The Advantages of Single-Sex Education - Research Paper Example

Topic: The Advantages of Single-sex Education. One of the most difficult decisions many parents have to make is deciding which school to send their children to. Every parent would want their child to study in a classroom environment that stimulates their child’s intellectual growth, and pupils as well to a large extent want to succeed within the academic system. It would be worthwhile to analyze how single-sex schools offer many more advantages to pupils, as compared to those offered by coeducational institutes, and this paper will demonstrate how single-sex education is the best environment in which to develop a pupil’s intellectual ability. Students’ academic performance is better within single-sex schools as compared to in co-educational schools; this claim is supported by a number of research studies performed across numerous schools in many different countries. For instance, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania carried out a study on the children attending schools in Seoul, South Korea, and they found that, single-sex schools are causally linked with both college entrance exam scores and college-attendance rates for both boys and girls. Attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than attending coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Compared with coeducational schools, single-sex schools have a higher percentage of graduates who moved on to four-year colleges. (“Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence") Other research to support the statement that academic performance is boosted within single-sex schools is the study conducted by researchers from Stetson University on the single-sex and coeducational classes at Woodward Avenue Elementary School, Florida. The results of their research were that on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), “boys in coed classes: 37% scored proficient, girls in coed classes: 59% scored proficient, girls in single-sex classes: 75% scored proficient and boys in single-sex classes: 86% scored proficient” (“Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence”). Lastly, in 2002 the National Foundation for Educational Research carried out a study on 2,954 high schools throughout England, and it was found that “both girls and boys did significantly better in single-sex schools than in coed schools,” (“Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence"). Cleary, there exists a positive correlation between academic performance and single-sex education. Also, it is interesting to note that these studies were conducted on students from different schools in different countries; the fact they all produced similar findings lends validity and credibility to the claim that students’ academic performance is significantly boosted in single-sex schools. Also, though the NASSPE did not carry out its own research in revealing that single-sex schools boost academic performance, the studies that it cited guarantee validity and a certain degree of objectivity since the NASSPE did not bring their own prejudices or biases into its research. Additionally, I have reasons to believe that single-sex schools do boost academic performance since there are a number of relatives in my own family who are enrolled at single-sex schools, and comparing their test scores to mine, they perform much better than I do in almost every class. I would not, however, use my own primary source to make the claim that single-sex schools boost academic performance, since my claim rests on the performance of four relatives enrolled at single-sex schools; I cannot make a valid generalization from such a small sample group. Secondary sources like the NASSPE website offer much more valid and reliable data because they collect a myriad of findings from many other sources; there is enough data available to make generalized statements. There are significant biological differences between the brains of males and females, and placing pupils in the school according to their sex can boost their academic performance. Using brain scanning techniques such as fMRI and MRI, researchers have been able to demonstrate the differences in the brain anatomy of males and females. In research carried out by Harriet W. Hanlon, Robert W. Thatcher, and Marvin J. Cline, it was found that girls displayed “EEG coherence peaks in cortical regions known to be associated primarily with concurrent discrimination, language processing, fine motor skills, and social cognition,” whereas boys exhibited these “EEG coherence peaks in cortical regions known to be associated primarily with spatial visual discrimination and executive planning related to gross motor movement, visual targeting, and accessing stored information” (Hanlon, Thatcher, and Cline n.p). There are clearly significant differences between male and female brains, which leads to the conclusion that both sexes are biologically predisposed to perform some tasks better than the other sex. Knowing this, educationalists will be better able to develop the intellect of their male and female pupils by using sex-specific teaching methods. In a study carried out by the researchers at Northwestern University, a group of 31 boys and 31 girls aged between 9 to 15 years were given visual and auditory tests, and it was found that "the information in the tasks got through to girls language areas of the brain- areas associated with abstract thinking through language” (“Boys And Girls Brains Are Different…”). Keeping in mind girls abilities, it would be best to use writing as a means of learning as much as possible in every class, and to encourage as much verbal output and participation from girls as possible. The article goes on to claim that "[i]n boys, accurate performance depended-when reading words- on how hard visual areas of the brain worked. In hearing words, boys performance depended on how hard auditory areas of the brain worked" (“Boys And Girls Brains Are Different…”). Keeping in mind "boys sensory approach, boys might be more effectively evaluated on knowledge gained from lectures via oral tests and on knowledge gained by reading via written tests" (“Boys And Girls Brains Are Different…”). Teachers can therefore employ techniques to boost girls self-image and provide one-on-one support to them and help them develop their skills. For boys, teachers need to challenge them and break their inflated self-image. Clearly, the differences in brain anatomy in boys and girls make the benefit of single sex education seem even starker since it can provide separate environments for each sex to grow in and allow teachers to develop gender appropriate teaching methods. Fortunately, I do have primary data to support this claim, too; in my own coeducational classes, I have noticed that the male students are usually taking part in class discussions, making noise, making jokes with the teacher, whereas most of the girls are quietly observing and laughing amongst themselves. I have also noticed that the males tend to sit in the front, and the females often sit at the back of the class, and that the teacher usually calls on the males when asking questions. Within a single-sex classroom, there will be no such problems. It is clear that single-sex education offers many benefits to pupils. Single-sex schools allow both male and female pupils to develop their intellectual skills independently in an environment where teachers are able to employ those teaching methods that are effective for each sex. Single-sex education, as compared to coeducation, also produces pupils that perform better at tests and who continue longer with education, into college and university. There are many positive aspects of single-sex education that should be taken into consideration when choosing which school to enroll in. Apart from this, it is worthwhile to note that though primary sources offer detailed insight into an issue, secondary sources are more useful in my opinion for research since they contain many different studies on an issue; the sheer variety of sources cited in a secondary source lends it validity, accuracy and reliability. For me, primary sources offer only a one-sided view of an issue. Also, there could be risks of the authors prejudices or biases influencing his research, something that reduces the objectivity of primary data, whereas with secondary data there is no such risk since so many different sources and studies have been referred to in it. Works Cited “Boys And Girls Brains Are Different: Gender Differences In Language Appear Biological." Science Daily. ScienceDaily LLC, 5 Mar. 2008. Web. 10 May 2013. . Hanlon, Harriet W., Robert W. Thatcher, and Marvin J. Cline. "Gender Differences in the Development of EEG Coherence in Normal Children." Mendeley. Mendeley Ltd., 2010. Web. 10 May 2013. “Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence." NASSPE, National Association for Single Sex Public Education. MCRCAD d/b/a NASSPE, n.d. Web. 10 May 2013. . Read More