Coed Vs. Single Sex Education

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Name Removed

August 11, 2009

English 101

Professor Geary

Coed vs. Single Sex Education

It has been said for years that children are the future leaders of the world, and as such they must be put in the best position for them to succeed in life. Part of putting them in position to succeed is ensuring that they receive schooling that caters to their needs so that they learn efficiently at a reasonable pace. In recent years, researchers have found that due to different rates of development boys and girls learn at different paces and therefore benefit from different ways of teaching. With this newfound information parents and public school systems have begun to discuss the possibility of putting children in single sex institutions and even turning some coed public schools into single sex institutions. Although this is seemingly a great idea to ensure students get the best education they can, is putting them into single sex educational environments really the best option?

According to Dr. Leonard Sax, a family pediatrician and Ph.D. psychologist, there are a few things that factor into how effectively both genders learn: development of certain parts of the brain used for certain subjects, the temperature of the classroom, and the teaching methods used in class. In Dr. Sax’s writings, such as Six Degrees of Separation: What Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences, he explains that the section of the brain used for language and writing based learning develops faster in girls than in boys and vice versa for math and science. He also spoke of how ergonomic specialists found that the ideal ambient temperature for boys is 71 degrees Fahrenheit as opposed to 77 degrees for girls; and boys also learn better when teachers are louder and moving around the classroom whereas girls do better without that (Sax, Six Degrees 4). All of that being said it would seem as though there would be no way for children to thrive in coed schools and therefore it makes sense that parents and schools are looking into single sex institutions as a way to ensure all students reach their academic potential; but despite the findings of the research done by Dr. Sax and others, additional information has been overlooked in their conclusion that single sex schools are better than coed.

In Dr. Sax’s assessment of single sex education being the best option for children to learn he fails to mention some of the negative findings that have been reported after further research. Dr. Geoffrey Shaw, a principal at coed All Saints College in Perth, Australia, after analyzing some of the research told the West Australian, "There are some studies which show that [single sex education yielded better results], but the majority come out saying there is no consistent, identifiable difference" (qtd. in Hiatt 1). If this is truly the case then why is it that school systems and others such as Dr. Sax have not taken this information into account? It is a parent’s job to do what they believe is best for their child and by Dr. Sax excluding this information he is failing to provide important information to parents that could have a profound effect on their children’s education and social skills.

In order to become well-rounded people it is critical that we interact with people of different backgrounds and genders. Through interactions with people that are different from us in those ways we learn about the different issues they face and that help us develop a better understanding of the world and knowledgably formulate opinions on certain issues. By putting children into single sex educational environments, especially at early ages, their ability to take into account the issues that the other gender is faced with is hindered. What that means is that they do not learn how to compromise with one another in order to solve problems and ensure that both sides are accommodated. Surely there is a way to structure a curriculum so that boys and girls can interact with each other and be taught effectively.

Although it has been shown that single sex schools are not better than coed schools and that it its essential that both sexes interact in an academic environment, it is possible to incorporate some of the aspects of single sex education into the coed environment. In Australia and Britain there are a number of schools that are beginning to use a new curriculum in which both genders take all of the same classes together except for English, mathematics, and science (Ferrari 1). If schools worldwide were to adopt this curricular structure, commonly known as twinning, it would give students the benefit of being taught the way that best suits them and at a good pace for them, while also being able to interact with each other outside of class.

According to a study done by T.G.K. Bryce and E.J. Blown of the University of Strathclyde in the UK, there has been a decline in the number of male teachers in primary schools (elementary schools) and middle schools. In a poll of 23 countries that included the US and the UK, it was found that the average percentage of teachers on these educational levels is 23% (Bryce and Blown 4). Based on these findings could the small number of male teachers have an effect on the performance of boys in schools? In some of Bryce and Blown’s further research they found a reading from T.S. Dee in which he discussed his findings on the effect of students having students of the same gender (which said that it did have an effect) and in the reading he had this to say:

For example, assignment to an opposite-gender teacher lowers student achievement by

at least 0.042 standard deviations. This effect size implies that just one year with a male

English teacher would eliminate nearly a third of the gender gap in reading performance

among 13 year olds and would do so by improving the performance of boys and simul-

taneously harming that of the girls. Similarly, a year with a female teacher would close

the gender gap in science achievement among 13 year olds by half and eliminate entirely

the smaller achievement gap in mathematics (qtd. in Bryce and Blown 6).

