'We decided to give it a twirl': single-sex teaching in English comprehensive schools
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GenderBehaviour
What did teachers and pupils think about single sex teaching?
Teachers:
Teachers' reactions to single sex teaching were mixed. Some schools had staff who appeared enthusiastic and committed to the idea. They planned and implemented appropriate strategies, shared ideas with other teachers and fully involved the students and parents in the rationale for teaching single sex groups. In a small number of schools staff lacked commitment to the initiative and opposed the idea of single sex teaching. Evidence in the study suggested that teacher commitment was a significant factor in the success of single sex teaching.
Pupils:
A few schools evaluated student responses to single sex teaching and discovered that the large majority of boys and girls were overwhelmingly positive. In an Essex school 90% of pupils were found to be in favour of single sex teaching while a Hartlepool school reported that 98% of pupils were positively disposed to single sex teaching. Informal evaluations in sixteen schools showed that pupils were almost always in favour, and girls were particularly positive. Boys, although more ambivalent initially, were also positive once they felt they were achieving at a higher standard. However, at one school where pupils were not consulted at the start and a number of staff were opposed to single sex teaching, pupil responses were negative with boys in particular expressing their dissatisfaction.
