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A Reading - Developing Critical Approaches

You have to write an essay entitled: ‘There are many practical benefits to separating
girls and boys for secondary education - Discuss’.

◊ In preparation you read the two texts below, which have opposing viewpoints. How
reliable do you find the texts? Complete the box below with extracts from the texts and
your critical comments.

Text Extracts from text Comments

1 A co-educational school is also very successful at Unsupported claim

challenging sexist attitudes.

1. The benefits of co-education

For both girls and boys co-education provides a more realistic way of training young
people to take their places naturally in the wider community of men and women. It helps
to break down the misconceptions of each sex about the other, and provides an excellent
foundation for the development of realistic, meaningful and lasting relationships in later
life.

A co-educational school is also very successful in challenging sexist attitudes. Many

subjects in secondary school allow for considerable classroom discussion and debate. In
a co-educational school both the female and male perspectives will be explored in such
discussions and this is a very important learning experience for all. In so doing they
learn that 'equality' does not mean 'sameness' - that men and women often have
different perspectives on the same issues and that each approach has a great deal to
offer the other.

Advocates of single-sex schooling sometimes make exaggerated claims about the

academic advantages of such schools, pointing to statistically significant disparities in
examination results. In truth such differences may be due more to the socio-economic
background of the pupils at the school or the selectivity of the intake.

Co-educational schools better reflect the diversity of our society; they better prepare
students to succeed in post-secondary education and to eventually enter the workforce.
Students in co-educational schools are also more likely to feel safe in their school
environment. Research shows students in co-educational schools grow to be confident
about expressing their views in the presence of members of the opposite sex, while
collaboration between the sexes in the classroom helps develop confidence in students,
who excel at university and beyond as leaders.

Teachers in co-educational schools recognise that some gender differences in learning

do exist and are skilled in catering for diverse learning needs in the classroom.
Furthermore, in a co-educational learning environment, students are exposed to both
male and female role models in staff and senior students.

According to Professor Alan Smithers, director of education and employment research

at the University of Buckingham: ‘There are no overriding advantages for single-sex
schools on educational grounds. Studies all over the world have failed to detect any
major differences’.

It has been proved that the students which have got their education under the co-
education system are more confident as compared to the students who have been
learning in a single-sex school system throughout their educational career. Such
students hesitate to interact with the opposite gender in their later lives; on the other
hand a student who has learned under the co-education system freely interacts with the
opposite sex, and does not hesitate or feel uncomfortable in their presence. In a mixed
schooling system both sexes can learn from each other and they can also share their
ideas on different topics. Girls and boys have different points of view, so the mixed
schooling system enables them to share their ideas, and also creates a team spirit
among them.

2. The advantages of single-sex schools

The age-old debate around single-sex schools versus mixed schools is back on the
educational agenda once more, with experts from across the education sector still
divided on the subject. The number of single-sex private schools may have halved in the
last 20 years, but the advantages of single-sex schools have resurfaced yet again. This is
partly due to recent news that girls in single-sex state schools get better GCSE results
than those in mixed schools, including those from poorer backgrounds. The SchoolDash
research found that 75% of pupils at single-sex schools achieved five good GCSEs
compared to just 55% in mixed schools.

Why are single-sex schools good for education? Many educational experts believe that
girls and boys have different learning needs and that in single-sex schools teachers can
use particular techniques designed specifically to suit the gender of their students. Girls,
for example, prefer collaborative and discussion-based learning while boys can dominate
discussions and group-based teamwork. By using gender-specific teaching techniques,
staff at single-sex schools can get the most out of lesson time and enhance the learning
experience for their students.

Some research into gender differences in learning even looks at how girls and boys
respond differently to changes in temperature, suggesting that girls prefer warmer
rooms while boys prefer to learn in cooler conditions. Single-sex schools make it possible
to adapt the learning environment to suit the differing needs of boys or girls.

There is a widespread belief that single-sex schools help to challenge gender stereotypes
and broaden the educational aspirations of both girls and boys. Single-sex schools
enable girls and boys to feel free to learn and discover any subject, with girls able to
pursue interest in male-dominated subjects such as maths and science and boys able to
explore music and the arts. Indeed, at the 26 Girls’ Day School Trust schools and
academies, girls are more than twice as likely to opt for science or engineering degrees
at university level as girls nationally.

According to multiple long-term studies of children from around the world, students
achieve more and learn better in single-sex schools. An Australian study of 270,000
students found that both boys and girls performed significantly higher on standardised
tests when they attended gender-specific schools. During an experiment in Virginia in
1995, 100 eighth graders were separated just for maths and science courses. Almost
immediately, the girls began to achieve more, became more confident and participated
more often in class. In 2001, a British study concluded that every girl, regardless of her
ability or socio-economic status, performed better in single-sex classrooms than co-ed
ones. The study of 9,954 high schools and 979 primary schools showed that while boys
at the lowest end academically improved the most in single-sex schools, single-sex
education was particularly beneficial to girls. Every one of the top 50 elementary schools
in Britain are single-sex schools. At all-girls schools, teachers use the latest techniques
in keeping with the female learning style. The textbooks and other materials do not have
a male bias. Girls are more able to participate in class discussions since there are no
boys around to dominate as in co-educational schools. Girls become more confident in
themselves as students and earn higher scores in their examinations.