Single-sex Schools Offer Higher Quality of Educational Experience to Students than Coeducational Ones - Essay Example

Single-Sex and Co-Education Introduction Education, or the need to be educated, has had its importance stated, argued and accepted worldwide for a long time. However, the method of imparting knowledge to children today is not uniform and the ideal educational set-up is still strongly argued and unclear. Some schools of thought believe that single-sex schools build a comfortable environment for the students to flourish and advance academically. The counter school of thought believes that life cannot be led around people with the same gender. Every individual is bound to mingle with and communicate with the opposite sex and so there should be no difference in the education of either. Education pattern in today’s day in age has been altered greatly as compared to that of yesteryears. This is the age of gender equality and households with both the sexes being bread earners. Conservative societies of the world introduced single-sex school initially to provide girls with an environment that is specialized according to their needs and comfortable. It was believed that keeping the two sexes apart allows them to grow up to have their own significant personalities and their development is not hampered by competition from the other sex or any distractions. The fact that social skills are as important as academic education today, has initiated the wide scale debate regarding the kind of educational set up that is perfect. With several debates regarding the ‘for’ and ‘against’ stance for co-education, this paper will shed light on both the aspects to prove its point of stance i.e. in favor of co-education. Body Before starting off, it is imperative that we understand the evolution of single-sex schools and the purpose they are believed to achieve. The practice was initiated in England first, as the societal values did not approve of intermingling of sexes at an adolescent age. They believed that if put together, many societal issues can emerge like harassment, male dominance issues, sexual affairs etc. Apart from this, the notion was that both the genders will advance more comfortably in an environment that supports them and have students that are alike in gender. Boys were schooled at institutions while girls where home schooled by governesses. The English being the pioneers of educational systems, many countries looked up to them for benchmarks that they could follow for their own education systems. This is how the trend of single-sex schools emerged. It entered the United States and stayed there till the late 19th century, but as the aspect of modernization is predominant there, single sex schools are now scarce, being limited to only private communities and some catholic schools. With the change in the overall psyche of the people worldwide, and women empowerment being one of the major game changers for education system, the women were accepted as equals everywhere. This demanded that they are educated at the same level as men to be able to compete with and support them in different walks of life. Women were no longer confined to households and humanities education and this started the trend of co-educational environment. Co-education, like the name suggests, refers to an educational setup where men and women are educated equally. In contrast to single-sex schools, both the genders get to interact with each other, work together and maintain friendships with each other. In a world where social skills are imperative to get anywhere, co-education allows both the genders to be equipped with such skills. They tend to be more socially comfortable and possess positive interpersonal attitudes. There have been several studies to gauge the effect of the education system on both the genders. The identical outcomes of almost all researches conclude that academically, girls fare well in single sex school and boys do well in a co-educational environment. The reasons are not clear so far but the general perception for such a conclusion is that the comparison of the two is quite difficult as the single sex schooling system is not enforced at large. However, girls could be doing better in a single gender school because the environment is less disruptive and distracting due to the absence of boys. All boys school however has double the amount of boys as compared to a co-educational institution and thus, they tend to be less focused and rowdy (Smithers 3). Males tend to build a dominant air around them and that is what restricts and hampers female students from advancing in a coeducational environment. This hindrance is not a justification though. In a world where girls are expected to compete head to head with boys, they should be in an environment where they are taught the same subjects by the same teachers in an environment that treats them equally. This teaches boys gender equality and this attitude of theirs is what is cemented when they grow up, making the society a non-gender discriminating one. A study conducted by Cairns (1990) revealed that girls show higher self-esteem when single gender schooled (Anfara 55). In contrast, Foon (1988) conducted a research on a sample size of 1675 schools in Australia that revealed that there was no difference in the self-esteem of girls from single sex schools and co-educational ones (Anfara 55). However, an interesting find was that boys from single gender schools have a higher self-esteem. This is because the female teachers in a co-educational environment form an esteem barrier for the male students due to finer performance of the female ones. Gender discrimination is also eliminated through co-education because girls and boys are taught the same subject regardless of some being deemed as more masculine or feminine. One’s inclination towards a subject is determined by teaching them everything at the same level in a non-discriminatory manner. Thus, it is evident that co-education helps in the development of social skills and prepares students for the practical life. It instills a sense of gender equality in their minds and makes the learning environment peaceful and balanced. The studies conducted are generally non-conclusive due to the counter arguments but in today’s world it is imperative that academics go hand in hand with social skills and attitudes. The counter arguments in case of co-education cannot be ignored. Like mentioned earlier, the comfort level of each gender within an environment of their likeness is higher and allows them to develop accordingly. There is a positive aspect to it, but the real world is not so. In practical life, humans are bound to interact with, live with, and socialize with the opposite gender. Thus, they should be equipped with the societal attitude that is necessary for such a setup. Where the success of female students cannot be argued in single sex environment, their presence in a co-educational environment makes it less disruptive and relationship with the facilitators is generally better, also honing them for the real world (Mael 135). Opposite sex is a distraction and thus, it hampers the academic advancement of both. This notion is based on a common perception and no study proves that this is so. Even if we assume that this is a case, when the student steps into the professional world he will be new to interaction with the opposite gender. The chances of ‘attraction’ are going to be higher due to lack of it throughout his/her life, this inexperience could lead to issues like sexual harassment. So it is better if they are subjected to such an environment from the start. This will result in less societal adjustment issues and a sense of equality. In conclusion, the counter arguments mentioned above are just some of the many that have been highlighted over the years. No research has given solid results regarding which schooling system is better. The quality of education imparted is also dependent upon the curriculum covered, teachers, facilities etc., and gender mix cannot be the only determinant for the quality of education being imparted at an institution. Though, in today’s world, socializing and interaction has become a key trend all over. It is imperative that students are made to study in an environment that teaches them gender equality and acknowledgement of the other’s presence (Lee 112). They should be abreast with the expected societal norms and this is possible only if they have not been restricted to mingling amongst the same gender. References: Smithers, Alan, and Pamela Robinson. The paradox of single-sex and co-educational schooling. Buckingham: Carmichael Press, 2006. Anfara Jr, Vincent, and Steven B. Mertens. "Do single-sex classes and schools make a difference." Middle School Journal 40.2 (2008): 52. Mael, Fred A. "Single-sex and coeducational schooling: Relationships to socioemotional and academic development." Review of educational research 68.2 (1998): 101-129. Lee, Valerie E., Helen M. Marks, and Tina Byrd. "Sexism in single-sex and coeducational independent secondary school classrooms." Sociology of education (1994): 92-120. Read More