In the contemporary society, gender issues and roles has been a concern or rather a problem which faces the parents and the society as a whole since it influences the operations and interaction of children in the society. In education sector for example, gender issues have taken a central debates on whether a single sex populations or coeducational system be implemented on the education system be it in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools. Scholars have carried various studies to prove which option among the two is better but there is no clear agreement on the best method since the parties for and against the use of each methods have a special reasons as to why they support either side. Single sex schools are schools in which the girls are separated from boys (Datnow and Hubbard 103). The boys are put in their own environment and they are left to compete on their own. The same case is for girls. On the other hand, in coeducation, the boys and girls are put in the same classroom and they are left to compete and learn from one another.
According to Diana Urbina, in her "Single sex school" masterpiece, single sex schools are far much better than the coeducation. It is because; the students learn normally at different rates. Besides, they have different levels in which they perceive things hence making the girls to feel shy among boys especially when they cannot grasp the concept faster as compared to the male counterparts. Therefore, separating the two sees are very important in promoting learning given that the whole process meets the needs and obligations of the children hence giving them an opportunity to aim higher. However, the statement does not depict that boys are better than girls, but it is just a show of concern since there are some cases where boys are also weaker as compared to girls (Mitelman and Nipissing University 167-168). For example, when students or pupils do a test in certain subjects like mathematics and science, boys tend to be better than the girls. However, this is not true when it comes to languages and humanities, a concept which shows that girls can be proved to be good in writing and reading as compared to boys.
Besides, the girls and boys normally act in a different and unique way when they are together or when put in the same environment. For example, when the boys see girls in their presences, they will tend to be louder than usual while when girls see boys around them, they will tend to adopt various unique and weird behaviors which include giggling and clicking at them (Langan 150). They tend to flirt to one another so as to get the attention, a process which can cause a major problem in the learning of both male and female. Therefore, these behaviors if not controlled by adopting the single se school can hinder the learning process in the coeducation system hence leading to a decline in performance of either the boys or girls in the long-run.
The other reason as to why the single sex education is better than the coeducation is that at some extent teachers tend to be bias to the students. In some situations, teachers give more attention to boys than girls in the elementary state and in stages like post-secondary or secondary, girls are given more priority as compared to their male counterparts by the male teachers and the reverse is true to the male by the female teachers ("What Are the Advantages of Single Sex Education?"). In case where boys are given priority, when they say something in their classes without raising their hands, the teachers won't say anything and when they say something wrong the teacher will make it their initiative to correct and make them understand how it would have been as compared to the girls who could be shun when they speak without carrying up their hands. However, these types of treatments can only be viable depending on the attitude of the teachers towards male or female students.
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Order an essayEven though the coeducation system also have varied benefits which comprise of the students learning from one another, and provision of the realistic ways of upbringing young people, the single sex education helps to shelter the children from their opposite sex, a process which has been proven to be important in improving the grades. In circumstances where the teachers learn and understand how to teach girls, they will be in a position to feel comfortable to embrace subjects like mathematics, technologies and advance in sciences and computer knowledge. Besides, boys can also tend to learn other things like orchestras, Latin or other languages and participate in choirs much better in single sex schools as compared to the coed schools, a process which aid in building their self-confidence and esteem ("Four Advantages of Single-Sex Schools"). Besides, it will help the boys and girls to be themselves since the boys will tend to soften their competitive edge and be a bit more collaborative and embrace team work as compared to when they are in the coeducation system. They will tend to be boys and not worry a lot about what the girls might be thinking they are in the ecosystem. On the other hand, the girls will tend to abandon their shyness and begin to take risks on a single sex setting as compared to the coed settings. The step can make them more competitive and up to accomplishing tasks without a mentality that they have to be assisted with boys. It also gives them an opportunity to participate in the co-curricular activities such as soccer and hockey with enthusiasm without having some worry seeming like the tom boys.
In the single sex school, there might rise a loss of gender stereotype since the children can drift down without discomfiture towards untraditional subjects. In the girls' school, the girls can have guts to present and speak about their writings and freely ask questions without having a feeling of embarrassment about how they look like and how they perform over time. Besides, the female mathematicians and scientists can be proud to offer their experience, a process which prevents them from appearing more feminine.
Even though the single sex school have some disadvantages which might hinder learning and socialization across gender such as poor social skills, promotion of sexism, legality and limited experience, the single sex school benefits still stands a chance of outweighing the benefits which students get from the coeducation schools ("Disadvantages of Schools Segregated by Sex | Education - Seattle PI"). Therefore, if the single sex school can be promoted, then the performance of both the boy child and girl child both in the elementary or post-secondary categories shall be improved.
Works Cited
"Advantages of Co-education." cathedral-school.co.uk/co-education.html.
Chadwell, D. W. A gendered choice: Designing and implementing single-sex programs and schools. Corwin, 2010.
Datnow, A., and L. Hubbard. Gender in Policy and Practice: Perspectives on Single Sex and Coeducational Schooling. Taylor and Francis, 2013.
"The Disadvantages of Schools Segregated by Sex | Education - Seattle PI." education.seattlepi.com/disadvantages-schools-segregated-sex-2074.html.
"Four Advantages of Single-Sex Schools." www.thoughtco.com/advantages-of-single-sex-schools-2774613.
Langan, J. Ten steps to advanced reading. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2008.
Mitelman, A., and Nipissing University. Educational success of single gender classes versus coed classes in one Ontario public school system. Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007.
"What Are the Advantages of Single Sex Education?" www.thoughtco.com/advantages-of-single-sex-education-2773308.
