Female Body Image Perception: A Study of Teenage Girls Attending Single-sex Versus Coed Schools By: Olivia Feehery

Question Do either single-sex or coed schools provide a more accepting or less judgmental environment for girls?

Background Information There are many different opinions about single-sex and coeducation. Arguments for single-sex education are that there are fewer distractions for students and the gender stereotypes that exist for certain subjects will be insignificant. Arguments for coeducation are that separate schools are unequal, and that interaction with the opposite sex is necessary for success. In a test trying to discover whether girls and boy felt a greater sense of belonging at single-sex or coed schools, it was found that girls have a greater sense of belonging at single-sex schools. Belonging has an affect on many part of wellbeing. Female body image is especially fragile during the adolescent years, and the factors that influence body image for girls are personal body evaluations, worry about others’ views of their bodies, and same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.

Hypothesis It was hypothesized that girls at single-sex schools would have a more accepting or positive perception of others’ bodies.

Procedure 1. To begin experimentation a survey was created with 25 questions using four images to reveal the subjects’ perceptions of the body images. 2. Two hundred and forty copies of the survey were produced with an attached informed consent form. 3. Half were distributed to a coed school, and half were distributed at a single-sex school. 4. One hundred six girls from the coeducational school and one hundred four girls from the single-sex school between the ages of 13 and 16 completed the survey. 5. All of the data was collected in spreadsheets. 6. Averages and ranges were calculated for a few questions that were appropriate. Modes and frequencies were calculated for all of the questions. 7. Graphs were also created to better display the data.

The Survey Image AImage BImage CImage D

Statistics

Conclusion It was hypothesized that girls at single-sex schools would have a more accepting opinion of others’ bodies. The results did not point to either group as more accepting because many of the results were similar or not definitive enough. This knowledge could play a role in education decisions by showing that neither type of education is better for a child in this specific area, and seemingly neither creates a less judgmental environment.

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