Teachers' implementation of gender-inclusive instructional strategies in single-sex and mixed-sex classrooms

This digest found in

Gender
Pupil grouping and organisation of classes
Science

Conclusions drawn from the research

The authors of this study concluded that the provision of single-sex groupings had implications for administration, professional development of teachers and school culture, and all of these must be taken into account in the planning and management of the change.

In general, the quieter, cooperative classroom environments in the all-girls classes and the rowdier, competitive character of the all-boys classes were similar to those reported elsewhere.

More importantly, single-sex classes were found to:

provide environments in which teachers can implement gender-inclusive science teaching more readily and effectively than in mixed-sex settings;
address some of the apparent shortcomings of the students' previous education (specifically, the poor written and oral communication of boys and the limited experience of girls with 'hands-on' activities and open-ended problem solving).

The success of these strategies:

in single sex girls' classes was linked to management issues - girls' classes were found to be much easier to manage than mixed-sex classes or single-sex boys' classes, and this in turn, created more space and time for gender-inclusive strategies (co-operative group problem-solving, projects focused on everyday issues and collaborative practical work);
in single sex boys' classes was also linked to classroom management - but the major issue was that, if the management problem was not addressed effectively (prior to or in association with the introduction of the strategy), very little task-oriented activity went on in the class at all.

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What is gender-inclusivity in science teaching? What did the researchers set out to do? How was the research designed? General findings of the study Gender-inclusiveness and girls Gender-inclusiveness and boys Single-sex v mixed-sex environments Conclusions drawn from the research Implications for practitioners 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 Teachers' implementation of gender-inclusive instructional strategies in single-sex and mixed-sex classrooms This digest found in Gender Pupil grouping and organisation of classes Science Send to a friend Word doc 60KB Printer friendly Collate for later Conclusions drawn from the research The authors of this study concluded that the provision of single-sex groupings had implications for administration, professional development of teachers and school culture, and all of these must be taken into account in the planning and management of the change. In general, the quieter, cooperative classroom environments in the all-girls classes and the rowdier, competitive character of the all-boys classes were similar to those reported elsewhere. More importantly, single-sex classes were found to: provide environments in which teachers can implement gender-inclusive science teaching more readily and effectively than in mixed-sex settings; address some of the apparent shortcomings of the students' previous education (specifically, the poor written and oral communication of boys and the limited experience of girls with 'hands-on' activities and open-ended problem solving). The success of these strategies: in single sex girls' classes was linked to management issues - girls' classes were found to be much easier to manage than mixed-sex classes or single-sex boys' classes, and this in turn, created more space and time for gender-inclusive strategies (co-operative group problem-solving, projects focused on everyday issues and collaborative practical work); in single sex boys' classes was also linked to classroom management - but the major issue was that, if the management problem was not addressed effectively (prior to or in association with the introduction of the strategy), very little task-oriented activity went on in the class at all.