What Are The Advantages Of Single Sex Education?

What are the advantages, if any, of single sex education? Is single sex education better than co-education? What does available research have to say about the subject?

Equality Of The Sexes

We have spent several generations advancing the equality of the sexes. Beginning with the women's suffrage movement and continuing through to the present day many legal and social barriers to women's equality with men have been removed. Much progress has been made.

With that in mind coeducation which is based on that laudable theme of equality seems like the right way to go. As a result most public schools use the coeducation model, even though it is a one size fits all approach which disregards the plain truth that boys and girls learn in different ways. Research shows that a girl's brain is different from a boy's brain. One size does not fit all. Coeducation does not work for every child. But it has the advantage of being politically acceptable. Fortunately public schools are revisiting the traditional notion of educating the sexes separately.

Now, I am not for a minute advocating that we reinforce traditional gender roles. For example, that girls should be nurses and teachers. Or that boys should be pilots and engineers, and so on. No, I view single sex education as an opportunity to capitalize on the learning differences inherent in boys and girls.

There are other considerations too. Many children thrive in a private single sex school. The social pressures are gentler. Your child can grow at his own pace. Gender stereotypes are not a major factor. The faculty at single sex schools understand how their students learn. They adapt their teaching styles to those specific needs. You and I will discover other advantages as well. A single sex school for your child is definitely an educational solution worth looking into.

Background

The conventional thinking thirty years ago was that coeducation would break down gender stereotypes. That thinking turned out to be flawed. Boys in coeducational settings are less likely to take courses in the arts or tackle advanced academic subjects simply to avoid being typecast as a nerd. Similarly girls avoid the sciences and technology subjects because they don't want to appear to be tomboys. Private single sex schools are flourishing once again because parents have realized that learning is probably more important than being properly socialized.

The Current Situation

Many boys' schools took a hit in the '60's when the move to coeducation was all the rage. They either closed their doors or admitted girls or merged with girls' schools. The single sex schools which survived have done so with a renewed sense of their purpose and with a clear focus on their special niche. There are approximately 300 single sex private schools in the U.S. as well as hundreds more in England and Canada.

Three Reasons For Choosing A Single Sex School

Your child's happiness is one of the most important factors in selecting a school. Here are three reasons why a single sex school might prove to be the best choice for your son or daughter.

Competition

Boys tend to soften their competitive edge and become more collaborative in a single sex setting. They can just be boys and not worry about what the girls might think.

Girls drop their shyness and begin to take risks in a single sex setting. They become more competitive. They embrace sports like field hockey and soccer with gusto without worrying about appearing like tom boys.

Academics

Girls relax enough to feel comfortable exploring non-traditional subjects such as mathematics, advanced sciences, computers and technology, wood-working and so on. Boys participate in choirs and orchestras and learn Latin in single sex settings. These are just a few examples of how children will break out of their stereotypical roles and behavior when they are left to their own devices. Single sex education has a delightful way of encouraging children to be fearless, to be curious, to be enthusiastic - in short, to just be themselves.

Socialization

Boys have always felt a need to impress girls in the classroom. Girls usually feel as though the boys are always teasing them. Surely there is enough time in college and in later life to deal with social and other kinds of intercourse? I feel very strongly that children are subjected to an avalanche of pressures from every quarter to become adults before they are ready to do so. They grow up too quickly. Let them be children for a few more years. Single sex education with its gentler, more controlled social outlets is just the ticket for many children. Maybe it's right for your child.

Blended or Co-Institutional Schools

Many Roman Catholic schools offer their own unique approaches to single sex schooling by offering co-institutional or blended schooling. Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado, has two distinct high schools operating under the same roof: one for boys, the other for girls. This is the co-institutional approach.St. Agnes and St. Dominic School in Memphis, Tennessee, blends its single sex education with co-educational depending on the grade level involved.

Compare the separate campus, the co-institutional and the blended schools. Any one approach might be right for your son or daughter. Single sex education has many advantages to consider.