The Effect of Unisex School - Research Paper Example

The Effect of Unisex School Unisex education refers to the concept of teaching boys and girls separately. Since the beginning, there have been many perceptions regarding this concept. Back in the 18th and 19th century having unisex school was very common. But then coeducation took its place. However the approach of teaching boys and girls separately is now gaining new grounds and becoming common again. As education accounts for the most important aspect of our lives, unisex school or coeducation school is therefore a simple but very important question which needs to be answered. In many societies unisex education is still very common. Different societies have different reasons of it. In some societies unisex education is still in practice because of their customs and traditions, in some societies unisex education is considered a better way of imparting education while in some unisex education is offered just as an option along with coeducation. The main reason for endorsement of unisex education was to keep the students ethically decent. It was assumed that the members of the opposite sex send temptations to each other due to which it was considered to be harmful for the society. It was believed that boys and girls studying together can indulge in activities which destroy their moral. They might have a physical relationship even before they are legalized to do so. This may give rise to social problems and therefore until the mid of 20th century coeducation was not common. Many conservative societies also oppose the idea of coeducation. Conservative parents have the fear that their child, especially girls, might become a victim of their male counterparts during the age of puberty. But time has proved that all these fears and ideas are nothing but misconceptions. Studies have shown that unisex education has a lot more cons than pros. Some of them are discussed in detail here. Single sex education fails to nurture the abilities of a child completely. In nearly all the fields of life students from single sex education institutes are found lacking behind those who have their education in coeducation institutes. Scholars argue that since science has shown that the brains of men and women develop differently, therefore they must be taught separately so that different ways and techniques can be implemented which are most suitable for them. It is believed that unisex has a wide scope of positive impacts that coeducation. The individual grades are achieved far well in unisex than in coeducation and the merit of students’ increases when they are taught in separate classes according to their gender. But these scholars fail to mention some very important points. There are a lot of factors which should be considered before deciding which school is best for your child. Before taking the decision, parents are required to first understand the nature of their child as well as the way he or she is raised. But at the end of the day you have you decide which form of education will be the best for your child. It is believed that in a unisex school a child can learn and study a lot more comfortably because he or she would not be self conscious and will not be preoccupied by the opposite sex. It is also believed that boys and girls have different ways of responding to various situations. Therefore it is believed that a more gender specific curriculum would be the best for their child. Single sex education system has a lot more disadvantages than its advantages. Some of them are discussed below in detail. Very few educators and teachers are actually having the professional knowledge of gender specific teaching techniques that are required for unisex schools. So if your child is studying in a unisex school and his or her teacher is not completely trained for imparting such sort of education, then instead of being beneficial it will have an adverse effect of your child and his or her academic career. Surely parents would not want such thing to happen to their child. The learning techniques and patterns which are used in unisex education are limited. They only target those areas in which they have full command. They only make use of those teaching procedures where they are strong. This will turn out to be extremely harmful for the student as those areas in which they are weak will not be considered and due to lack of attention on weak areas the student will remain weak in them for the rest of his or her life. Studies have shown and proved that a higher number of girls in a co-education class improve the academic performance of all the class fellows, no matter boys or girls. Girls are generally considered to be more hard working than boys. They are a lot more mature and sensible and they show greater sense of responsibility as compared to boys of the same age. So if they will study together, there is a very healthy chance that boys will at least try to work harder than usual in order to compete with their rivals. As a result this will improve their grades and would certainly help them in the longer run. Girls definitely have some sort of influence over the boys. It is observed that if a boy is emotionally attached with a girl, he will listen to her a lot more than anyone else. That girl might actually become a source of motivation for him making him work harder for his grades. And this will surely improve the grades of that boy. Unisex education becomes a severe problem in case of boys. Boys are comparatively difficult to control. They are a lot more misbehaving and ill mannered at times as compared with girls. Due to their unenthusiastic, unhelpful, unconstructive and uncooperative behavior in class it can be a huge problem for a teacher to complete the desired academic target on time which will ultimately leave a negative impact on their future. In coeducation system boys behave a lot better. They do not use abusive language in front of girls and with time they learn to give respect to girls. But those boys studying in unisex schools, they are found misbehaving with girls as they do not know that girls require their respect. Boys are curious by nature and by studying in a coeducation school their curiosity is satisfied with the passage of time. It is generally assumed that girls are far better than boys in subjects like social sciences, biology etc whereas boys are considered to be better in physics, mathematics etc. So the concept of unisex education can strengthen this false claim. And ultimately it might happen that girls would stop taking interest in mathematics or physics and boys will not study subjects like social sciences or biology claiming that they are meant for the opposite sex only. When a boy will see a girl in math, science or technology related class and a girl will see a boy in art, music or social science’s class, the wrong perception that these subjects are gender linked will erode away. Single