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The debate on the relative merits of single-sex and co-educational schooling for girls and boys persists. There are also on-going concerns in Australia about declining enrolments in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines at both the tertiary and school levels. In this article, we summarise some core findings from the scholarly literature on single-sex and co-educational learning settings and then present official enrolment data from the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) for the period 2001–2017 on mathematics and other STEM subjects to determine whether or not attendance at a single-sex school appears to affect participation in these subjects. No consistent pattern was found for boys' and girls' enrolments across VCE STEM subjects by school type (single-sex or co-educational). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different forms of schooling, single sex or co-educational, have been discussed in educational academia from the perspective of their impact on gender equality. The debate revolves around the question: which form of schooling (single or co-educational) will be effective in combating prevalent gender stereotypes? With the contradictory evidence, this discussion remains inconclusive. With the help of inferences from evidence both factual and anecdotal, the paper attempts to delineate the need to consider socio-cultural dimensions for developing a deeper understanding of gender dynamics in schools. Understanding the role of the social context called for a comparative analysis of two co-educational schools from different socio-cultural contexts: a rural government school in a state characterised by traditional gender norms and an elite private school in a metropolitan city. By drawing linkages between socio-cultural aspects and schooling practices, it endeavours to analyse parental concerns, the role of the school as an agency, the interface of caste, culture and tradition and their impact on peer behaviour in both the schools. The study has led to the conclusion that a combination of factors retards or promotes the accomplishment of education policies in individual schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct an experiment that examines the relationship between girls only schooling and risk taking and competitive behavior. In it, we compare decisions made by students in an all‐girls' school to those made by students in a closely matched coeducational school. We further investigate the developmental nature of this behavior by comparing choices made by younger students (Grades 7 and 8) with those of older students (Grades 11 and 12). We focus on the differences between those who select into the all‐girls' school, and find that although girls educated in a single sex environment are the most risk averse, they are also among the most competitive. These results lend texture to the hypothesis that "nurture matters" in the gender differences debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student-designed games (SDG) are a student-centred approach that motivates students to work together while designing and playing their own games based on their ability level. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' social interactions during 11 lessons of SDG focused on target games. Participants were 27 fifth-graders. Lessons were based on Hastie (2010) [Student-designed games. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics]. Five-Step SDG implementation process. Field notes and post-intervention interviews transcriptions were analysed through a systematic process of inductive analysis. Two themes were generated based on field note observations and students' focus interviews: (a) who is the leader and (b) leadership dispute. The results showed that within coeducational groups, girls took the leadership roles. It was found that during intra-group interactions, leaders who took a more democratic approach motivated students engagement, and promoted opportunities for compromising during decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores young people's understandings of gender and sexual violence in New Delhi, India, based on multi-method research conducted with young people (aged 15-17) in three co-educational secondary schools. Fieldwork took place shortly after the 2012 Delhi gang rape that sparked widespread debates about violence against women in India, and so sexual violence became an important frame for students' discussions around gender and sexuality. Young people's understandings are considered within gender narratives - of 'can-do' and 'vulnerable' girlhood, and of 'hero' and 'good boy' masculinities - which already shaped their day-to-day experiences of schooling. Findings suggest that tensions arising from these often contradictory narratives led to frustrations among girls, while the dominance of conversations about sexual violence led to confusions in both girls' and boys' understandings of sexuality. Reflections are offered on ways schools can better support young people as they learn about gender and sexuality from diverse and contradictory sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although a great deal of research has been undertaken from 1982 on TGfU, teachers consider its implementation to be complex and are reluctant to integrate it into their teaching practice. Furthermore, some TGfU literature does not suggest how it might be implemented and how problems might be overcome. On the other hand, a review of TGfU studies showed three shortcomings. First, most of them only compared TGfU with a technique-based approach in the school setting. Second, the studies did not follow the fidelity guidelines for models-based practice research and it is therefore difficult to contrast their results. Third, lesson design was not aligned on the principles of play. Thus, this study provide additional