Single-gender schools promote an individualized learning environment

Because all students in the Mounds View School District experience coeducational education, they may feel closed off to the idea of single-gender schools. However, single-gender schools often benefit the education experience, reducing the harmful gender stereotypes that plague both girls and boys at coed schools and creating a safe learning environment for students of all genders. 

If you were asked to describe a stereotypical computer scientist, you would probably describe something of a socially-awkward geek. They may have a triple-monitor PC setup or a screen time average of eight to nine hours per day. And, most likely, they would be male.

STEM subjects are often perceived as more masculine while liberal arts subjects are perceived as more feminine. These biases are often internalized by teachers and students, leading to disparities between the percentage of women and men pursuing STEM-related careers. 

Girls attending single-gender schools seem to be more likely to pursue STEM classes and programs than their coed counterparts. A study from the University of Sydney found that, even when accounting for socioeconomic factors, STEM participation in 11th and 12th grade was significantly higher among girls attending all-female campuses. Perhaps this is because it is far more difficult to believe that boys are better at science and math when there are no boys for girls to compare themselves to.

On the flipside, boys from all-boys schools are more likely to pursue post-secondary education. According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania, boys from all-boys schools are over 8% more likely to pursue an education at a four-year university, even when accounting for socioeconomic disparities. Interestingly, it also seems that boys from all-boys schools are more likely to engage in STEM courses than boys from coed schools. According to the same study, boys attending all-boys schools and expecting to attend a four-year college are more likely to pursue a STEM-related college major than their coeducational schools counterparts (32% vs. 23%).

While liberal arts classes are arguably just as important as STEM courses, with 75% of the fastest-growing careers requiring skills in STEM according to the Australian Department of Education, the increased participation in STEM courses and degrees among single-gender school students demonstrates higher earning capabilities and potentially higher job satisfaction.

While it would be false to say that differences in learning styles between girls and boys is simply a biological manifestation, whether heavily influenced by gender stereotypes or not, learning styles are an important consideration when it comes to debating coed vs. single-gender schools. 

According to WebMD, brain scans have shown differences in the development of different brain regions between girls and boys. In girls, it seems that parts of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, which are responsible for language, thought and memory, develop sooner than in boys, which could explain girls’ success in vocabulary and writing. In boys, areas of the brain responsible for spatial and mechanical functioning tend to develop earlier than in girls, which may explain their preference for movement and pictures. Single-gender schools use these differing learning styles to their advantage, catering their lessons and curriculum to each gender.

While single-gender schools seem inherently exclusionary to anyone who does not identify as cis-gender and many fail to accommodate nonbinary and gender-non-conforming students, many schools are taking strides to make their campuses more accessible to transgender students. Barnard College, a women’s college, recently launched the “Trans@Barnard” initiative aimed at providing housing accommodations and updated name forms to transgender students.

Overall, single-gendered schools offer students significant advantages. With statistics proving that students at single-gender schools perform better than coed students, it makes sense why many parents opt for single-gender schools for their children.