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Debate points against single gender schools
Advantages and disadvantages of single-gender schools
Pros and cons of single gender classrooms
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With the passage of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the idea of single-gender classrooms has been on the rise. No Child Left Behind also included an amendment asking the U.S. Department of Education to set standards for experimentation with single-gender classrooms and schools. Since being made effective, many states have started such experiments with single-gender classrooms, so it made me start thinking. Would single-gender classrooms improve the quality of education in American public schools? While coming up with research, I found that the word “classrooms” is broad enough to include single-gender schools as well as coeducational schools where only some classes are taught separately so that more in-depth research could be evaluated. I have found that single-gender classrooms benefit students both scholastically and in later life success, they help students develop positive attitudes about education and about themselves, and are very desirable to students, parents, and teachers.
Through my research, I have found that single-gender classrooms benefit students scholastically, which results in life, marriage, and occupational success. Huffman said that The Riordan Study, done by Cornelius Riordan, used 58,270 randomly selected students to analyze the differences between mixed-gender schools and single-gender schools. In analyzing the data, the author put in “controls for parental structures, race, sex, family size, and socioeconomic backgrounds.” The longitudinal study of educational performance found that both boys and girls who went to single-gender schools outperformed mixed-gender schools by almost a full academic year and both went on in adulthood to have greater occupational success. In addition, the study found that g...
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...s." ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development). n.d. Web. 22 April 2014.
Huffman, Ronald J. Jr. "Single-Sex Schools and Classrooms as an Effective School Structure that will Promote an Effective Learning Environment, Without External Youth Subculture Distractions." Durham Public Schools. 15 October 2012. Web. 21 April 2014.
Linder-Altman, Dale. "Single-gender classes work, teachers and parents say." The Times and Democrat. 12 December 2010. Web. 20 April 2014.
Longley, Jennifer. "High school students say single-sex schools are an academic plus." Christian Science Monitor 7 July 1997: 13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 April 2014.
"Single-sex education spreads." USA Today. 13 October 2008.: Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 April 2014.
Whelan, Christine B. "Singles." National Review 50.17 (1998): 34-36. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 April 2014.
Sex Education. (2010). In Current Issues: Macmillan social science library. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&contentModules=&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=2&catId=GALE%7C00000000LVZ0&activityType=&documentId=GALE%7CPC3021900154&source=Bookmark&u=byuidaho&jsid=97f094e06dbbf5f2bcaec07adbde8e61
It seems that single-sex education perpetuates gender stereotypes and promotes gender bias among students (Taylor). Gender-separate education requires schools and teachers to create gender-oriented courses, facilities, and learning environment. As a result, sing-sex schools exacerbate sexist attitudes and “feelings of superiority toward women” (Guarisco). It is fair to argue that the best way to achieve gender equality is to promote rather than eliminate interaction among girls and boys. However, girls in the sex-mixed class receive less attention from teachers than boys, which may lead to gender bias. More precisely, boys always have disciplinary issues, such as interruption; teachers have to pay more attention to boys’ behaviors in order to proceed the lecture more smoothly. Girls may feel less important and supportive in male-dominated classes; boys may think that males are smarter and far superior than females. Single-sex schools can address both girls’ and boys’ issues of gender stereotypes directly and accordingly. Male students may be freer to engage in some activities they have not considered before in mixed schools. For example, boys feel pressure to follow some non-macho interests when girls stay around them; however, the all-boys schools eliminate their pressure toward gender stereotyping to pursue music, dance, and drawing. Single-sex schools would help boys explore and develop themselves. Also, girls in sex-separate schools show more confidence and power (Guarisco). They could receive full attention from teachers and express their opinions in science classes without worrying about the boys’ banter. They may realize that they are as important as boys. Hence, both girls and boys can be free from gender stereotypes and benefit from a same-sex learning
Stevenson, Betsey, Stephanie Coontz, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Helen Fisher. 2010. “For Women, Redefining Marriage Material.” The New York Times. February 21
One of the benefits of attending single sex schools is that it may be helpful for outcomes related to academic achievement and other powerful aspirations. Some of the advantages of attending a single sex school are that students are readily eager to work hard and compete amongst themselves, other than feeling embarrassed or being easily distracted by students of the opposite sex (Lee, 2008). Additionally, males tend to overestimate their academic abilities; while females generally underestimate their abilities and work harder to compensate. Single sex schools, can also broaden the educational prospects of students, by removing the disparities of “male dominated subjects” vs. “female dominated subjects.” Studies show that students attending single sex schools feel more welcoming and confident in their choice of studies.
Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
Sending a child to a gender based school, is a very big decision to make. The decision is so big, that looking at what research has to say about the topic could alter one’s decision to send their child to a gender based school. “Educators must apply different approaches in teaching make, and female students” (Gurian). This is said by Gurian, because he also believes that boys and girls learn differently. “Social pressures can be gentler and your child can learn at his own pace” (Kennedy).
According to Leonardo Sax, the founder of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education, “...whenever girls and boys are together, their behavior inevitably reflects the larger society in which they live” (Stanberry, 3). (1) It is a part of nature for girls and boys to socialize and get prepared for the real-world and develop skills to interact with another gender. (2) In the real-world it is conventional for both genders to work together and communicate everyday. (3) According with the journal “Forbes”, when students are separated by gender, they miss an opportunity of working together with different perspectives and developing their own, new, and unique thoughts as well as ideas (Saunders, 1). (4) Advocates often argue for schools to be a reflection of a ‘real’ world to prepare young adults for the future (Jackson, Ivinson, 15). (5) When both genders learn together, they learn from one another and benefit from absorbing various learning styles (Saunders, 4). (6)
A schools most crucial factor is the efficiency of its education system. This is the ability the school possesses in order to ensure that its students reach the best of their ability and achieve high grades. Single sex schooling through recent studies has shown that there may be fewer educational advancements from separating sexes, as once thought. It is an important point to take into consideration that most, if not ...
Wolfgang, Benjamin. "Boys in One Class, Girls in Another at More Schools; Single-sex Option Grows, but Some Still Skeptical." Washington Times [Washington, DC] 2 Sept. 2011: A07. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Dec. 2013.
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 single-sex format creates opportunities that do not exist in the coed classroom. (Edison 1) Researchers are unaware that both genders brains function differently. This lack of knowledge may be why the real truth about single-sex education being more efficient than co-ed education has not been discovered. Some say single-sex education may be the key for a brighter generation. It shows to improve test score dramatically. The number of public schools experimenting with single sex classes is now reported to be more than 350. (Silva 130) Some research also shows that single-sex classes have a more welcoming atmosphere. Single-sex education improves grades while coed educations keep an average pace.
Single sex education is a controversial battle that will most likely continue for decades. However, research and studies have shown in multiple cases and circumstances that single sex education is an extremely important tool that should be utilized in numerous situations. Many people think that dividing students based on sex will perpetuate gender discrimination; however, this kind of education may bridge more gaps than people realize. Not only do boys and girls develop and function differently, they are distracted by one another. Eliminating distractions and making classrooms conducive to each gender and learning style will ultimately result in a tremendous incline in academic grades and student participation.
Garner, R. (2009). Why single-sex schools are bad for your health (if you're a boy). THE INDEPENDENT.
Hoffman, Bobby, B.A. Badgett, Parker, R. “The Effect of Single-Sex Instruction in a Large, Urban, At-Risk High School.” Journal of Educational Research 102.01 October 2008: 16-28. EBSCO 18 February 2014.