Are there any benefits in attending a single-sex school?
Since the late 1800s, single-sex schools have been implemented in the United States. These schools introduced students to a much different learning environment than the typical co-education public school. It has been proven that single-sex school students have fewer distractions than co-education schools as well as improve peer interaction.
Although researchers have proven there are many pros that come with attending such an institution, there are just as many cons.
From the lack of diverse friendships to an unrealistic depiction of the real world, single-sex schools have it all. On the other hand, co-ed public schools introduce a much more realistic depiction of real world relationships and experiences.
Moreover, with the lack of certain interactions, gender stereotypes are much more likely to occur. According to the Guardian, students who attend a single-sex school are much more likely to have a sexist mindset, whereas students who attend co-ed schools are less likely to have a sexist mindset. With this mindset, other issues, such as undermining gender equality, will be more likely to happen within these gender salient schools.
Furthermore, gender salient schools do not give students the opportunity to explore different gender friendships in school. With this lacking aspect, students have a misinterpretation of what they may face in the future. Not to mention, students would not be prepared to interact with opposite gender co-workers in the future when they start to enter the workforce as well which may lead to some conflicts such as disagreements in gender roles.
Another issue with attending a single-sex school is that it would be much more expensive to run programs schools are unable to set up special classes and activities for one sex and not do so for another. However, co-educational schools do not require as much funding as gender salient schools because both boys and girls can be grouped together in one classroom setting. In addition, if certain schools did not have the funds necessary for students, students would no longer have equal opportunities when in comparison to others.
Additionally, many researchers have concluded that sex segregated schools do not improve students’ academics when compared to co-ed schools. The American Civil Union Liberties (ACLU) had studied this specific topic and did not find any correlations between sex segregation and academic performance.
However, many critics argue that boys and girls have very different brains therefore gender salient schools should exist.Yet, there has never been any solid evidence that shows that gender affects certain academic skills. With the idea of boys’ and girls’ brains being oriented in a specific way, gender segregated schools tend to introduce their students to a selected list of activities rather than letting students explore on their own. According to ACLU, there have been some single-sex schools that encourage male students to be engaged more in sports and female students to be more engaged in “sharing their feelings.” On the other hand, co-ed schools are able to allow male and female students to consider a variation of clubs and activities such as basketball or math competitions.
In conclusion, students should attend co-ed schools rather than single-sex schools. That way, both male and female students are able to experience a much more diverse campus and more preparation for the real world.