support for going forward from comparative studies in educational settings, and enacting an aligned TGfU unit of floorball contextualized in the principles of play. Purpose: To verify whether pupils improved in variables related to performance and adherence after the enactment of an aligned TGfU unit. Method: An eight lessons unit was designed, validated, and enacted using a mixed-methods quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design. Participants were 41 pupils (23 boys and 18 girls; M = 11.73, SD = .66 years old) from two regular physical education classes with the same teacher. The teacher was trained in the TGfU approach. In pre-test and post-test assessments, data from decision-making, technical execution, cover, support, game performance, game involvement, enjoyment, perceived competence, and intention to be physically active were collected, using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument, two psychological scales, and two focus groups interviews with the pupils and the teacher. We analysed quantitative data using t-tests and qualitative data following an open and axial coding based on the preexisting categories. Results: Pupils improved in decision-making, technical execution, cover, support, game performance, game involvement, enjoyment, perceived competence, and intention to be physically active after implementation of the TGfU unit. The pupils and the teacher perceived improvement in all the variables analysed as a consequence of the intervention. Conclusion: After the implementation of the aligned TGfU floorball unit, pupils improved in the variables related to performance and adherence. Based on participants'key comments, four aspects appeared to be essential for the success of the unit: (a) the lesson design; (b) collaboration from planning to teaching the unit between the researcher and the teacher; (c) the inclusion of learning tasks linked with cover and support; and (d) the use of two reflective periods that helped pupils to understand and apply new knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on observations and suggestions for sex equity in coeducational physical education classes. It describes the four categories of teacher behavior related to sex equity which include class organization strategies, teacher-student interaction, teacher language, and teacher role modeling. It presents suggestions for sex equitable class organization, suggestions for sex equitable teacher-student interactions, suggestions for sex equitable teacher language, and suggestions for sex equitable role modeling.

Using data on the anticipated and final majors of 1700 students at eight women's colleges and 818 female students at seven coed colleges, the author tests whether women at single-sex institutions were more likely than their counterparts at coed schools to remain in traditionally male-dominated subjects and whether they were more likely to shift from traditionally female-dominated subjects. Depending on how broadly "female-dominated majors" is defined, 40% to 75% of women at women's colleges who began in such majors shifted to neutral or male-dominated fields during their college careers, compared to only about 25% of women at coed schools. Approximately 22% of women at both types of school left male-dominated majors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students who study science in single-sex and coeducational schools have attracted lots of attention from the education community. However, changes to students’ attitudes toward science as they progress to higher grades in these schools are not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the changes in attitudes toward science among lower secondary students (Grade 7 to Grade 9) in single-sex and coeducational schools in Brunei. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from 1,034 students. Despite a significant nonlinear decline in attitudes toward science from Grade 7 to Grade 9, the attitudes remained positive. This decline in attitudes toward science was at a minimum for students in the coeducational school, and it followed the following order: single-sex boys > single-sex girls > coeducational students. The decline was independent of the initial perceived values of the students’ attitudes, and it followed different trends when the data of the same-sex students from single-sex and coeducational schools were compared. Male students from the SSB school had more chances for significant decline as they progressed from Year 7 to Year 9. Brunei and countries with similar intentions to expand single-sex and coeducation school systems can target communication between single-sex and coeducation schools so they may learn from each other to improve the effectiveness of science teaching and learning processes. We expect that academics and administrators can benefit from the results of this study to guide their secondary science education policies, curriculum reforms, and teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the current debate regarding the best school setting (single-sex schooling v. coeducation) several advocates of coeducation have published emblematic papers that implicitly suggest that the debate should be considered as finished and that further research regarding this topic is not needed. This essay aims to refute the combined arguments of those articles using methodological and empirical facts, and show that the debate about this question and research into it should not be seen as complete, but instead should be promoted. At the same time, the essay identifies certain features in the aforementioned articles that present a risk of distorting science by moving towards arguments of an ideological nature, and it underlines the problem this represents for the debate itself and for science in general. The article does not seek to defend single-sex education, only the need for further research into