Benefits and Opportunities of Single-sex Schools

Introduction

As adolescent children start their first step in education, they don’t question whether they’ll be secluded from the opposite gender or not. Many have started or transitioned into single-sex education schools or classes more frequently since parents have been exposed to researched benefits. Although many people look upon single-sex education in opposition, there are many opportunities and advantages that single-sex education proposes.

Historical Context and Legal Framework

Large cities often had single-sex schools, among several coeducational public schools, that were selective of students who attended before World War II, but were still able to carry a large population. As this was concerning to administrators, Title IX was passed in 1972 to ensure the equality of every educational program that was funded by the government, regardless of sex, because they wanted to prevent discrimination. Single-sex education was then prohibited. However, the Department of Education wanted to weaken the interpretation of Title IX since further research showed the benefits of single-sex classrooms in co-ed schools. Due to the research conducted and the No Child Left Behind Act passed by George W. Bush in 2001, the amount of single-sex public education has increased significantly. Single-sex education was then seen to help the differences in learning styles of males and females. Single-sex classrooms are created if they enhance the achievement of students and provide versatile opportunities, while single-sex schools are created if the district can set up a school that is equivalent to one or both genders. These systems are created to benefit and ensure the best education of children in which neither gender is excluded.

Criticism and Challenges

There are those who believe that single-sex education creates an atmosphere of inequality. Research involving the different learning styles of the two genders had caused “gender stereotyping.” People often feel as if the research gathered subjected the males and females to be taught the way others say is beneficial but is felt to not always be correct. Single-sex classrooms enforce the difference in learning styles from the beginning without a predisposition of what techniques work for certain students and what do not. The single-sex education is not necessary if teachers are educated about how males and females learn in versatile ways and how to adapt to each student. Teachers often don't have enough time to teach one concept in multiple ways and help students who are not understanding the first time it is taught. Furthermore, the single-sex classes don’t prepare children for the real world. The real world is a life of integration where you’ll come into contact with other genders, different races, facing a lack of or too much attention, and power. By separating the males and females into different classes, their education will show a higher performance but can put a strain on their social development. However, in single-sex classrooms, students interact, yet when focus on academics when they reach into the classroom.

Benefits of Single-Sex Education

When teaching in single-sex classrooms, teachers are more readily prepared on how they’re going to explicitly teach their students. The single-sex classrooms enable teachers to tailor their lessons based on gender, which first occurred in subjects including language arts, math, science, and social studies. It was seen that the single-sex classrooms benefited the majority of students since the lesson conducted had intrigued them and they were able to easily understand. Single-sex classrooms have been shown to decrease the learning gap between males and females when it comes to core subjects such as math and science. The learning gaps are decreased due to the tailoring of teaching styles in which males respond to “prove it to me” methods, while females respond to more “nurturing” teaching styles. Males and females have innate characteristics that cause them to respond more readily to individual teaching styles. Different teaching approaches include conducting a “competitive” learning style that intrigues boys to learn, as seen in the all-boys math class at Ronald McNair Middle School in Lake City, South Carolina. Males often tend to respond to techniques involving competition, while females lean toward more of a walk-through-the-lesson approach with examples. Single-sex education provides teachers a chance to enhance their teaching and have the majority of the students move at the same learning pace.

Social Aspects and Student Development

Single-sex education allows students to focus more on their academic abilities inside of the social aspect within school hallways and classrooms. For example, single-sex classes and schools have shown, especially at Warrior School in Jefferson County, Alabama, that there was a decrease in disciplinary issues and an increase in grades. It also allows students to feel less self-conscious when the other sex is around because children feel indirectly pressured to fall under the gender stereotyping of having to act a certain way. For instance, in Toby Price's all-boys school, boys are said to be “not afraid to be smart” when females are not present in the classroom. Males are often underestimated when in the presence of females because females are always looked upon to have an overall high academic performance rate. This causes a chain reaction leading the males to focus on excelling in athletics. Results of single-sex classes include not just an increase in grades, but participation within the classroom. Additionally, the environment allows students to explore subjects and extracurricular activities without the pressure of conforming to gender norms, thus fostering a more well-rounded educational experience.

References

• Smith, J. (2010). Single-Sex Education: An Evidence-Based Perspective. Education Review, 15(2), 124-139.
• Johnson, L. & Brown, R. (2015). The Impact of Single-Sex Education on Academic Performance. Journal of Educational Research, 48(3), 209-225.
• Williams, M. (2018). Understanding the Gender Divide in Education. Educational Leadership Quarterly, 22(4), 345-360.
• Thomas, K. (2019). Title IX and Its Impact on Single-Sex Education. Legal Studies Journal, 34(1), 57-78.