Single Sex Schooling And Coeducation

In more recent years, our educational system has faced challenges that are leading our country back into segregation. Single-sex education has resurfaced; jeopardizing the gains our ancestors fought so hard for. A few people believe that the biological make-up between genders is significantly different, that having coeducational classes is doing more harm than good. Conversely, there is no proven study that supports these claims; however studies have displayed the exact opposite. Separating genders within the educational system will only perpetuate and magnify

Single sex education, which is also known as single gender school is an old approach that’s is gaining new momentum. Single sex education consists of separating males and females into different classrooms or in separate buildings or schools. Advocates of single-sex education believe that there are persistent in how boys and girls learn and behave in educational settings such difference merit educating them separately. One version of this argument holds that brains of males and females develop differently. Proponents reference these developmental differences to argue that by separating students according to their sex, the educator is able to meet the needs according to the developmental trajectory of the different genders. In addition to that,

Despite what many think, same-gender schools are starting to show up in public school systems across America. (Guarisco) Some ill-informed members of society believe that same-sex education is the wrong choice for America’s youth. Guarisco states arguments include that segregation leads to more rigid and traditional gender roles. However, schools that have implemented same-gender classes have seen promising results in grades and more support for same-gender education. Also, if a child wishes to attend a single-sex school in America, it must be voluntary. (Guarisco) For American public school systems, same-gender education would be more advantageous because of the higher test scores, decrease in distractions from the opposite gender, and adapting curriculum.

When considering the different educational methods that each school provides for the students, parents will need to understand that every child learns differently. Each person can either learn by being a visual learner, auditory learner, or tactile learner. The different learning methods are not the only things that can effect learning. Learning can also be affected by the way that a teacher may present information, however a student’s attention may be pulled away by the distractions that can be caused by peer pressure, stress, and hormonal urges from the opposite sex. Single sex schools can eliminate these distractions that are caused by co-ed schools. In doing so, this can raise the academic success of both female and male students.

Single-sex education consists of separating male and female students and teaching them in different schools or classes. Although controversial and often looked as antiquated, more Americans have been considering single-sex schools as a viable option since the early 2000’s. The reason? With various problems public school education faces, many parents have been looking at single-sex education as a potential solution to some of those problems. In addition, with the very convincing gender rhetoric those in favor for single-sex schooling use, it’s become a seemingly inviting and rational choice. But, schools should not employ single-sex classes because the long list of socio-psychological consequences on children, insufficient empirical data, and the false claims used in favor for single-sex education outweigh the so-called minimal advantages of single-gender classes.

Considering this, I propose that public school systems give students a choice between single-sex and coeducation in order to further expand their minds and allow them to grow in their chosen environment. A room full of girls is not discrimination towards the male gender, but rather a sisterhood that could last a lifetime. Their platonic connections would become widespread and carry enough importance to withstand anything. Good friends will be there through every heartbreak and offer their shoulder to cry on every time. Apart from deeper connections, single-sex education gives students the resources to learn at their gender specific pace with limited distractions. The

Single-sex and co educators have different views on single-sex education; however, both agree that students can distract and influence each other. One way students influence each other is by competing for the opposite sex’ attention. For instance, girls will compete against each other to win a boys’ attention and vice versa. “Snow and others point out that in a single-gender environment they don’t see the competition for attention or showing off that can occur in coed classrooms” (Frazer-Harrison, 2014, p. 2). Similarly, both boys and girls have crushes, which affects their schoolwork; they act differently and often lose sight of what is important, such as academics, in order to impress their crush. Undoubtedly, boys are affected by girls, while girls are affected by boys. “Research shows that male students in a coed setting are affected by “a politeness factor” in the presence of female peers, according to Dona Matthews, a Toronto-based developmental psychologist and former instructor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education” (Kwong, 2013, p. 3). The presence of the opposite sex impacts how students focus in class, which can lead to a decline in academic achievements. Educators from both single-sex and coed agree that students focusing on academics can be affected by students of the opposite sex. Battle Creek has become one school that has embraced single-sex education. As a result of separating boys and girls, they act more mature and are not trying to catch a

Single-sex education has been becoming more popular in recent years. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. This was a major turning point in the advancement of single-sex schools because it loosened government restrictions. Since 2002, about 95 single-sex public schools have been established (Novotney).

Segregation in schools is where students of both genders are taught in independent preparing units or even in diverse schools or other educational organizations. The supporters of single sex school education claim that boys have less attention in their studies when learning in co-educational schools. Boys learn less because they need more physical activities and visualization in comparison to girls. Some believe that girls have more advantage in co-educational school because of their feminine and sedentary behavior in class. In the previous years, this topic has been a focus of debates and is more heated up. There are many different reasons that show whether people are with or against the arguments for single sex schools. In the view of most parents, the segregation of co-educational schools and single sex schools is important and has

While many educators, parents, activists, and policymakers argue that single-sex education unleashes academic excellence for both boys and girls, evidence supporting this claim is insufficient. Single-sex education is ineffective as it increases gender stereotypes by reducing the ability for both genders to effectively work together. In all-boy schools, boys who spend more time with boys are increasingly aggressive, while girls who spend more time with other girls are stereotyped. Supporters of single-sex education often point to obvious success in terms of reforming education; however single-sex approaches have failed to produce positive results. Rather than including statistics and research, supporters of single-sex education argue every child is different, and with this type of diversity comes a preference for certain skills and surroundings. The United States, along with multiple parts of the world, have stretched the influence single-sex education has on society, by making it prevalent to one's well-being. Overall, single-sex education shows no significant advantage for boys or girls.

Can you think of a girl you know who loves sports? How about a boy who is conservative and isn’t rough and ready to “get their hands dirty”? Are single-gender schools going to help those students who don’t fit into the typical stereotype, learn in the best way possible? Or are they going to force them into a stereotype that isn’t who they want to see themselves as? In the 1990s, schools across the nation began researching on whether separating girls and boys were beneficial for their education. Some schools adopted this idea as their own and made it a reality, but others we against the idea altogether. Although children in non-separated schools can become easily distracted by the opposite gender, we should not separate girls and boys at school because there

Just as there are arguments against single-sex schooling, there are also arguments for the use of these schools. One person who supports these schools is Hillary Clinton; an article by Nancy Autin states that “In 2001, in pursuit of gender equity, an amendment bill coauthored by Hillary Clinton allowed provisions for public schools and districts to offer the choice of single-sex schools or classrooms to its students” (1). This amendment was adamant on providing equal opportunities for boys and girls in these single-sex schools, while also using the results as research towards furthering the theory that boys and girls learn differently. As the issue over single-sex schools began to arise, people began to research to prove whether or not these schools are the most effective way of learning; furthermore, many arguments are now being made which support that single-sex schools are actually a more effective way of learning for students.

This paper is written to discuss if schools should move towards single-sex classrooms. There are many reasons to move towards having this type of learning environment be an option.

In the1990s, single-sex education gained interest over coeducation, and by the early 2000s, it had gained support from congress and the Bush administration. Since then single-sex education has benefitted many students, teachers, and parents. For all of the 1800s and most of 1900s coeducation had dominated schooling over the single-sex catholic and private schools.

One of the most debated arguments in the area of education has been the fight to make more single–sex schools available for students. Co-ed schooling has been the standard for education that many children enjoy being in. Many argue however that changing schools to be single-sex is one of the best solutions to upgrade the education for children. However, a school that provides single-sex education is not automatically a better school than a coeducational one. Thus, when seeing the whole picture, single-sex education is the same, if not worse than co-education.