it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one of the education reforms of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Co-education has been realized based on the logic that science does not have gender. After the proclamation of the law of Uniformity in education, all the Turkish educational institutions, primary and secondary schools, high schools and universities passed on to co-education in 1924; thus, girls and boys had the right to study together. However, as in all reforms, it has been rather challenging to orient society towards co-education. In our study, this educational transformation that Ataturk's Turkey experienced in 1924 will be analyzed by means of archival documents, newspapers and memoranda and parliament speeches of the period. In addition, model applications from the schools of the period will be presented. The aim of this study is to present Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's attempts to raise awareness in society; prove his rejection of gender segregation in the fields of education and science; and reveal his attempts to raise the status of women- the fundamental component of society - who was ignored until his time. To this end, the study will provide evidence for society's learning and implementation of the concept of equality between men and women with the assertion that the upbringing of man and woman side by side is only possible by means of modern education. Evidently, Ataturk's model of a new education system for the new country he founded will be analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to develop a better understanding of the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering by analyzing the gender gaps (a) in the interest in pursuing a science degree and (b) on science achievement. We use national-level college admissions data to examine gender differences and to explore the association between these outcomes and the attendance to single-sex or co-educational schools. The Chilean college admissions system provides a unique context to study these gender differences, since applicants who wish to pursue an undergraduate degree in science or engineering are required to take a high-stakes standardized science achievement test as part of the admission battery. This test has three subjects: biology, physics, and chemistry, and applicants must choose to be tested in only one of them. Significant gender differences exist for the examinees in their choice of subject and achievement on (the tests). Gender gaps favoring males are observed in the three forms. Both interest and achievement in science are associated with the sex composition of the school attended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Supporters of single-sex schooling believe that separating boys and girls, by classrooms or schools, increases students' academic achievement. Critics of single-sex schooling believe that gender segregation increases students' gender stereotypes and has no effect on students' achievement. In this article, we present these rationales, focusing on developmental issues that may affect the effectiveness of single-sex schooling. We then review the research on the effectiveness of single-sex schooling. Overall, findings suggest that single-sex schooling is not more effective than coeducational schooling at improving students' academic achievement or attitudes. More work is needed to explore a broader range of outcomes, examine developmental factors that may influence the effectiveness of various types of schooling, and communicate results to parents, educators, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study by Akram, Watkins, and Sajid (2013), found that a statistically significant difference exists between boys and girls' schools in most of the dimensions of a learning organization. The current study is an extension of this previous research as it explores whether or not statistically significant differences exist among boys, girls and co-education schools on the dimensions of a learning organization. Using the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) by Watkins and Marsick (1997), 100 sample cases were gathered by using the survey method, from a girls, a boys' and a co-education school in Karachi, Pakistan. The analysis of data revealed that statistically significant differences exist among the three gender-based categories of schools with the girls' school ranking first and the boys' school last in terms of the organizational learning orientation prevailing within the selected schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present findings from a study that investigated the relationship between all-girls classes, all-boys classes, and coeducational classes on student mathematics self-concept and student perception of classroom environment. Further, we compared responses of girls in all-girls classes to girls in coeducational classes and responses of boys in all-boys classes to boys in coeducational classes. Using the Mathematics Attitude Scale and the What Is Happening in This Class? questionnaire, we found no significant differences in student responses on any of the subscales or domains for any of the subgroups, except for Math as a Male Domain. Our findings indicate that student mathematics self-concept and student perception of the classroom environment are similar regardless of whether students are in a single-sex or a coeducational class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several competing visions regarding mountain mission education programs in the Ozark Mountain region of Northwestern Arkansas, and it mentions the mission boards of the Southern Baptist Convention organization and the Ozark Division of Mountain Mission Schools led by superintendent Hugh D. Morton. The Newton County Academy coeducational school is examined, along with the relationship between religion and education. The Kingston Institute school is also assessed.

