Differences between Pupils from Mixed and Single-Sex Schools in their Enjoyment - Term Paper Example

Should high schools in America be single or mixed gender, (should high schools be all boy all girl or should they be mixed) Learning can be influenced by various factors such as physical, social, intellectual or emotional. Hence while analyzing the effects of any given type of educational setting, such other factors must also be taken into consideration. Both single-sex, as well as co-educational environment may provide similar kind of facilities, infrastructure and syllabus to its students, however the outcome may differ regardless of the facilities offered. This is on account of the presence of various other variables which play an important role in a student’s learning process. The same is discussed at length in the paper, to arrive at a logical conclusion, regarding the viability and credibility of single-sex education as the most preferred and beneficial environment for learning. Introduction: Today there has been a renewed interest in assessing the type of educational environment for students – i.e. single gender or coeducational setting and its likely influences positive or otherwise, on the learning abilities of the students enrolled therein. Various claims have been made by supporters and critics alike, regarding the likely impact of the educational environment or type of schooling on fostering the leadership skills, risks associated with sexual harassment, availability of better opportunities as well as eliminating or fuelling gender stereotypes. While some researchers have stressed on the advantages and significance of single-sex education as the single most tool of enhancing the educational experience of the students and securing their long term prospects, yet others have vehemently opposed the same, categorizing such a system as essentially reintroducing gender barriers and providing differing treatment to students on the basis of their gender. Although, with respect to any given educational setting, learning outcomes are a consequence of an interplay of various factors – such as, social, emotional, psychological, physical and intellectual and can hardly be construed as resulting from a single variable. The educational policy of the schools, composition of subjects taught, family background of the students etc work collaboratively towards enhancing the student’s overall performance. Evolution and Benefits of Single Sex Education: The change in socio-cultural environments have brought about significant transformations with regard to the opportunities available for both male as well as female students and hence played a major role in revolutionizing their educational experiences (Bracey, 2007). During the early 20th century, the country witnessed a shift from the highly conventional educational framework – that of single-sex education to a new model of education – i.e. co-educational setting, which was not only palpable but also inevitable, given the large scale socio-cultural transformations in the American society. The rationale, from the male perspective, behind such a shift was to control and manage the supposedly disorderly behavior of the male students by including female students in the classrooms; while from the female perspective, it was believed that the girls required a just and an equitable educational setting which can prepare them for the ‘real world’ outside of their homes (Bracey, 2006), since the turn of the century had witnessed the emergence of the working class females. Other researchers such as Riordan (2002) believed that educating both the genders in a common setting i.e. together in one classroom, was an economically viable alternative, which was needed during the beginning of the twentieth century. On the other hand, researchers in support of the single-sex education had a completely different perspective. Cohen (2000) stated that until the 1950s – 60s, the male students received highly differentiated treatment as compared to their female counterparts, in terms of better educational facilities, programs as well as opportunities for learning and extracurricular activities. While the female students, in the same educational setting (i.e. co-educational) received lesser importance a fact which was both extremely blatant and yet perceptible to those with vested interests in educating the females. However regardless of the many criticisms put forward by researchers and academic scholars alike, there are indeed various benefits of single sex educational setting. The benefits of single-sex education extend far beyond the academic domain. Research has shown that single-sex education has the influence of widening the prospects of students’ by offering them the freedom to discover their own strengths and concerns, devoid of any gender barriers. According to a study conducted by a British researcher, on a group of 13 – 14 year olds, for comparing their attitudes towards various subjects, it was observed that students enrolled in co-educational institutions displayed gender-specific preferences with regard to the choice of subjects i.e. the male students in co-educational schools invariably showed preference towards subjects such as math and science which are considered as ‘male oriented’ subjects as opposed to the seemingly ‘girly’ subjects such as art or drama. The same study conducted on boys in a single sex school, revealed that they showed greater interest in all kinds of subjects regardless of the social stigma attached to it. They chose subjects such as drama, biology as well as languages. Similarly the girls in single-sex schools showed higher preference for subjects such as math and science as compared to the girls enrolled in