Single-sex schooling education, and its counterpart co-educational schooling education, are two types of educational setting where male and female students attend either separate-gender schools or mix-gender schools. Before the 19th century, single-sex schooling was commonly constructed due to various traditional or religious background. Especially before the Reformation, education, as a crucial aspect of civilization, was catered for men and privileged classes as the women had few rights to receive education. After Reformation, co-education was introduced to preach the bible to all the boys and girls and then during the 19th century, increasing amounts of co-educational schools were set up in the western Europe and colonial areas. Nowadays, …show more content…
Similarly, D. Leonard (2007) proposed that men in UK who attended single-sex schools were more likely to be divorced in their early 40s than their counterparts in co-educational schools. Besides, opponents of single-sex education who drew on a social justice perspective argued that gender segregation could be viewed as a kind of discrimination similar with race segregation or social class segregation substantially. This kind of setting with more explore to same-sex peers would cause boys tend to be more aggressive (Martin & Fabes, 2001) and both genders tend to be more gender stereotyped (Jackson & Smith, …show more content…
However, the public may be misled therefore. One has to caution that single-sex schools in Hong Kong usually have a long history and good reputation, which gather students who have good academic ability already. It means that students who are predicted to have good academic grade in single-sex schools would achieve a similar effect even though in co-educational schools, since there are pre-existing differences between students in the different types of school in Hong
There is a long history of single-sex schooling, in which males and females attend specific classes or schools only with members of their same sex. This separation of genders may be done for educational purposes or in combination with other factors, such as social interactions that occur between male and female students. There is some support for the idea that single-sex schooling can be beneficial, especially for outcomes related to academic achievement and more positive academic aspirations (Lee, 2008). Although, there are many benefits of children attending single-sex schools, evidence shows that sex segregation can also gender stereotyping and legitimizes institutional sexism (Kennedy, 2000).
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)
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.
In this paper I will use a multitude of research that shows scholarly evidence on why single sex education is harmful to one’s over all wellbeing and physiological health throughout one’s life. Single sex education is defined, as “the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools”(Pinzler, p. 785, 2005). The controversy over single sex education involves aspects such as its effectiveness and social ramifications of binary genders. Supports of single sex education believe that there are fewer distractions because everyone is of the same sex. Supporters also believe single sex education is also seen as a way to break down stereotypes such as women not doing well in the math and science field. They believe that single sex education helps males also break out of typical gender roles such as hyper masculinity. However, proponents believe separating girls and boys makes little to no difference in their academic achievement and is actually more harmful to your identity.
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
Sokol, Marlene. "ADVOCATES DEFEND SINGLE-GENDER EDUCATION; Criticism of the Approach as Being Ineffective Will Only Heighten, a Proponent Predicts." St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 9 Oct. 2011: 1B. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Dec. 2013.
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...
There are many reasons that parents, students and administrators look down upon single gender education. One of the largest of these reasons is the issue of stereotypes. According to Kim Gandy, presi...
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...
Pahlke, Erin, J.S. Hyde, Mertz, J.E. “Effects of Single-Sex Compared With Coeducational School on Mathematics and Science Achievement: Data From Korea.” Journal of Educational Psychology 105.2 (2013): 444-452. EBSCO 18 February 2014.
Single-sex schools provide students with a better opportunity to take courses they are interested and want to succeed in. As Sullivan continues, “the gender norm enforcement model” makes it, “harder for girls to show interest and ability in maths and sciences, and for boys to show interest and ability in English and modern languages, in mixed settings than in single-sex settings” (263). It is more likely that the gender stereotypes will be prevalent in a co-ed school. Therefore, a girl’s or boy’s perception of themselves will be lower in a more “masculine” or “feminine” subject. As Ra’ana Malik points out, “…boys are more likely to pursue their actual interest in the single sex schools, rather than being pressured by stereotypes to pursue ‘traditional’ boy’s courses in the coeducational schools” (150). The pressure to choose atypical courses is lessened in a single-sex school, letting students take a course appealing to them. However, in single-sex schools, it has been argued that girls and boys will perceive their skills to be higher in the gender-stereotyped subjects. The perceptions change and, “girls….[are] less likely to see themselves as ‘below
This problem occurs in schools everywhere and is starting to become more evident in today's society. The problem is that boys and girls learning potential are not being reached when put into the same teaching atmosphere. Girls seem to be out smarting boys in many classes. While boys excel in math and sciences and girls seem to be better in English. The styles in which boys and girls feel comfortable with are extremely different. The learning styles of girls usually contain socializing and context. For instance, most girls like to talk in small groups about the current discussion. They also like hands on activities or real life situations to compare things to. Boys are confrontational and formal. They need to be challenged by their teachers to help motivate them to become better students and be prepared. In contrast girls do not like to be confronted by teachers who are asking for an immediate answers. In most cases, girls seem to be more reserved and modest than boys about their intelligence ("What are someÉ) are. Their differences may not seem evident but make a difference to reaching their highest learning potential.
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.
Stotsky, S. "The Promise of Single-Sex Classes." EBSCO Publishing. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
For the most part, the students enjoyed the single-gender classes with, “62 percent stating they could focus better without the opposite sex present” (p.5). The sentiments did change a little as the students progressed from 6th grade to 8th. “Both boys and girls in 6th grade referred to their opposite-gender peers as “noisy” and “annoying”” (p.5), showing their support for the single-gender classes. Whereas, by 7th grade the boys were seeing a problem with bullying and the girls were beginning to experience some cattiness. One of the 8th-grade boys felt the answer to the bullying problem could be solved by joint gender classes. His feelings were that “the guys who pick on us would be more interested in impressing the girls,” (p.7) if they were in a mixed gender classroom.