Overall, the research on the effectiveness of single-gender education is inconclusive. However, research also indicates that some benefits beyond academic achievement may be possible. These findings may be significant for middle school girls, who often struggle with social interactions related to adolescence that create barriers in successfully transitioning to middle school. As these issues for middle school girls are sometimes unique to their gender, advocates argue that single-gender education emerges as a possible solution. This study investigated the potential benefits of participation in a single-gender classroom for sixth-grade females over a 3-year period. A total of 109 participants were involved. Girls in single-gender classrooms were compared to those in coeducational classrooms on variables of academic attitudes and student satisfaction with school. Statistical significance using MANOVA was observed on student satisfaction with school; descriptive statistical data from single-gender participants indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the single-gender program. Results showed that participation in single-gender programs can produce higher levels of student satisfaction with school (as explored in this study). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws from a doctoral study of how female teachers design English curriculum around girls' popular culture in a contemporary coeducational secondary setting and focuses on how English teachers contemplate the study of texts in the space of school-based curriculum planning. The article presents an argument for reflexivity around how we create both texts and identity through curriculum design. It advocates the pursuit of new metaphors for contemplating the study of text that might challenge models of education as delivery in a neoliberal imaginary, where curriculum design is depicted as the anonymous and rational articulation of aims and pedagogy to achieve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern school is a multi-layered and complex institution. For inclusive values and practices to embed in educational systems the nature of school culture and the change process must be considered. Qualitative data was gathered during a year-long ethnographic study of inclusive change in a co-educational high school. This paper applies a model of culture to demonstrate that the development of inclusion within a whole school culture is a process of continued personal and collective reflection, re-negotiation, and experience carried out over a sustained period of time. In order to foster the sustained development of inclusive cultures in schools it is vital to understand the nature of change within school culture, and to provide the time to reflect on deeply held beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the influence that gender, single-sex and co-educational schooling can have on students’ mathematics education in second-level Irish classrooms. Although gender differences in mathematics education have been the subject of research for many years, recent results from PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) show that there are still marked differences between the achievement and attitude of male and female students in Irish mathematics classrooms. This paper examines the influence of gender in more detail and also investigates the impact of single-sex or co-educational schooling. This is a follow on study which further analyses data collected by the authors when they designed a pedagogical framework and used this to develop, implement and evaluate a teaching intervention in four second-level Irish schools. The aim of this pedagogical framework was to promote student interest in the topic of algebra through effective teaching of the domain. This paper further analyses the quantitative data collected and investigates whether there were differences in students’ enjoyment and achievement scores based on their gender and whether they attended single-sex or co-educational schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study extends past findings of heightened problems among affluent youth by examining adjustment patterns among boys in two academically elite, independent high schools: one for boys only and the other co-educational. Both samples manifested disproportionately high rates of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, but only the co-educational boys showed elevations in substance use. Boys in both schools showed elevations in a new outcome domain examined: exhibitionistic narcissism. Multivariate analyses of predictors showed that parent criticism-a defining feature of youths' maladaptive perfectionism-and perceived maternal depression emerged as major vulnerability factors for both samples in relation to symptom levels. On other parenting dimensions, boys in the single-sex school seemed to be particularly sensitive to feelings of alienation from their fathers and perceived paternal depression. Envy of peers' attractiveness was associated with adolescent distress in both samples, but appeared to be especially critical for co-educational boys. Results are discussed, focusing on the costs and benefits of boys' attendance at a single-sex versus co-educational school, along with implications for practice and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined possible gender differences in reasons for faculty attrition during the last 20 years at a small women's liberal arts college. The attrition rate was calculated from archival data collected through old college directories. As in earlier studies, the attrition rate was higher for women (31%) than for men (18.5%). Reasons for leaving the college were assessed in an online survey completed by 45 out of 66 tenure-track or tenured professors who left (excluding retirees). Work–family conflict was the most frequently cited reason for leaving, with disproportionately more women than men giving this reason. Open-ended responses revealed that work–family conflict typically referred to the difficulty of coordinating two careers. Female faculty who left were also significantly more dissatisfied than males with the support for balancing