co-educational schools (Stables, 1990). A similar study conducted by the University of Virginia in 2003 revealed similar results. The study showed that boys enrolled in single-sex schools are twice as likely to choose subjects such as art, music, drama, or languages as compared to the boys enrolled in a co-educational setting (James, Richards, 2003). It was thus concluded that while single-sex schools tend to break gender related stereotypes the co-ed schools tend to reinforce them. In yet another study conducted by Trickett & Trickett (1982) comparing the attitudes of students in single-sex and co-educational (private) schools, with regard to academics it was observed that students enrolled in single-sex education displayed a positive attitude towards academics in general, and were far more eager to learn as compared to students enrolled in co-educational schools. The finding was based on observation of both the sexes. It was further observed that students enrolled in a single-sex educational setting excelled in organizational skills and displayed higher participation in classroom activities as compared to students from co-educational schools. According to NASSPE (National Association for Single-Sex Public Education) the single-sex educational environment offers various benefits and opportunities which are normally not offered by the co-educational schools. For instance, certain educational strategies which can be effectively implemented in an all-girls or all-boys classroom cannot be applied in a co-educational setting. In a recent three-year pilot study, conducted by researchers at the Stetson University, Florida, at the Woodward Avenue Elementary School, aimed at comparing the behavior of students in single-sex and co-educational classrooms, students belonging to either type of educational setting were tested on various parameters on the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). It was observed that the reading performance of girls from single-sex schools was far better than that of girls from co-educational schools, despite having exactly similar curriculum and facilities. For the purpose of this study, students from single-sex and co-ed schools were interchanged to observe the difference in their learning behavior. Significant changes were observed in case of boys from co-ed schools who were transferred to single-sex school for this experiment. It was observed that a majority of the boys who were transferred to the single-sex schools displayed higher academic performance, despite being tested as having ADHD and other learning disabilities. Their scores improved significantly when transferred to an all-boys school. According to another study it was observed that girls in single-sex schools performed better than those in co-ed schools in math. The findings of this study are consistent with the findings of other researchers who have made similar claims regarding the better performance of students both boys as well as girls in various subjects, in a single-sex school as compared to their performances in a co-educational setting. Conclusion: In conclusion, there are various views and counter views both in support of and against single-sex and co-educational environment. Thus it is safe to presume that it is not the gender based educational setting alone, that influences higher academic outcomes for boys or girls, but a host of other factors such as socio-economic background of the pupil; school curriculum, objectives and goals; quality of student-teacher interaction as well the apparent genetic and biological differences. Moreover, investing huge amount of financial resources in a bid to investigate the type of educational setting which is more influential and better for students is a complete waste of funds, and the money should instead be invested in more productive alternatives such as enhancing the overall system of education, or improving the existing ones; helping teachers to acquire better knowledge regarding handling students and deal with problems associated with them, such as gender issues, academic performance and other personal and academic concerns. Both the sides have their own points of view which are, both - valid and substantial, yet somehow inconclusive, if viewed only in terms of gender composition. References: Bracey, G. (2007). The success of single-sex education is still unproven. The Education Digest, 72(6) Pp. 22 Bracey, G. (2006). Separate but superior? A review of issues and data bearing on single-sex Education. Education Policy Research Unit. Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Arizona State University. Cohen, P. V., (2000). Women in the Early Republic. Organization of American Historians Magazine of History, 14(2) Pp. 7-11 James, A. N., Richards, H., (2003). Escaping Stereotypes: Educational Attitudes of Male Alumni of Single-sex and Coed schools, Psychology of Men and Masculinity, Vol. 4: Pp. 136-148 NASSPE (2010). Accessed: April 16th 2010 from: < http://www.singlesexschools.org/home.php> Riordan, D. (2002). What Do We Know About the Effects of Single-sex Schools in the Private Sector? Implications for Public Schools. In A. Datnow and L. Hubbard (Eds.) Gender in Policy and Practice: Perspectives on Single-sex and Coeducation Schooling, Routledge and Falmer Publication, Pp. 10-30 Stables, A., (1990). Differences between pupils from mixed and single-sex schools in their enjoyment of school subjects and in their attitudes to science and to school. Educational Review, Vol. 42(3): Pp. 221-230 Trickett, E., Trickett, P., (1982). The Independent School Experience: Aspects of the Normative Environment of Single-sex and Coed Secondary schools, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 74(3): Pp. 374-381 Read More