Is single-sex education beneficial?
If you walked into the average public school classroom in the United States, you would expect to find an equal number of boys and girls learning alongside each other. However, statistics show that this is not always true. According to 2010 data from NCES and the U.S. Census Bureau, from prekindergarten to senior year of high school, male students outnumber female students significantly in public classrooms: 54 percent to 46 percent in pre-K and 51 percent to 49 percent in elementary and secondary education (NCES). So with these stats being disproportionate in the typical American classroom, is it more beneficial to separate the sexes in a learning environment? There has been much debate on this topic for years but it is very clear that girls and boys benefit from separate academic instruction.
Have you ever felt nervous to speak up in class? Scared of what the other gender might think? You are not alone. In middle school I constantly experienced self-doubt. I would quietly listen to what others had to say in my English class of 25 students, and I rarely participated. When the boys dominated the discussion, I was hesitant to join in for fear of being judged by them. It was quite embarrassing having to wait for the teacher to call on me when all I could think about was what other people would think or if the boys would laugh at me. When it came to head to high school, I chose to attend an all-girls boarding school. This transition to an all-girls school completely changed the way I approached my academics. I have felt valued in all of my classes and now as a senior, I have total confidence in my academic skills and in my ability to speak up.
During a three-year study, trained observers visited more than 100 elementary school classrooms in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and took note of some of the student-teacher interactions. Boys called out eight times as often as girls did and when a boy yelled out, the teacher ignored the “raise your hand” rule while praising their contribution. Girls who called out were reminded to raise their hands. Boys also were encouraged to solve problems on their own, but teachers helped girls who were stuck on problems (NEA). It is no surprise that there is male dominance in classrooms across the United States and that boys and girls are regularly treated differently in coeducational settings. Single-sex education benefits both boys and girls and studies have shown that when boys are in single-gender classrooms, they are more successful in school and more likely to pursue a wide range of activities. Girls who learn in all-girl environments are believed to be more comfortable responding to questions and sharing their opinions in class. My own personal experience supports these studies, and it makes sense that students are more likely to speak openly in the classroom and attend to their studies more diligently when they are surrounded by others of the same gender.
Attending a single-sex school also prepares young men and women to be successful in the future. According to the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, graduates of girls’ schools are more likely to frequently seek alternative solutions to a problem and explore topics on their own, even when not required. This is also true for women in STEM fields. Girls’ school graduates are 6 times more likely to major in math, science, and technology compared to girls who attend coed schools (NCGS). Some may argue that there are not segregated workplaces so there should not be segregated schools, however, attending a single-sex school prepares young men and women for the types of experiences they may encounter they enter the workforce. Girls, in particular, are more capable of managing challenges when they have the confidence to speak up for themselves. It is important to acknowledge that boys and girls learn differently and by attending a same-sex school, students have more opportunities to excel in all areas, academic, extracurricular, and social, without distractions or pressures.
Works Cited
“Infographics.” NCGS, www.ncgs.org/advocacy/infographics/.
“Research Spotlight on Single-Gender Education.” National Education Association, www.nea.org/tools/17061.htm.
“Gender Equity in Education.” National Center for Education Statistics , U.S. Department of Education, June 2012, www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/gender-equity-in-education.pdf.