work and family life at the college. The need for colleges to create spousal policies to help faculty coordinate dual careers was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The number of United States public schools offering single-sex education for girls has increased dramatically in the past decade. Rationales for all-girls schools are diverse and grounded in differing gender ideologies. We examined reasoning about all-girls schools among school stakeholders (i.e., individuals affected by single-sex schools, including students, parents, and teachers) in the Southwestern United States. Specifically, middle school students attending all-girls ( n = 398) and coeducational ( n = 191) schools, mothers of middle school students attending all-girls ( n = 217) and coeducational ( n = 64) schools, and teachers employed at all-girls ( n = 18) and coeducational ( n = 97) middle schools rated the veracity of multiple rationales for girls-only schools. Specifically, we examined rationales for single-sex schooling related to gender differences in learning, gender differences in interests, girls' ingroup preference, and gender discrimination. Endorsement of rationales differed across participant role (student, parent, teacher) and school type (single-sex, coeducational). Overall, stakeholders affiliated with an all-girls school were more supportive of each rationale than stakeholders affiliated with coeducational schools. Teachers affiliated with the single-sex school strongly endorsed gender differences in learning as a rationale for single-sex schooling. Endorsement of rationales did not vary across participant gender. The implications of these findings for educational policy and the interpretation of research on single-sex schooling are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of single-sex (SS) education believe that separating boys and girls, by classrooms or schools, increases students' achievement and academic interest. In this article, we use meta-analysis to analyze studies that have tested the effects on students of SS compared with coeducational (CE) schooling. We meta-analyzed data from 184 studies, representing the testing of 1.6 million students in Grades K-12 from 21 nations, for multiple outcomes (e.g., mathematics performance, mathematics attitudes, science performance, educational aspirations, self-concept, gender stereotyping). To address concerns about the quality of research designs, we categorized studies as uncontrolled (no controls for selection effects, no random assignment) or controlled (random assignment or controls for selection effects). Based on mixed-effects analyses, uncontrolled studies showed some modest advantages for single-sex schooling, for both girls and boys, for outcomes such as mathematics performance but not for science performance. Controlled studies, however, showed only trivial differences between students in SS versus CE, for mathematics performance (g = 0.10 for girls, 0.06 for boys) and science performance (g = 0.06 for girls, 0.04 for boys), and in some cases showed small differences favoring CE schooling (e.g., for girls' educational aspirations, g = -0.26). Separate analyses of U.S. studies yielded similar findings (e.g., for mathematics performance g = 0.14 for girls and 0.14 for boys). Results from the highest quality studies, then, do not support the view that SS schooling provides benefits compared with CE schooling. Claims that SS schooling is particularly effective for U.S. ethnic minority boys could not be tested due to the lack of controlled studies on this question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how the relationship between students' risk of being bullied and their gender conformity differs depending on whether they attend single-sex or coeducational high schools. Findings indicate that gender nonconforming students, and students who vary from their dominant school gender norms, are most likely to experience bullying regardless of school context. Single-sex schools emerge as a protective factor for gender nonconforming females, possibly due to a privileged position female masculinity holds in a single-sex female context. These findings contribute to a complicated terrain emerging in the research literature on single-sex schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three instructional approaches in secondary education students' physical self-concept after the implementation of an ultimate learning unit. A total of 274 (males: 151, females: 133) students (12 to 17 years of age) from an urban, coeducational high school (grades 8th to 12th) agreed to participate. They were distributed into three study groups in each grade: one group was taught using a Traditional approach (TRAD), another group was taught using the Sport Education model (SEM), and a third group was also taught using the Sport Education model and self-made materials (SEM-SM). The AF5-Self-Concept Questionnaire was administered to assess physical self-concept. The results showed that only the students in the SEM-SM group significantly increased their physical self-concept from initial to final tests. Self-made materials seem to have a significant positive effect, possibly due to their constructivist basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contextual variations in the association between gender role conformity and victimization were studied in fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade girls ( N = 469) from same- and mixed-sex schools located in lower middle class neighborhoods in two cities (Bogotá and Barranquilla) in Colombia. