Advantages of single-sex settings

5.4.2. Hearing the female voice during math and science classes

One of the characteristics of females – especially of adolescent girls – in math and science mixed-sex settings is being silent (e.g. AAUW, 1992; Heffernan, 1996;

Ransom, 1993; Rotem, 1997). In contrary, the typical behavior of girls in single-sex math and science classes is learning through a vast amount of oral communication (Durost, 1996; Harrison, 27.10.1997; Kerr, 1995; Sa’ar, 1.6.2001; Singh, Vaught,

& Mitchell, 1998; Streitmatter, 1997; Stutler, 1997). As was already shown, women tend to be talkative while interacting among themselves, while when in a mixed-sex company they are more silent (e.g. Tannen, 1992). Girls are much more talkative and expressive than boys during childhood. In spite of that – whether through intentional education or by an unintentional process of socialization – they tend to adopt the “female” way of being quiet while in male company. One of the most noticeable results of this silence is the different reaction of males and females when in mixed-sex company: while males tend to take the ground especially when in female company, females give up the ground to males not only when they are a small minority, but also when they are the vast majority.

5.4.3. Increasing the aspirations level

Female students’ achievements and aspirations are often lowered in coeducational school settings (Cipriani-Sklar, 1997; Daly, 1995). Girls who learned physics in a singe-sex setting in England were more likely than their peers learning in mixed-sex classes to take the A-level physics exams which are a pre-request to higher education in many scientific domains (Gillibrand, Robinson, Brawn, & Osborn, 1999).

University of Maine Prof. Bonnie Wood has found that girls that took the algebra single-sex class at the Maine high school were twice as likely to enroll in advanced chemistry and college physics than their peers who learned in coeducational classes (Hancock, & Kalb, 24.6.1996).

5.4.4. Fighting the culture of romance

The culture of romance (e.g. Zorman & David, 2000; Holland & Eisenhart, 1990;

Kerr, 1995), which is a major educational factor of the adolescent girl, influence many young girls learning in mixed-sex classes to be quiet during classes, try to hide their abilities in order to be liked by boys, as well as be popular among other girls because of their “feminine” traits. In addition it influences girls to invest time and

energy in their looks and social life. Preliminary research in Israel has shown (Libes, 2000) that teen-age girls in the end of the 20^th century tended to aspire less towards professions like accounting or law than their mothers did, and preferred instead occupations in show-business, advertisement, or public relations. This tendency might explain – at least partially – the low motivation of girls to learn high-level math and science. It is considered more popular, perhaps more “cool”, to acquire professions where looks count. The brain is not taken too seriously; thus, the adolescent girl can integrate in the romance culture and work less than her mother did in order to prepare herself for her desired profession.

5.4.5. Enabling girls to benefit from their preferred learning style

Girls have – in general – learning characteristics typical for them. Among those are:

Reflect before answering the teachers’ questions;

Listen to others and not always talk – especially in a mixed-sex settings;

Prefer a collaborative rather than a competitive setting (Durost, 1996;

Harrison, 27.10.1997).

In mixed-sex classes, girls do not always have the opportunity to reflect before answering, because boys tend to answer the teacher’s questions immediately. In such classes girls might find themselves listening most of the time and hardly speaking. In addition, girls do not enjoy in general a competitive environment, dominating in mixed-sex settings.

5.4.6. Avoiding serving as teacher’s helpers

In mixed-sexes classes girls have quite often to serve as teachers’ helpers (Zorman &

David, 2000), especially by aiding boys who are noisier than girls (Schwartz, 1991).

In single-sex classes, where usually discipline problems are less acute, talented girls are spared – at least partially – of doing this task.

5.4.7. Avoiding serving as boys’ assistants

In many mixed-sex classes girls are expected to fulfill the function of boys’ assistants (Barton, 1999). This situation can lead to underachievement, loss of self-value, decrease in self-esteem and self-confidence, and eventually dropout of science and computers classes.

5.4.8. Avoiding hostile climate

The AAUW (1992) study reported that in coeducational classes girls have been subjected to physically, sexually, and emotionally hostile classroom climates.

Hancock & Kalb (24.6.1996) have found that eighth grade girls preferred doing physics experiments without boys around to take the equipment over.

5.4.9. Decreasing sex-stereotyped attitudes

Studies about the relation between sex-stereotyped attitudes and behaviors and American sex-segregated education from in grade K-12 find that girls’ schools have less stereotypic attitudes regarding females’ roles in society, women in “male”

professions, and attitudes towards feminism (Lee & Byrk, 1986; Trickett, Castro, Trickett, & Shaffner, 1982; Vockell & Lobonc, 1981). In addition, girls learning in single-sex classes have a lesser level of fear of success and a higher level of leadership (Lockheed, 1976; Price & Rosemier, 1972; Winchel, Fenner, & Shaver, 1974). Lee & Lockheed (1990) have found that single-sex schools have positive effects on 9^th grade Nigerian girls achievements and attitudes toward math, but less positive results were found for male students. Gerrity (1994) has found that females in single-sex settings took math and science courses at double the national rate in the US. Lee & Marks (1992) found that in the US the most blatant examples of stereotyping occurred in chemistry mixed-sex classes. Lee, Marks, & Byrd (1994) have stated, that in a study of sexist incidents in the classroom 66% of all such disturbances in co-educational classrooms occurred during chemistry instruction.

5.4.10. Decreasing anxiety

Campbell & Evans (1997) have compared levels of math anxiety among females in coed and single-sex classes. Their sample consisted of females randomly enrolled in mixed-sex or single-sex algebra I classes taught by the same teacher. Females in the single-sex class had a statistically significant lower mathematics anxiety rate than girls in the mixed-sex class. In addition it was found that math anxiety decreased for the males in the mixed-sex setting.

5.4.11. Increasing self-confidence

In a two-part study held in the US among high school students of all-female school, all-male school and coeducational school females learning in a girls school showed a higher degree of self-confidence than those learning in a mixed-sex school (Steinback & Gwizdala, 1995).

Streitmatter (1997) reports on a 2-year experiment in mathematics learning – pre-algebra and algebra – in sex and mixed-sex classes. The girls in the single-sex said that the single-single-sex setting enhanced their ability to learn mathematics and their view of themselves as mathematicians.

In Australia it was found that for girls learning in single-sex classes was associated with more confidence, which significantly increased the probability of subsequent participation in senior mainstream mathematics education (Rowe, 1988).

5.4.12. Increasing risk-taking behavior

Sadker and Sadker (1994) have shown, that many girls are not enthusiastic to take risks in a mixed-sex class. Streitmatter (1997) has found that in an all girls-math junior high school classroom girls were more likely to ask and answer questions about subject matter, which indicates their being more open to take risks either of being perceived as “brains” when answering difficult questions or as “dumb” when asking questions that might be perceived stupid by their peers.

5.4.13. Serving the needs of minority religions/traditions

Thomas (5.9.1997) has presented the problem of a large minority of Muslims living in Birmingham that would prefer single-sex classes for their daughters. One of the solutions to the problem of the low academic level, especially in math, science, and technology, was the turning one public school into singe-sex one. A similar solution was chosen in Um el-Fachm, an Israeli Muslim city, where the opening of girls’

school reduced the dropout rate of girls form 36% to 8% within 8 years (David, 2001c).