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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]

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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]