With our schools searching for ways to motivate students and meet their needs, is it time to consider same-sex classrooms? With achievement gaps between males and females – that may be the answer.
The Center on Education Policy conducted studies centered on differences in achievement between boys and girls. Grade 4 math scores indicated most girls reached the basic level and most boys reached the advanced level in state tests. Girls outperformed boys in reading scores at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Gaps do not only appear within gender, but also in low, middle, and high-income areas.
Generally speaking, boys require structure in the classroom that is different than girls. A study conducted in 1993 by American University professors Myra Sadker and David Sadker find that males dominate the teacher’s attention and classroom activities. More recent studies conducted by a team of neuroscientists from the National Institute of Mental Health show ‘the brain regions develop in a different sequence and tempo in girls compared with boys’ (NeuroImage,Vol, 36, No.4).
• There was rapid development in girls 6 to 10 years old in visual processing and boys after 14 years old.
• Language processing in 5-year-old boys compare to a girl at the age of 3.
Single gender classrooms create opportunities that don’t exist in coed classrooms. A teacher doesn’t have to employ strategies to fit both genders, allowing a more refined teaching day with the focus on the specific needs of either the female or male. Boys tend to favor a more physically active and competitive climate, whereas girls favor a quieter learning climate. Students are free to interact and learn without being distracted by the opposite sex. The playing field is leveled without the competition of the sexes.
Virginia, along with Australia, and a British study showed results that favored higher achievement with girls. Girls are more able to participate in classroom discussions without the dominance of boys. They become more confident as students by raising their hands to defend positions in discussions. Girls are not stereotyped as being nice, quiet, non-athletic. They are able to take over leadership positions in the school. In an all girl classroom, sexual harassment is eliminated and in an all boy classroom, there is no distraction of the opposite sex.
Critics say that grouping by gender, schools lose the element of a diverse classroom. They claim that different perspectives and interests add value to a student’s life. And same sex classroom do not reflect real world experiences. Students need to learn to respect gender differences. There are no studies that prove these statements.
In spite of the critics’ perception, separating students encourages them to think more independently. It’s time for public schools to consider what private schools have long been doing. Public schools have been given the legal latitude to offer same-sex classes. Schools need to broaden their horizon and offer what is needed to educate all children equally. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ is no longer appropriate for classrooms. Schools need to nurture and encourage independence and leadership in all students.
