The fluctuating background of higher education incorporates an ongoing assessment of the significance of single-sex schools. The choice to shift from a single-sex to a coeducational school has become progressively common, with the quantity of all-women’s institutions declining melodramatically in the previous 50 years. The alteration has been deceptive with the change from precisely 230 women’s universities in 1960, diminishing to 90 in 1986, and most lately down to 57 in 2005 (Schwartz, 2103). A key concern for women’s colleges transitioning to coeducation is how the classroom learning environment will change for women—specifically, whether women’s voices will be lost when men are admitted to the institution. Even with this dramatic change in the educational arena, very little empirical research has been conducted on the transition from single-sex to coeducation. Twenty-five years ago, researchers examined classroom participation at Goucher College beginning the first year after the school had become a coeducational institution. However, following their data collection that began in 1987, no additional research on the transition to coeducation has emerged. Although studies on this topic may seem to apply to only the handful of institutions transitioning from single-sex to coeducation, findings from this research are also applicable to elementary, middle, and high schools where many administrators and educators have implemented or are interested in single-sex classroom arrangements. At the same time, the reported benefits of single-sex education remain difficult to tease out from many other factors. Justification for single-sex education is often based on research demonstrating a disadvantage for females in the classroom.
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...nder balance in the classroom. Specifically, as the number of women in the class increased, students perceived the professor to engage in less probing of students for responses. Classroom climate influences the quality of the education a student experiences as well as how they evaluate their professors. The micro-inequalities identified in the classroom seem to emerge from both student and faculty behaviors—both of which create and maintain the classroom climate. Stu- dents and faculty arrive in the classroom with a lifetime of experiences of learning and “doing” gender. The social norms and expectations of women and men play out in the microcosm of the classroom. Over time, the classroom may have evolved from a chilly one for women to a more complex and implicit system of messages and cues regarding gender that influence the learning experience for college students
In the article Who is a Teacher, the author made a factual claim about two correlated theories; that students are permitted too much influence over their instructors, and that influence affects female professors to a greater degree than their male counterparts. The article was written from the perspective of the author’s experience as a female professor at the University of Georgia as well as the accounts of her colleagues. The article listed numerous examples of inappropriate behavior, which would not be tolerated in many other circumstances.
“Men are from Mars, women are from Venus” as the famous saying of John Gray goes. It is believed men and women are nothing alike in almost every aspect. In Deborah Tannen’s essay “Gender in the classroom: Teacher’s Classroom Strategies Should Recognize that Men and Women Use Language Differently” she focused on how men and women differ when it comes to communicating, with emphasis on how it effects to how men and women behave in the classroom.
She confirms that the college she works at is affected by gender discrimination with the data stating, “more than 55 percent of our applicants are female” (Britz). The facts in the article that tell the most about the college gender gap are, “ two-thirds of colleges and universities report that they get more female than male applicants” and “ more than 56 percent of undergraduates nationwide are women” (Britz). This evidence reinforces the claim the author makes earlier in the article, that the overflow of women in colleges makes it harder for them to get accepted. The statistics in this article provide logical proof to appeal to the
It is a common phenomenon in coed schools that when an instructor asks a girl to answer a question in a science or math class, some boys always interrupt and answer that question correctly. Many girls at that moment may feel embarrassed, frightened, and even want to be invisible. In many cases, instructors do not punish the boys for their rude behaviors. As The learning environment and teachers’ attitude make girls feel pressure and decrease their Learning enthusiasm. As a result, girls and boys receive a different education even though they have the same class. In the U.S., the discrepancy in academic performance persists across gender. In order to close the gap and provide an equitable and quality education
Education was sex segregated for hundreds of years. Men and women went to different schools or were physically and academically separated into “coeducational” schools. Males and females had separate classrooms, separate entrances, separate academic subjects, and separate expectations. Women were only taught the social graces and morals, and teaching women academic subjects was considered a waste of time.
Lee, V. E., Marks, H. M., & Byrd, T. (1994). Sexism in Single-Sex and Coeducational Independent Secondary School Classrooms. Sociology of Education, 67(2), 92-120.
Same sex classes make it possible for teachers to cater to student needs in a more efficient way. In general boys benefit from hands on learning, but girls benefit from calm discussions (Mullins 3). Girls tend to doubt themselves while boys think they can do anything. Boys need to be brought down from the clouds while girls need to be dug out of a hole (Mullins 3). David Chadwell says, "Structure and connection are two key concepts when examining gender in the classroom. All students certainly need both, but it seems that teachers need to consider the issue of structure more with boys and the issue of connection more with girls" (7), and Kristen Stanberry’s research has shown, "Some research indicates that girls learn better when classroom temperature is warm, while boys perform better in cooler classrooms. If that's true, then the temperature in a single-sex classroom could be set to optimize the learning of either male or female students" (1). These observations further support the idea that same sex classrooms can cater to student’s...
