Single_Gender or Mixed_Gender? All_Boys and All_Girls Schools Students Attitude towards Single Sex Schooling

Abstract

The main objectives of this study were to examine the attitudes of students
attending all-boys and al-girls schools towards single-sex schooling and to
look at if this school type can be used as an alternative strategy to enhance
academic achievement among female students. The study was descriptive
survey and primary data were collected from 562 randomly selected students
attending all-boys or all-girls schools. Documents were reviewed and informal
interviews were made. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the
form of frequency counts and percentage distributions. The findings revealed
that, despite written evidences that all students in these schools join higher
education institutions, the majority of boys and girls did not reflect positive
attitude towards this school type in enhancing their academic achievement.
Unlike girls, boys rejected the role of their single-sex school in improving
their school behaviour. Both boys and girls disliked single-sex schools when
schools were portrayed as ‘places for cross-gender socialization’. Unlike boys,
girls supported the description of single-sex schools as ‘places that can result
in gender-based discrimination and stereotyping’. Both boys and girls
preferred mixed-gender schools. Nevertheless, to enhance the academic
achievement and the educational aspirations of female students by balancing
student preferences, the academic benefits of single-gender schools, and its
disadvantages arising from students’ fear of being exposed to gender-based
discrimination and stereotyping, as well as inability to effectively
communicate with the opposite sex, the single-sex classroom within a mixed-
gender school approach is recommended as a fair alternative. Besides, schools
and parents should work aggressively to mitigate the unintended consequences
of single-gender schools on student behaviour and, in this regard, particular
attention should be given to help boys in all-boys schools.