Based on the findings of T.S. Dee, Bryce, and Blown it seems as though the small number of male teachers has had a negative effect on the performance of boys in school. That being said, why is it that having a teacher of the same gender has such a positive effect on how well students perform? Perhaps teachers know how to get the best results from students of their gender because they themselves know what did or would have helped them learn the material being taught. Whatever the reason may be, with more male teachers and the use of the twinning system students in coed schools could have the benefit of a single sex education while allowing both sexes to socialize when they are not in class. With these both being options to give parents the benefits that they see in single sex education the question is who is responsible for making twinning a part of the curriculum or whose jurisdiction is it to convince those responsible that twinning is effective and therefore a good idea?

As members of the psychology community it is our job to analyze the human brain and gain a better understanding of how the brain works. With such a responsibility we are also responsible for doing our due diligence and sharing our findings with those that are not part of the psychology community. For this reason the process of showing parents and school officials that single sex schools are not better than coed schools is up to us. By doing due diligence in our research and reporting all of the facts we can show people that there are benefits to coed schools and that if they truly would like to see more methods of single sex schools used then it is possible to institute those into the school structure. Ultimately the decision belongs to those school officials and parents but if we do our part correctly there is no reason why so many people should continue looking to make the shift to single sex education.

With the newfound research on gender differences in brain development and its effect on how children learn, many people have concluded that single sex education is the best option for children to get the most out of their schooling. Although some methods of single sex schools are valuable we cannot overlook the advantages of children going to coed schools, such as the valuable interaction between the two sexes. With this type of advantage you can say that both are equally beneficial to students albeit in different areas and if you were to take single sex educational methods, like twinning, and institute them in coed schools then you could make the case that coed schools would be better for children that single sex schools. However, we as members of the psychology community must continue to further develop our research in order to show that single sex schools are not the best answer to children getting better educations but that they are instead one of two equally good options.

Audience Analysis

I am writing an article for a scholarly journal that is read by primarily psychologists and the over hearers of this are parents and school officials who are doing research ton how to put children in the best possible position so that they can reach their full learning potential. I am qualified to discuss this because I myself, as a person who attended coed schools for my entire life and saw the positive effect of coed schools, can speak to how effective it is while also acknowledging that some single sex teaching methods could be effective. As people we look for ways to improve our way of life, and looking at what type of schools are best or how to improve them is just another way of doing so. As I try to reach out to the psychology community, the goal of this paper or scholarly article was to show them that as we analyze some of the research that is being done we cannot be so quick to jump to conclusions and say what schools are better for students when we do not have consistent information across the board.

Works Cited

Bryce, T. G. K. and Blown, E. J. Oct2007, Vol. 29 Issue 13, p1655-1678, 24p Gender Effects in Children's Development and Education

Ferrari, Justine. “Co-ed no longer makes the grade for some subjects.” The Australian. 20 Aug. 2007 Pg. 3

Hiatt, Bethany. “Same-sex schools 'may not be best'.” 15 July 2009 Pg. 1

Sax, Leonard. “Six Degrees of Separation: What Teachers Need to Know about the

Emerging Science of Sex Differences.” educational HORIZONS (Spring 2006). 12 Aug 2009 < http://www.boysadrift.com/ed_horizons.pdf

Works Consulted

Albert, Alexa A. and Judith R. Porter. “Children's Gender–Role Stereotypes: A Sociological Investigation of Psychological Models.” Sociological Forum. Vol. 3 Issue 2 (Spring 88): p184, 27p

Berecry, Brendan. “Students lean towards co-ed; INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.” The Sun Herald 3 Aug. 2008 Pg. 66

Jost, K. (2002, July 12). Single-sex education. CQ Researcher, 12, 569-592. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2002071200.>

Sather, Jeanne. “Same Sex Classrooms: Can They Fix Our Public Schools?” MSN Encarta. 11 Aug 2009.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elementary/?article=samesexschools>

Sax, Leonard. “Rethinking Title IX.” Washington Times. 2 July 2001. 12 Aug 2009. < http://www.singlesexschools.org/links-washtimes.htm>

Sax, Leonard. “The Promise and Peril of Single-Sex Public Education.” Education Week. 2 Mar 2005: pp 34-35, 48. 13 Aug 2009 < http://www.singlesexschools.org/edweek.html

Sugden, Joanna. “Girls at single-sex state schools do better without boys.” The Times 18 Mar. 2009 Pg. 22

Van de gaer, Eva, et al. "Effects of single-sex versus co-educational classes and schools on gender differences in progress in language and mathematics achievement." British Journal of Sociology of Education 25.3 (July 2004): 307-322. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Mckeldin Library, College Park, MD. 6 Aug. 2009