It is not a big secret that America’s quality of education is sub-par. According the article, “US 17th In Global Education Ranking; Finland, South Korea Claim Top Spots” by Amrutha Gayathri, it’s obvious from the title alone that the United States is falling behind. Without change, the United States will continue to be behind in education. An issue that currently plagues the American education system is gender bias. Gender bias in schools has been addressed in laws, but it still persists in American schools, such as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the U.S. code Title 42, Chapter 21 regarding Civil Rights. Both laws attempt to discourage gender bias through the illegality of gender discrimination. Title IX addresses bias in federally funded educational and athletic programs in schools and colleges within the United States. Title 42, Chapter 21 of the U.S. Code prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, race, religion, and other characteristics within a number of settings, including education. Despite these laws, gender bias is still prevalent within American schools. A proposed solution to gender bias is gender segregated classrooms, which has proven to be a popular alternative to co-ed classrooms. Leonard Sax, author of “Six Degrees of Separation: What Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences,” is a leading proponent of single-sex schools. Single-sex schools are not without critics though. Jaclyn Zubrzycki’s article, “Single-Gender Schools Scrutinized,” claims that single-sex environments “are not inherently beneficial for boys or most girls.” When considering both Zubrycki’s and Sax’s findings, it would seem that the ideal solution to liberate the American education system of gender...
Instructors of a class need to observe their students to notice which gender type are speaking out more in classroom discussions, and find out if their classroom fits the standards of a male dominated talking classroom. If an instructor finds their classroom fits the mold they should seek a new method that aims at males and females to receive an equal opportunity, or use different methods that some males prefer, and some that females like better. Following advice from Krupnick, “Teachers should learn each student 's name and make sure to use names frequently, so that all students know they are recognized members of the class” (373). Making all students feel comfortable in class leaves the students more relaxed and could leave students feeling comfortable to contribute during classroom discussions.
The teacher tossed a Styrofoam basketball to the outstretched arms of a fifth grade boy. Catching the ball was the incentive for the boys to point out missing conventions in a paragraph. The teacher projected a paragraph on the board with omitted punctuation for the students to add. The other boys in the class watched him as he went to the board to add the missing comma and then tossed the ball back to the teacher. A few seconds later, other arms shot up in the air to point out other missing conventions (Stotsky). A simple incentive of competition for the boys made them enjoy learning and actually got them to participate in class. Although single-sex classrooms can develop stereotypes for both genders, separating boys and girls can be beneficial for the students. Single-sex classes are more effective because they raise test scores, create fewer distractions, and make kids interested in school.
Finally, there is no one sex school is going to be right for every student. There are many advantages and disadvantages mentioned in that essay before. But it's thought all over the world that the coeducation is preferred worldwide. About 90 % of schools all over the world are stuck to co-education. Mixed-sex education has achieved higher success rate. They also graduate students who are settled emotionally and able to deal with the real society. "There are not any dominant blessings for single-sex schools on academic grounds. Studies all over the world have failed to expose any major variations.'' - Academician Alan Smothers, director of education and employment analysis at the University of Buckingham 2011.
The proponents of single-sex education argue that boys and girls have differing needs and that their styles of learning are different. Education which respects personal differences must take this into account. ( Mullins 124) Single-gender schools seem logical, than, to a public that accepts that gender differences are real and likes the idea of expanding choices. (Silv...
The first all female schools began in the early 1800’s. These academies favored more traditional gender roles, women being the home makers and the men being the bread winners. The first generation of educated women was the result of single-sex colleges in 1873. Wendy Kaminer, an investigative journalist, states that “single-sex education was not exactly a choice; it was a cultural mandate at a time when sexual segregation was considered only natural” (1). Women of this time were technically not allowed to attend school with males. Feminists of this time worked hard to integrate the school system and by the early 1900’s, single sex classrooms were a thing of the past. In 1910, twenty-seven percent of colleges were for men only, fifteen percent were for women only and the remainders were coed. Today, women outnumber men among college graduates (Kaminer 1). After all the hard work of early feminists, there are thousands of people today who advocate bringing back the single sex classroom.
Some people think that single sex schools are good because girls and boys feel free to talk, ask and raise their hands without being made fun of, "The theoretical approach termed 'girl power' argues that girls lag behind boys in some subject in co-ed classrooms." (predit, 2014). However, Single sex schools are very bad because it affects children attitude, they will find difficulty in communicating with their colleagues in college as they were secluded and didn't interact with other sex in school. Boys and girls should know from a young age how to deal with the opposite sex, instead of facing that when they become adults, and don't have experience on what to do. Students in single-sex classrooms will one day live and work side-by-side with members of the opposite sex .Educating students in single-sex schools restrains their chance to work helpfully and cooperate effectively with parts of the inverse sex. "It is not long before the youth of today will be the parents, co-workers and leaders of tomorrow" (strauss, 2012). "Anything we organize along any variable, if we're saying boys he...