Jenny is a junior at an all-girls high school. Jenny has applied to the University of New Mexico. She is concerned about living in a co-ed dorm and attending mixed-gender classes. She has not spent much time interacting with boys her own age. Has Jenny’s high school experience prepared her for the real world?

Single-gender education has existed for centuries. In some cases, girls and boys attended different schools. In other cases, schools separated girls and boys into different classes and covered different content, based on gender expectations. In the 1970s, laws meant to protect children from discrimination based on gender eliminated these separate courses in public schools. These laws also eliminated most single-gender public schools. However, the Bush administration passed new laws in 2006, which made it much easier for public schools to offer single-gender education.

Supporters of the single-gender paradigm in education say that students learn better when separated by gender. Some research has shown that single-gender education improves learning. Supporters also say that in coeducational settings, the pressure to impress the opposite sex distracts students from their studies. Students focus on looking attractive or acting cool instead of concentrating on schoolwork. Some students hesitate to participate in class because they worry about what students of the opposite sex will think of them.

Teachers of single-gender classes report that students pay attention and participate more when separated. Teachers can plan activities specifically to address boys’ or girls’ needs, such as adding movement and competition to lessons for boys and creating collaborative lessons for girls. The learning environment can also be tailored; classrooms for girls are often kept warmer and quieter than those for boys. Having only one gender can weaken stereotypes about boys being better at math and girls being better at literacy.

However, opponents say that the binary definition of gender is changing, so single-gender education represents an outdated point of view. All-boys or all-girls schools may exclude transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students. This could lead to discrimination and students being prohibited from attending certain schools. Additionally, some research suggests that single-gender schools actually reinforce gender stereotypes. Some studies show that teachers interact with students differently in single-gender classrooms. For example, teachers might assign less reading to boys and easier math to girls, based on false stereotypes about gender. Furthermore, other research suggests that students don’t actually learn better in single-gender settings.

Many people also point out that schools are supposed to prepare students for the future. All genders comprise the workforce. If people grow up working with only one gender, they may have trouble adapting to mixed-gender situations. For students to succeed as adults, they must learn how to conduct themselves around different genders. What do you think? Do the possible academic advantages of single-gender education outweigh the social learning opportunities provided in mixed-gender schools?