Single-sex education (teaching males and females in separate classrooms
or schools) is an old approach to instruction that has been gaining new momentum in
the education reform era. Although the practice has long existed in
many private schools, it's a relatively new option for traditional
public schools and charter schools. Now that over 500 public schools offer some
form of single-sex education, experts are renewing the debate over the
value of separating boys and girls in the classroom.
According to recent research on
the differences between males and females, there are natural
differences in how boys and girls approach learning. When putting these
theories into practice, however, experts have asserted that
separating students has consequences that extend far beyond the act of
learning. Social, political, and legal concerns come into play when
dealing with instituting these policies in public schools.
Proponents of same-sex education argue that
a mixed-gender classroom can be distracting for many students,
especially at certain ages. Leonard Sax, founder of the National
Association for Single-Sex Public Education, argues that while merely
placing boys in separate classrooms from girls accomplishes little,
single-sex education enhances student success when teachers use
techniques geared toward the gender of their students. These techniques
can vary from room temperature to instruction approaches.
Some
educators also suggest that single-sex education can broaden the
educational prospects for both the sexes. While co-ed schools can
reinforce stereotypes, girls and boys can be free to pursue math,
science, poetry, or art, without gender role pressure in single-sex
environments. A mother of a single-sex educated girl remarked,
"I feel that the single gender environment has given her a level of
confidence and informed interest in math and science that she may not
have had otherwise."
Still, critics of single-sex education
contend that the vast majority of research is based on pseudoscience
"laughable to neuroscientists." The differences that have been
identified are considered too small to warrant separating students. According to
researchers Dr. Rebecca Bigler and Dr. Lise Eliot, "Placing children
into classrooms based on their gender and making assumptions about their
physiology, brains, interests, and learning ability will virtually
guarantee that teachers' expectations are biased and their gender-based
practices are misguided for most of their students."
Bigler and Eliot maintain that
many of the popular ideas about gender learning are simply untrue. For
example, consider the theories that "boys are visual learners" and
"girls are auditory learners." Their research suggests that learning is
best accomplished when the delivery method matches the subject matter.
It is the quality of teachers' training, lessons, and classroom
management practices — and not the sex of their students — that
determines the quality of learning in their classrooms.
Despite
the debate, federal law supports the option of single-sex education in
public schools. In 2006, then Education Secretary Margaret Spellings eased federal
regulations on the policy, allowing schools to offer single-sex
classrooms and schools so as long as these options are completely
voluntary. The practice is even more common in charter schools according
to statistics. The 2006 move was designed to give parents and school
districts greater flexibility in selecting an environment best for
individual students.
Single-sex Education in Public Schools
Gaining new momentum in the education reform era

Izvor: Asociation of american educators