'We decided to give it a twirl': single-sex teaching in English comprehensive schools

This digest found in

Gender
Behaviour

Authors

Warrington M, & M Younger, University of Cambridge, UK

Publisher

Gender and Education, Vol 15, No. 4, December 2003, pp. 339-350.

Introduction

Many teachers and schools have tried out different forms of single-sex teaching in an attempt to improve teaching and learning for both boys and girls. This study was funded by the DfES to explore the ways in which schools were implementing single-sex teaching, and to try and assess its impact on achievement. It explored the experiences of single-sex teaching in thirty-one co-educational English schools. The authors found that the success or otherwise of the policy was critically linked to a range of factors including sex stereotyping and the teaching and learning approaches adopted in the schools. Over half the schools in the study reported positive outcomes from single sex teaching.

The study concluded by suggesting that single-sex classes can provide a positive and successful experience for boys and girls where there is a strong commitment from staff, a willingness to evaluate and diffuse good practice and, crucially, where gender reform strategies are in place. However they speculated that other factors were probably more influential than single-sex classes, such as poor behaviour and lack of achievement.

Keywords
United Kingdom; England; Gender; Boys; Girls; Behaviour; Pedagogy; Stereotypes; Teaching styles; English; Second language (learning); Attitudes; Pupils; Self esteem

Your path: Home > Welcome to The Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS) > Themes > Gender > We decided to give it a twirl: single-sex teaching in English comprehensive schoolsMonApr50921282004
Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction Why do schools introduce single sex classes? What impact did single-sex teaching have on pupils' attitudes and behaviour? How did single sex teaching affect pupils' achievement? What did teachers and pupils think about single sex teaching? When did single sex teaching work best? Did teachers adopt different teaching and learning strategies for boys and girls? How did the researchers collect their data? Implications Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader 'We decided to give it a twirl': single-sex teaching in English comprehensive schools This digest found in Gender Behaviour Send to a friend Word doc 50KB Printer friendly Authors Warrington M, & M Younger, University of Cambridge, UK Publisher Gender and Education, Vol 15, No. 4, December 2003, pp. 339-350. Introduction Many teachers and schools have tried out different forms of single-sex teaching in an attempt to improve teaching and learning for both boys and girls. This study was funded by the DfES to explore the ways in which schools were implementing single-sex teaching, and to try and assess its impact on achievement. It explored the experiences of single-sex teaching in thirty-one co-educational English schools. The authors found that the success or otherwise of the policy was critically linked to a range of factors including sex stereotyping and the teaching and learning approaches adopted in the schools. Over half the schools in the study reported positive outcomes from single sex teaching. The study concluded by suggesting that single-sex classes can provide a positive and successful experience for boys and girls where there is a strong commitment from staff, a willingness to evaluate and diffuse good practice and, crucially, where gender reform strategies are in place. However they speculated that other factors were probably more influential than single-sex classes, such as poor behaviour and lack of achievement. Keywords United Kingdom; England; Gender; Boys; Girls; Behaviour; Pedagogy; Stereotypes; Teaching styles; English; Second language (learning); Attitudes; Pupils; Self esteem