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure peer victimization (i.e., when a child is the target of negative actions from her/his peers) and gender identity. We hypothesized a negative relationship between typicality and peer victimization in that more gender typical children would be less victimized. We also expected to find a stronger association between gender typicality and victimization in contexts with higher levels of pressure to conform to gender norms. Results indicated that the girls in the single-sex schools endorsed significantly higher levels of gender typicality and felt pressure to conform to gender norms than the girls in the mixed-sex schools. The girls in the mixed-sex schools reported significantly higher levels of peer victimization. Girls in the same-sex schools reported lower levels of peer victimization in classrooms with high levels of perceived pressure to conform to gender norms. Multilevel modeling revealed that gender typicality was negatively associated with peer victimization among the girls in the same-sex schools and was uncorrelated with victimization in the mixed-sex school. These findings add to the database indicating that peers relationships are affected by gender and that the effects of gender are moderated by group composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between school type and gender role attitudes among 295 female high school seniors attending four high schools, two single-sex and two coeducational. The schools are located in Istanbul, Turkey, where a recent proposal to establish a system of girls' schools has sparked a lively public debate about the advantages of single-sex schooling as a means of addressing the problem of lower female educational attainment. The main research question is whether the gender composition of schools has an impact on gender role attitudes, which we operationalize as attitudes toward gender roles in three domains: Family life, work life, and social life. Statistical analysis based on multiple regression show that, net of family background characteristics, students attending single-sex schools have more egalitarian attitudes toward family life roles than coeducational students, but school type does not matter for work and social life role attitudes. The socioeconomic composition of schools is also important, with students attending schools in the high socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhood having more egalitarian views on gender roles in family and social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because women at single-sex colleges are constantly surrounded by other women with whom they can visually compare themselves, and because we believed that physical appearance-based social comparison would impact body ideals and self-objectification, we predicted that students at a women's college would endorse thinner body ideals and display more self-objectification as compared to female students at a mixed-sex college, and that these differences would be especially prominent between upper grade level students. Surveys were completed by 175 undergraduate female students at a women's college and a mixed-sex college located in the same U.S. Midwestern city. Results were opposite of what we predicted; women at the women's college were more likely to endorse larger body ideals, whereas women at the mixed-sex college were more likely to endorse thinner ideals. As predicted, there was a significant difference in scores between the upper college year students; lower college year students did not show significant differences in ideals, suggesting that although female students may enter college with similar body ideals, 4 years in a mixed-sex or single-sex setting can drastically alter how women think about body types. There were no differences between schools for self-objectification or physical appearance social comparison, and physical appearance social comparison did not correlate to body ideals. Taken together, this pattern of results suggests that social comparison does not influence body ideals, but rather, other characteristics of a single-sex and mixed-sex environment do. What these characteristics may be (e.g. presence of men, exposure to counterstereotypic role models) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on consequences of schools' gender composition has mostly investigated students' socio-emotional well-being and achievement, while students' academic attitudes and behavioural outcomes – including school deviancy – have been studied less. Moreover, most studies compared single-sex and coeducational schools, and did not focus on the proportion of girls at school. Starting from reference group theory, we hypothesise that boys attending schools with a higher proportion of girls adopt the latter's positive study attitudes, rendering them less susceptible to disruptive behaviour. Conversely, girls in schools with more boys are expected to adopt the latter's negative study attitudes, consequently being more likely to misbehave. Multilevel analyses on data from the Flemish educational assessment, consisting of 5961 girls and 5638 boys in 81 schools, showed that both boys and girls valued studying more and were less likely to misbehave at school when proportionally more girls attended their school. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Croatian Journal of Education / Hrvatski Časopis za Odgoj i Obrazovanje is the property of Uciteljski Fakultet u Zagrebu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study is an effort to find out the differential personality development of boys and girls in the single-sex and coeducational schools. From the eight districts of Punjab, 128 schools were randomly selected (single sex and coeducational) and 4,448 fifth grade students participated in the study. The personality of students was measured by using Children Personality Questionnaire which was adapted and translated for the study. The 2×2 Analysis of Variance was carried out to explore the significance of gender and type of school and their interaction on the scores obtained by the students. The t-test was used to compare the mean scores of boys and girls in the single-sex and coeducational schools. The results indicated that the personality of single-sex students was more positive than the students in coeducational schools. The students in the single-sex schools were more outgoing, participative, enthusiastic, lively, conscientious, rulebound, socially bold, spontaneous, individualistic, self-reliant, realistic, shrewd, sharp, untroubled, self-assured, self-disciplined, sociallyprecise, relaxed and un-frustrated, whilst, students in the coeducational schools were more reserved, cool, sober, serious, expedient, disregarding rules, timid, shy, dependent, sensitive, vigorous, group