Single Sex Education Vs.

Coeducational: Do children learn better in an all girls and all boys class setting or co -educational?

Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way. This quote taken from George Evans shows that all children are capable of learning. Sometimes it just takes the parent being pro-active and choosing a good learning environment for their child. Parents have to make a decision whether or not the school will offer their child high educational standards, will it offer an enriched academic experience, and does the school have a reputation for academic excellence? Then comes the question whether or not their child will thrive in an all girls and all boys class setting or a co-educational setting? Different learning environments include private or public, and these schools are then separated into co-educational, boys only, or girls only schools. But further research is conducted throughout this paper to determine whether or not boys and girls should be taught separately, and which class setting would further boost academic success? Single sex education is where males or females attend a school exclusively for individuals of the same sex. Whereas coeducational is where males and females are mixed together in school, and theres no separation. What works best for some students may not be whats best for others. Some students not only learn at different rates, they also learn in different ways. Debra

Clarke, an art teacher at Sims Elementary School supports the idea of an all girls school stating It helps girls become stronger and more independent without boys to distract them. (O'Rourke, Ciara) Scientist in the late 20th century believed that boys and girls brains were different, and required a different teaching style. A team of neuroscientists in 2007 from the National Institute of Mental Health conducted a study and found very little difference between the male and females brain when it came to education and learning styles. (Blake, Chris, and Demand Media) When it comes to single sexed schools are they more or less effective than co-educational schools in terms of academic accomplishments, student adaptation, and socioemotional development? While researching, I found that having a single sex classroom creates opportunities that do not exist in a coeducation classroom. Teachers are taught and trained on what strategies to use in an all boys, and all girls classroom that wouldnt work as well in a coeducational class. Most studies done on whether single sex education or coeducation was better mainly focused on grades and test scores. In all girls schools, they were more likely to study advanced math, computer science, and physics. In an all boys school, they were more likely studying English, art, foreign languages, music, and drama. (Blake, Chris, and Demand Media)

The question what are the advantages of single sex education for girls and boys is a question thats to be discussed. First Im going to explain the advantages for girls. Divided into three categories, girls have an expanded education opportunity, custom learning and instruction, and greater self-government, especially in heterosexual relationships. (NASSPE: Advantages For Girls) Beginning with the first topic, expanded educational opportunity, girls of all ages were more likely to explore non-traditional subjects. Research was conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Jamaica, and Kenya. (NASSPE: Advantages For Girls) Dr. Edward Clarke, a professor at Harvard University, suggests, Women may be innately less capable of scholarships at the highest levels. The pursuit of an academic career will cause a womans body to shunt blood away from the uterus toward the brain, rendering that woman irritable and infertile. (Sax, Leonard) Dr. Clarke also believed that a higher education for girls was unhealthy and unnatural. But Dr. Clarke wasnt the only professor at Harvard who thought the same thing. Dr. Lawrence H. Summers explained why there are very few women holding senior academic positions in math, physics, engineering, and technology. He stated, Women may be less willing to put in the long hours required to achieve top positions in those fields. Then he went on to suggest that, Maybe women just arent cut out for the hard

sciences that maybe there are innate differences between male and female brains which render most women incapable of doing really tough math. (Sax, Leonard) There has been a discovery that the brain develops in a different sequence when comparing girls to boys. Researchers at Virginia Tech examined the brain development in 508 normal children, 224 of them being girls and 284 boys, using electro physiologic imaging of the brain. Their ages ranged from two moths to 16 years old. Researchers found that the part of the brain responsible to producing language and handwriting mature six years earlier in girls than in boys, and the parts of the brain that are responsible for math and geometry mature about four years earlier in boys than in girls. The brain of a 12 year old girl resembles the brain of an 8 year old boy when it comes to learning math. (Sax, Leonard) This research concluded that different areas of the brain develop in a different order, time, and rate when comparing girls to guys. A study done by researchers at Stetson University over a three year time period compared single-sex classrooms with coeducational classrooms at Woodward Avenue Elementary. This school has students that are learning disabled, or who have ADHD. Students that were in the fourth grade were assigned to either a single sex or coed classroom. The class size was the same, and the teachers had the same training in what would work and what wouldnt. The results of this research showed the percentage of students scoring proficient on the FCAT

(Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). The boys in coed classes had a percentage of 37 proficient, the girls had a percentage of 59. In the single sex classes boys had a percentage of 86, and the girls had a percentage of 75. Many of the boys who scored proficient on the test were labeled as ADHD. (Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence) An update in 2008, from professor Kathy Piechura-Couture of Stetson University showed that over four years 55% of the boys in coeducational schools scored proficient on the FCAT, compared to 85% of the boys in single sex classrooms who again had the same classroom size and learned the same curriculum. Another update was done in 2013 where the team of researchers from Stetson provided information stating that the gap between single sex classrooms and coeducational classrooms has narrowed. Coeducational classes were catching up. Steton researchers believed that the teachers were learning how to apply strategies that were learned in single gender classrooms in coeducational classrooms. Researchers also found that single sex classroom format was effective in boosting boys performance especially in English and foreign languages, and improving girls performance in math and science. (Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence)

Bre'Anna Smith Peer Review Do YOU think children learn better in an all girls' and all boys class setting or coeducational? Even if you disagree with the research this could be a good point to make. In paragraph 8 you begin to talk about three categories about the advantages for girls and then in paragraph 9 you only explain one of those categories. At the end you should close with a final argument that'll persuade the reader to agree with what you think is best. Overall good paper you have a lot of evidence to prove that single-sex class settings are better for children than co-ed.

O'Rourke, Ciara. "All-girls, All-boys Middle Schools." Parents Hear Austin School District Proposal for All-girls, All-b. Statesman, 19 Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. Blake, Chris, and Demand Media. "The Advantages of a Coed High School." Everyday Life. Global Post, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. "Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence." National Association For Single Sex Public Education. NASSPE, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

"NASSPE: Advantages For Girls." National Association For Single Sex Public Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. Sax, Leonard. "Science, Computers, and Gender Equity." Science, Computers, and Gender Equity. LA Times, 2005. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.