Single-Sex Schooling Causes Stereotyping and Legitimizes Institutional Sexism

Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, Ph.D. is the founding director of the North American Integration and Development Center and associate professor in the Division of

Thus, concluding that the explanation of biological, psychodynamic and learning approaches does influence on gender development. Each of these approaches explains how gender is developed in their own way. From the biological approach, we found out that gender differences are seen as resulting from sex differences. In other words, women and men act, think and feel differently because of differences in how their brains work. These brain differences may result from chromosomal differences and may also be the result of hormonal differences.

An experiment at the University of California, Los Angeles proved interesting when a machine taught both boys and girls. The boys ended up scoring higher than when a woman taught them. I am wondering if girls scored higher than the boys did when male teachers teach them? I also wonder how the girls scored when taught by a machine; maybe they scored higher, too. At the secondary school level boys do perform better on technical or scientific subjects. Now this goes back to the first assumption that our brains work differently, or is it because more male teachers may teach these subjects? According to Mooney, teacher of the similar sex may have the "instinctive understanding that an adult will enjoy with a child who is going through a process which he or she went through too" (122). In other words, they can relate better with a child of the same sex. I am a female kindergarten teacher and also have a daughter who is six years old. I have no problem relating to the boys in my class. I think I can relate to any child who is five or six years old.

There are different intellectual styles between males and females. These differences can be traced to some particular structural differences between male and female brains that originate in early development. The part of the brain that delivers messages between the left brain and right brain is called the corpus

Dr. Laura Allen has spent years studying the brain tissue of both boys and girls. She said, "As I began to look at the human brain more and more, I kept finding differences, and about 7 or 8 of the 10 structures that were actually measured turned out to be different between men and women" (Men, Women). Basically, it is best to always try to learn about human nature, that way we can educate people to prevent them from misusing the information. She claims, "knowledge we get is better, we can alter our education system for more equality" (Men, Women).

The brain is vital for human beings, and therefore, the gender differences in the brain affect everything, including learning style. Let’s recall what happened in the navigational skills example. Boys think abstractly, and they isolate the fact,

5, 57). The second difference is when children’s brains stop growing. Girls’ brains reach their biggest size about two years before boys’ brains, but again, this is likely due to girls entering and finishing puberty before boys. Throughout several sensory tasks, since learning is a sensory oriented activity early in life, infant boys and girls showed the same amount of frontal lobe activity, despite their difference in brain size (Eliot, 2009, p. 61). This is not to say that there are no differences between boys and girls, but that the majority of the differences show up later in life, as they experience a sex-segregated society.

In a traditional setting, boys and girls are mixed and learn together in a classroom. The traditional setting offers pros, like the preparement for real society in which these genders will continue to mix. A non-traditional setting will produce non-traditional results in which children may better their education. Single sex education with specialized styles for each gender, an example of a non-traditional setting, are beginning to show evidence of a better fit for students. Instead of a single male dominated classroom, separate rooms with different teachers may show better results in academic potential. A wide range of evidence shows certain conditions benefit females more than males and vice versa. The opposite gender can also be

The main reason the structure of the brain varies between the sexes is due to the fact that a male’s brain is larger than a female's brain by about ten percent (Goldman). Although their brains may be larger this does not necessarily mean that men are smarter than women. However a man’s brain is larger because there are different portions of the brain that are different sizes (Edmonds), and the regions that differ have a higher concentration of sex hormone receptors (Goldman). Another reason a man’s brain is larger is that a man has around six percent more gray matter (Carey). Gray brain matter is full of active neurons, which are specialized nervous cells that carry messages to the brain (Chudler). Another type of matter in the brain is white matter. White matter consists of tightly packed connections between neurons and women have around ten times more white matter (Carey) and twelve percent more neurons (Edmonds) than men do. Due to having more neurons and white matter, female’s brains are set up more complicated, are more compacted, and are more rapid at

When discussing how nature and genetics affect genders’ learning styles, we can look at the article, “Gender-Friendly Schools” by Kelley King, Michael Gurian, and Kathy Stevens. This article talks about how certain genetic factors make separating classrooms beneficial. Specifically, the article mentions a few schools who increased their test scores, specifically for boys, when they tried separating classrooms by gender. Also, it is mentioned

Boys and girls have diverse learning capabilities. The learning ways of boys and girls are like the types of weather. Boys prefer to learn in a room that is cool and dark. Similarly girls vary in their preferences with boys so to meet the needs of both the genders in one place in a single time is not possible so single sex schools are more rewarding. Learning of boys is slower than that if girls and this is the problem, which single sex schools have solved. The subjects that boys choose are far more different from those chosen by girls. Boys mostly show interests in mathematics, science and music while girls opt for science and art subjects. Boys are more interested in games like football and soccer. However, girls are more interested in textiles and cooking. Boys in single sex schools are more comfortable to choose their desire subjects because they do not have to impress anyone in single sex schools. It is the case with the girls. The brain structure of boys and girls are different and their brain developments are various. (Lee, & Bryk,

The male and female brains have few differences, except for density of gray matter or the size of their hypothalamus, which controls emotional behavior. Some

Should boys and girls be taught separately? John Intini may think so. In Intini’s article “Are we raising our boys to be underachieving men?”, Intini explores the idea that there are different barriers girls and boys face when it comes to education. Intini suggests that same-sex schools may be the answer in overcoming this barrier. However, there is no “concrete proof that single-sex schooling is an equalizer” which is why boys and girls should not be segregated in the classroom. Teachers are now recognizing that the gender gap needs to be addressed and have used early intervention strategies to address the issue. Furthermore, a school environment should be safe for all children. Individuals who do not conform to their genders may feel uncomfortable if they are forced into same-sex schooling. Finally, by segregating children based on their gender, children may not be prepared for the ‘real-world’ as future interactions in education and the workplace will involve interaction between both sexes. In this essay, I will explore the different barriers that girls and boys face, as well as explain why I believe schools should not be gender segregated.

Gender differences occur in many aspects of a person’s life whether it is culture, politics, occupation, family and relationships, or the economy (just to name a few). One major difference in gender occurs in learning and education in the elementary and secondary levels. Research has found that males and females learn differently in many aspects of education. First of all, female and male brains are constructed differently affecting the way they learn; this leads to basic differences in learning and also gives an introduction into why the way one learns differs according to gender and how males and females learn subjects and tasks differently. Second, males and females are treated differently, sometimes unconsciously, in educational

However, according to Vawter et al. (2011), “gender differences lay in brain development and may also be related to patterns of gene expression.” During this case study, “gene expression in male and female dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and the cerebellum” were profiled. Their findings included that men and women do in fact have gender-specific genes. With respect to the latter, physical apperarance is not as scientifically proven in determining gender.