dependent, naÏve, sentimental, worried, depressed, casual, careless of social rules, tense and frustrated. The girls were found more adversely affected in the coeducation schools than boys (academic achievement, emotional stability, liveliness, social boldness, perfectionism etc.). The study supports single-sex schools as they provide more pleasant and supportive learning environment to boys and girls resulting in more positive personality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article documents evidence of nonrandom gender sorting across K-12 schools in the United States. The sorting exists among coed schools and at all grade levels, and it is highest in the secondary school grades. We observe some gender sorting across school sectors and types: for instance, males are slightly underrepresented in private schools and charter schools and are substantially overrepresented in irregular public schools, a large share of which educates students with special needs and juvenile justice involvement. Gender sorting within sectors and types is also quite prevalent and appears to be highest within the private schools (where single-sex schools are more common) and irregular public schools. We find that gender sorting is higher in counties that have higher shares of enrollment in private and nonregular public schools. This sorting occurs even though parents have similar stated preferences for school attributes for their sons and daughters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some U.S. school districts are experimenting with single-sex schooling, hoping that it will yield better academic outcomes for students. Empirical research on the effects of single-sex schooling, however, has been equivocal, with various studies finding benefits, disadvantages, or no effect. Most of this research is marred because families generally choose whether the child attends a single-sex or coeducational school, so there are selection effects that create pre-existing differences between students in the different types of schools. The research reported here capitalized on the case of Korea, where students are randomly assigned to single-sex or coeducational schools. Using 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data, we applied hierarchical linear modeling to account for the nesting of students within schools. Results for eighth graders indicated no differences between students in single-sex and coeducational schools in mathematics and science achievement. Results from the 2003 TIMSS data replicated the finding: students' mathematics and science achievement was unrelated to the gender composition of their school. These results call into question whether single-sex schooling has the academic advantages claimed by its proponents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of gender differences in creativity has been a controversial and much-disputed subject for decades. The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in divergent thinking and the effect of gender-grade level interaction on divergent thinking. The sample consisted of 901 (367 boys and 534 girls), from K to 6, who were recruited from 7 coeducational schools in various rural and urban school districts in southern Egypt. The students’ divergent thinking was assessed using the Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP), a nonverbal measure of creative potential. The results of the study indicated no gender differences in divergent thinking, but the grade level effect was statistically significant, as was the interaction effect between gender and grade level (in 3 of the TCT-DP subscales). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the development of the American School of Barcelona (ASB) in Barcelona, Spain in light of the school's 50th anniversary in 2013. Topics include the school's founder Josep Maria Poal, the school's co-educational and English-language atmosphere, and the school's adoption of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in 2007. The school's family atmosphere, Student Exploration, Experience and Discovery (SEED) program, and ASB's future are discussed.

Purpose -- The first state high schools in New South Wales (NSW) were restricted to children with high academic ability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experience of over 70 former students from three such schools, one coeducational, the other two single-sex, with special attention to academic and social curricula. Design/methodology/approach -- The study investigates memories of a particular moment in the history of secondary schooling in NSW before the establishment of mass secondary education. The authors utilise theoretical concepts from recent oral history studies regarding memory communities and intersectionality. Findings -- In bringing ex-students' memories of both single-sex and coeducational academically-selective high schooling together, the study reports on the homogeneity of the memories of this type of schooling despite the different sexual structures of the schools. The respondents, it is argued, constitute a "memory community" in that they recalled their selection for high school as marking them out as intellectually superior, "special". Their main differentiating feature arose from their sex and gender socialisation. Females were made more consistently conscious of their responsibilities within their schools' gender regime. Originality/value -- The approach in this paper adjusts the focus of traditional oral history research in the history of education to "history from within" (rather than "from below"); to experiences of both academic and socialcurriculum (not "formal/informal"); to a gendered approach incorporating both sexes; and to a comparative approach across academically-selective coeducational and single-sex high schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the idea of establishing single-sex classrooms (SSC) in co-educational sites to be an exploring option in Australia. Topics include the third wave of interest for establishing single-sex classrooms, efficiency of SSC and effects of SSC in specific subject areas especially on Mathematics, Science and English.

