or her Amazon page, or check out her writing tips at her Write Like a Pro! blog.