Editing Edith Abbott (section)

== Education ==
In 1893, Abbott graduated from [[Brownell-Talbot School|Brownell Hall]],<ref name="Leonard1914"/> a girls' boarding school in [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]]. However, her family could not afford to send her to college due to a drought which struck Nebraska and eventually led to an economic depression. Instead of going to college immediately, Abbott began to teach high school in [[Grand Island, Nebraska]].<ref name=":0"/> Determined to receive a college education, Abbott took correspondence courses and night classes until she was able to afford to fully enroll. Abbott enrolled at the [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln|University of Nebraska]], receiving her degree in 1901. She continued to teach for two more years and was eventually awarded a fellowship to the [[University of Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edith-Abbott|title=Edith Abbott {{!}} American social worker|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=April 18, 2017|language=en}}</ref> While at the University of Chicago working on her doctorate, she met Professor [[Sophonisba Breckinridge]]. She earned her doctorate in political economy in 1905.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Costin|first=Lela B.|date=1983|title=Edith Abbott and the Chicago Influence on Social Work Education|jstor=30011615|journal=Social Service Review|volume=57|issue=1|pages=94–111|doi=10.1086/644074|s2cid=144133411}}</ref> Later, Abbott and Breckinridge would publish multiple studies while at the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. In 1905, Abbott graduated, receiving her Ph.D. in economics.<ref name=":0"/>

In 1906, Abbott received a [[Carnegie Fellowship]] and continued her studies at [[University College London]], and the [[London School of Economics]]. She learned from social reformers [[Sidney Webb]] and [[Beatrice Webb]], who championed new approaches to dealing with poverty. The Webbs influenced the direction of Abbott's career. The Webbs were in favour of repealing the British "[[English Poor Laws|poor laws]]"—which they viewed as demeaning to people in poverty—and they supported establishing programs to eliminate poverty.<ref name="Sicherman, Barbara, and Carol Hurd Green 1980 1">{{cite book|author1=Sicherman, Barbara|author2=Carol Hurd Green|title=Notable American Women: The Modern Period|year=1980|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674627338|pages=[https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw00sich_0/page/1 1]|url=https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw00sich_0/page/1}}</ref> While studying in London, Abbott lived part of the time in a social reformers' settlement in a poverty-stricken area of the East End, where she gained experience in social work.<ref name="Sicherman, Barbara, and Carol Hurd Green 1980 1"/>