The Single-Sex Education - Coursework Example

Compare and contrast The aim of the work is to choose the adequate policy and to critically assess it from the viewpoint of its advantages and disadvantages. The choice has been made towards the discussion of the single-sex education. The question as for should girls and boys be studied separately, has been the subject of discussion for many years, especially in the US; several major studies have been conducted un order to come to the definite conclusion – whether single-sex education is beneficial and bring better educational results. However, there is still no single answer as for the prevalence of single-sex education and thus it will be interesting to look what advantages and disadvantages this kind of education gives to its participants (students). Introduction It should be noted, that the difficulty of distinguishing the principal advantages and disadvantages of the single-sex education is in the fact, the single-sex classes are formed with various aims and have various implications; the researches conducted in this area, usually lack uniformity; this is why the basis for the single-sex education in this work will be taken as the conscious choice of parents to teach their children separately from the children of the opposite sex; this will give broader grounds for seeing the disadvantages of this kind of education. Thesis Single-sex education is ambiguous area, and besides its advantages it also possesses disadvantages, as any other notion; I suppose that through all the advantages single sex-education gives, it still becomes the basis for gender stereotyping and lacks socializing, which is essential for children besides providing them with scientific knowledge. The advantages for the single-sex education are: 1. Better preparation for the roles which girls and boys play in the society; 2. Enhancing better academic achievement; 3. Better discipline and avoiding gender bias. The disadvantages are: reinforcing gender stereotypes; getting mixed messages about gender; concentration on educational aims, and lack of socializing. Advantages One of the advantages which is implied when a girl or a boy is sent to a single-sex class, is that he (she) will be better prepare to the different roles men and women play in the adult society. These differences touch the roles, the sexual and social behavior which girls and boys should display when adults. In these cases, it appears, boys and girls were separated because of assumptions about their physical abilities and characteristics, their social and personal functioning, or beliefs held by adults regarding "appropriate" interaction among or between the sexes. However, in connection with this, the question appears – whether such type of education is a kind of sexual discrimination and should it damage natural behavioral patterns which both girls and boys should have in the adult society? Single-sex classes are often established to enhance educational achievement; it is no doubt, that when girls and boys participate in coeducation, their experiences are absolutely different from those whey have in the single-sex classes. It is stated, that single-sex classes are deprived of gender stereotyping and gender bias, especially on the side of boys towards girls, and this is one of the major advantages of single-sex education, which also makes it possible to achieve better academic results. Girls receive less attention and are given fewer opportunities for learning and problem solving than boys. In addition, girls may feel inhibited and constrained in some mixed-sex classes, thus becoming less motivated to engage in classroom activities and in turn performing less well as a result. These findings were particularly evident in math, science, and computer-related subjects. Another advantage, which can be attributed to the single-sex education, is the striving for better discipline, behavior and participation; actually, this advantage is the logical consequence of the previous one; with the absence of any gender bias, boys and girls are more open for participation in various school activities. As far as boys often take part and display anti-social behavior, formation of all-male classes has become the means of establishing better discipline among them; in this relation single-sex education has become the instrument for better enthusiasm among all participants. However, in connection with this advantage another implication is seen: whether trying to separate girls and boys from each other in the desire to decrease anti-social behavior and gender bias won’t lead to difficulties of both genders to cope with the social surrounding in future. The disadvantage of such separation is easily seen through the explanation, that students need to understand and to be able to cope with natural school environments, and separation of genders makes it impossible, which will later lead to difficulties in their social adult life, when they won’t be able to separate themselves from the opposite sex anymore. The advantages which are carried by single-sex classes, are mostly related to the benefits which girls acquire through this separation. The first advantages, that gender separation for girls makes them feel more comfortable and thus gives girls more opportunities to explore the world. The second advantage is that being separated from boys, girls have better possibility to analyze their social and sexual identity, and the variety of roles which women play in modern society; but is it possible to fully consider these roles being educated separately from boys? I suppose, the list of such roles in single-sex class won’t be complete. It is supposed that separation of boys from girls is especially useful through the period of adolescence development of girls, when they start to realize their gender identity; it is suggested that the period of early adolescence among girls is connected with their concerns as for the sexual development, separation suggests especially salient advantage for girls; in the later stages of development co-education is better for both boys and girls to get used to their roles in the society and to cope with the concerns as for their sexual development. Disadvantages The list of advantages is rather essential, but as it has been shown, each of the advantages implies the disadvantage, and it is still under questions, whether single-sex education is beneficial in the light of the notion of sexual discrimination and better socialization of both boys and girls. It is important to understand that though single-sex education solves many problems, but it also becomes the pushing factor for other problems which should be listed as follows: single-sex education reinforces traditional gender stereotypes, which means that boys are taught in the more traditional and individualistic manner than girls, for whom nurturing and cooperative style of education is more applicable; the messages about gender which students in single-sex classes receive, are rather mixed and are not as definite, as they would be in the co-educational schools. Girls are taught in the light of the restrictions i\towards clothing and appearance, while men are used to the thought that they are primary wage earners and that women are emotionally weaker and thus should be protected; the principal stereotyping which is present in the single-sex schools is that boys are ‘bad’ while girls are ‘good’; the principal disadvantage is probably in the fact that while single-sex education provides concentration of the students on educational aims and not on gender relations, while they appear in co-educational surrounding it causes them major adaptation problems (girls may receive unwanted comments and be touched by boys, etc.) Conclusion The single-sex education certainly gives a number of advantages, especially relating to the educational purposes – it provides students with better grounds for achieving academic results without being distracted by the ‘minor’ gender issues, however the question is still relevant, whether these ‘minor’ issues are really minor, and as education has its principal aim not only to give certain amount of scientific knowledge to the students, but to teach them better socializing with people, especially with those of the opposite sex, the advantageous character of the single-sex education is put under serious doubts. As any notion, the problem of single-sex education is dubious, and one is coming to conclusion, that despite the gender issues and behavioral problems which exist in co-educational schools, they give better grounds for the future life of students, who should be aware of the ways to cope with these issues in their adult lives, and thus should be prepared to them through education and development in mixed gender classes. The list of advantages can become an attractive basis for sending children to study in single-sex classes; however, the list of disadvantages, among which are gender stereotyping and gender bias, have not yet been improved, and thus co-education remains the best way of teaching and preparing children for the life in the adult society, where both genders interact on the daily basis. Read More