The growing literature on the gendering of citizenship and citizenship education highlights that western notions of ‘citizenship’ have often been framed in a way that implicitly excludes women. At the same time, insofar as feminist writers have addressed citizenship, they have tended to see it in largely local and national terms. While feminist literature has laid the groundwork for understanding how schools have shaped and structured a gendered citizenry, there is a lack of large-scale quantitative data which might allow us to explore the intersection between gender and global citizenship education. Drawing on a large-scale quantitative study on development education/global citizenship education in second-level schools, the data presented here suggest that emergent notions of global citizenship are being gendered in schools. The data suggest that girls’ schools are more likely than other types of schools to emphasise a sense of responsibility for, and an analysis of, global inequalities, while differences also emerge between boys’ schools and co-educational schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Gendered schooling is growing in the United States, but little research exists on single-sex classes in public elementary schools. This study sought to find out if single-sex classes in two elementary schools made a difference in boys' reading gains in 2008–2009, as judged by scores on the state's annual literacy test. In one school, boys in the boys' class gained significantly more than boys in the mixed class. In the other school, boys in the boys' class did not gain significantly more or less than boys in the mixed class, but they did gain significantly less than boys in the mixed class on a nationally normed reading test also given by the school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the difference in the level of anxiety associated with English language learning for students in single-sex and coeducational schools. It is a causal comparative study based on a sample of 576 students from secondary schools. The data were collected from 14 schools; 4 girls' only schools, 3 boys' only schools and 7 coeducational schools, located in a relatively small area of Multan. Horwitz's Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used to measure students' level of anxiety in English language classes. The data were analysed using t-test, analysis of variance and regression method. Results of the study indicate that level of anxiety associated with English language learning is higher in coeducational setting for both the sexes and its value is higher for girls in both types of schools even after including different individual, school and family related factors. It is also indicated that a higher number of students in a class also increase the level of anxiety among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gender segregation in employment may be explained by women''s reluctance to choose technical occupations. However, the foundations for career choices are laid much earlier. Educational experts claim that female students are doing better in math and science and are more likely to choose these subjects if they are in single-sex classes. One possible explanation is that coeducational settings reinforce gender stereotypes. In this paper, we identify the causal impact of the gender composition in coeducational classes on the choice of school type for female students. Using natural variation in the gender composition of adjacent cohorts within schools, we show that girls are less likely to choose a traditionally female dominated school type and more likely to choose a male dominated school type at the age of 14 if they were exposed to a higher share of girls in previous grades. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article is based on a study undertaken by LABIA (Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action), a queer feminist collective in Mumbai, titled ‘Breaking the binary: Understanding the concerns and realities of queer persons assigned gender female at birth across a spectrum of lived gender identities’. We look at how the queer and gender-transgressive existence of our respondents impacts their access to education, and subsequently their livelihood opportunities. Education, specifically formal education (and educational institutions), has an important role in violently producing a gender-normative world. However, education is also a passport to an independent economic existence. In this article, we look at these varied experiences as well as how our feminisms need to take these concerns into account as we grapple with the issue of engendering a new kind of education. We draw upon the stories of queer PAGFB (persons assigned gender female at birth) within the formal education system to posit critical interventions in education, ranging from changing the structures in both gender-segregated and co-educational institutions to building awareness and making changes in syllabi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, calls for scientific literacy to be an essential part of school science curricula have been highlighted in two substantive reports: Beyond 2000 (Millar & Osbourne, 1998; Osbourne, 2007) in the United Kingdom, and Reimagining Science Education in Australia (Tytler, 2007). These reports emphasise the need to make science relevant to secondary students in the twenty-first century. In New Zealand, there is a paucity of longitudinal research to find the reasons for students continuing with one or more sciences during their secondary schooling and subsequently. To investigate the New Zealand situation, students in a medium size, typical coeducational state school were surveyed at year 10 (age 14/15) and again at year 11 (age 15/16). This empirical research demonstrates that common reasons for selecting science subjects were the enjoyment of the subject, practical work relating to that subject, and for future career requirements. The paper also presents the reasons offered by students who had decided not to continue with the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper** draws upon the recognition of sex education as an educational space for the development of youth sexual citizenship and gender equality. Despite the more open political and public debates in Portugal during the last three decades, around the implementation of sex education in schools, the relationship between education and sexuality is still seen as a «problem» and not as a citizenship right. Going beyond the health centred approaches, the paper explores new possibilities for sex education based on sexual and intimate citizenship concepts. Firstly, a brief outline of the advances and setbacks in sex education and gender policies in Portugal is presented to better contextualize this question. Secondly, an interpretation of young people's views on sexuality, more concretely on sexual pleasure and sexual pressure and the implications of sex education for intimate relationships are taken into account, based on interviews from male and female pupils in Portuguese schools. Finally, the need to rethink sex education is emphasised with consideration of young people's views for overcoming revealed issues and constraints in order for an educational agenda on equality and citizenship to be created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examined gender differences in student engagement and academic performance in school. Participants included 3420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th graders) from Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results indicated that, compared to boys, girls reported higher levels of engagement in school and were rated higher by their teachers in academic performance. Student engagement accounted for gender differences in academic performance, but gender did not moderate the associations among student engagement, academic performance, or contextual supports. Analysis of multiple-group structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of teacher support and parent support, but not peer support, were related indirectly to academic performance through student engagement. This partial mediation model was invariant across gender. The findings from this study enhance the understanding about the contextual and personal factors associated with girls'' and boys'' academic performance around the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]