Gender Based Education

Gender Bias u Gender affects the quantity and quality of students’ communication with teachers u Studies consistently show that boys have more interaction with teachers than girls, with the difference being greatest for disciplinary exchanges and smallest for instructional ones

u Subject matter can affect teachers’ treatment of boys and girls u Studies have shown that typically, girls have a higher percentage of academic contact with teachers in reading, and boys in math and science

Gender-Based Instruction u Research has shown that girls and boys do not perform differently prior to the sixth grade in the areas of math and science u The separation in achievement in these areas begins in middle school and continues into high school and college and may be significant in occupational choices that young men and women make later in life

Single Gender Educational Benefits u Research from the Harvard School of Education and the American Association of University Women indicates that instructors in coed classrooms give more attention to boys u Boys are called on four times more often, asked more challenging questions, and praised more frequently

u Researchers confirm that by senior year, students at single gender schools excel beyond their coed peers in the areas of reading, writing, and science u Overall graduates of women’s high schools are more satisfied with their schools and the quality of the teaching, more open-minded about their roles and possibilities, and relieved of some of the social pressures of adolescence (Women’s Schools Together, Inc.)

Why a Girls-Only Middle School? u The middle-school years are a critical transition in a girl’s life u Conflicting messages about femininity and achievement, peer pressure, and the need to “fit in” often erode self-confidence and strong self-image u Research shows that in most coed classrooms, both curriculum and teacher expectations consistently favor boys, particularly in math and science

u At a girls-only middle school, girls have the opportunity to receive all of the teacher’s attention, assume all of the leadership roles, and have greater opportunities to participate in all aspects of school life

Students’ Perceptions of Gender-Based Instruction u Girls report feeling that they could speak out in their all-girl classes because they don’t need to appear “dumb” to make the boys look good u They also don’t feel the need to try to impress the boys with cute remarks u Boys also report that they feel more focused on their studies without the need to impress girls

Effectiveness u Boys and girls, when taught together, are more interested in how they look and appear to each other than they are in what is being taught in the classroom u This is classically a middle school phenomenon and can be acutely improved upon by gender grouping

u Since boys and girls begin to perform differently on standardized tests in the areas of science and math at this stage of their educational development, it follows that gender based teaching may be a vary valuable tool at the middle school level in keeping the playing field level u It may not be necessary to gender group after the middle school years, if the structure of gender bias can be dissolved in the middle school years