sex education may give rise to the idea that girls are inferior to boys and therefore they do not belong to their classrooms. In the societies where girl’s rights are not openly accepted, such sort of education can further strengthen the false concept that boys are superior to girls. Single sex education does not provide the students a chance to learn from different learning styles and nurture their abilities. Boys and girls, in a coed school are provided with a chance to interact and learn from each other’s approach and styles. As both the genders have different ways of reacting to the same situation, coeducation provides them a chance to watch and learn and adopt new methods to handle a situation. And ultimately both the genders use their natural ways for a common goal. This opportunity, however, is not provided in a unisex school. One of the biggest cons of a unisex sex school is that they do not provide any social interaction between the two genders. Schools are considered to be the place where a child develops his abilities so that he can excel in his professional life. In the professional field, men and women have to interact with each other. Be it home or office, you have to have communication with the partners of the other sex. Unisex school fails to provide you with proper socialization opportunities, which enable you to nurture your interpersonal skills which are very much required in day to day life. Boys and girls have different natures. Girls are more kind and sensitive than boys. Coeducation provides a chance to learn about the natural behavior of the opposite sex. This is helpful especially in the professional world as well as in the married life or relationship. In the professional environment if you are made to work with a person from the opposite sex, then you must be aware of his or her natural behavior and responses to certain actions. You must be aware of how to treat your partner. This will ultimately help you in your career. If you are not comfortable with your opposite sex then you will not be able to perform at your best. And your chances of cruising in your career will be extremely less. If your boss is of your opposite sex, then it would become a headache for you as without proper prior interaction with opposite gender you will be lacking experience of how to treat them. In a married life a person would fail to understand the needs and requirements of his or her partner. The uncertainty in your behavior will give rise to uncertainty in your relation or married life and you will ultimately suffer. Now compare it with a person who has had coeducation all his life. He or she will interact better in the office with colleagues of opposite sex, because of better interaction with them he or she will advance and cruise in his or her professional career easily. Such a person will have a better married life as he or she will be fully aware of the needs n requirements of his or her partner and will make sure that his or her partner gets what he or she deserves the best. This opportunity and exposure is obviously not provided in a unisex school. The early life of a child is the best time to expose him or her to the company of the other sex. In this way he or she learns to adjust accordingly. They learn about each other’s behavior, nature and in this way they are better prepared for their adult and mature life. This opportunity is of course not provided in a unisex school. Unisex schools give ride to the concept of gender discrimination. Arguments on the topics, such as gender supremacy, are greatly heated up because of such discrimination. In a unisex school it is possible that the faculty constitutes of more male staff than female staff or vice versa. This gives rise to the sense of insecurity those teachers who are in minority gender wise. Unisex education fails to provide proper training to boys and girls which is required to take their places in the society. Men and women have different objectives and goals to achieve in their individual lives, but at some point or the other they are bound to come across each other. At this point the role of coeducation becomes a lot more important and necessary as it removes away all the misconceptions that are present in our minds for the opposite sex. Years and years of studies together enable us to have a more realistic approach in are social life. Hence coeducation provides the foundation of such realistic approach which unisex education fails to do so. In a unisex educational system the attitude of sexism develops. This attitude is totally eliminated in coeducation. A class room discussion and debate on many subjects provides an interaction between the opposite sexes which in real life is not possible. The male and female thinking on such topics is explored in such discussions; hence it’s an important experience for all. Also it is made clearer that equality does not mean sameness, men and women can have different thinking on the same topic and they can have different ways of dealing the same issues. Studies show that there is no such benefit of unisex education. In fact coeducation is considered to be a lot more economic than unisex schools. In a coeducation school you do not require separate infrastructure for boys and girls. They can be taught by the same staff in the same building or class. Keeping in mind the economic conditions globally, coeducation is definitely a better idea than unisex schools. It is therefore obvious that unisex has more cons than pros. A student studying in a coeducation institution seems to have more advantages over the students of single sex education institutes. He or she gets more and better opportunities in a coeducation system than in unisex education system. There have been many debates and researches on the topic of unisex schooling and coeducation systems. People, scholars, parents, teachers etc all come up with different ideas and concepts. All of them have their ways of thinking and deciding that which system is better than the other. Such discussions are not done for the sake of personal arguments but they are done to ensure that children get a better studying environment. They should get what is best for them, for their careers and for their future, they should get what suits their nature and they should be provided with enough opportunities to polish their abilities to the fullest. References 1. Girls do better in single sex schools, by Paton, Graeme; Moore, Matthew (2009-03-18).  2. Single-sex Schooling and Academic Attainment at School and through the Life course, by Sullivan, A., Joshi, H. and Leonard, D. (2010). 3. U.S. Department of Education, “Single-sex versus coeducational schooling: A systematic review” (Department of Education, Washington, DC, 2005) 4. Beyond the great divide: single sex or coeducation?, by Judith Gill 5. Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single Sex Schooling, by Rosemary C. Salomone. Read More