21 May 2017

There are a lot of conflicting stereotypes about same-sex and co-ed schools. As with most stereotypes, your beliefs probably depend on which one you went to. Since only 7% of students currently attend a single-sex school, the co-ed kids have the prevailing majority. And the stereotypes go something like this:

Boys from all-boys schools are a bit jockish, a bit awkward around girls and a bit crude (or sexist) when they’re not.

Girls from all-girls school are clever, a bit bitchy and they have unrealistic expectations about boys.

And co-ed kids don’t do as well at school because they spend all their time flirting and distracting each other from studying.

These are the stereotypes, but are they true?

Not exactly. Research suggests that girls who attend single-sex schools are more confident to engage in classroom discussions than their co-ed counterparts. Girls at girls schools also tend to be more confident in the subjects of maths and physics. However, boys who attend single-sex schools are just as outspoken in class as those in co-ed schools.

But although there are some indicators that girls at same-sex schools have more confidence in discussions, there is actually no consistent evidence showing that same-sex students achieve higher grades. In fact, Diane Halpurn, the former president of the American Psychological Association, said that a review of 1.6 million students failed to find any evidence to support single-sex education. This is because, for most students, academic performance depends far more on your teachers and how hard you work.

When it comes to the factor of socialising and distracting each other, it becomes a bit subjective, but the example of Barker College in Sydney is an interesting one. It’s an all-boys school until year 10, then it’s open to girls for the final years before graduation, so students from Barker get to experience both sides of the coin.

Hamish Phipps, who went to Barker (and also happens to work at Year13) explained the change from all-boys to co-ed this way: “Imagine we’re all atoms, floating around, and all of a sudden someone starts shaking that box of atoms. Everyone’s just trying to outdo everyone.” But, he explains, “by the end of it, you’re all best mates.”

Will Stubley (who went to the same school and also works here) reckons that the introduction of girls made the boys try harder to perform well at school. “It was a bit of an ego thing at first, everyone was trying a bit harder to impress the girls,” he says. “I do think it has helped in my relationships, going from a same-sex school to a co-ed. I would have had no idea how to interact with girls before that. I became more socially aware.”

Interestingly, Barker College will become completely co-ed from 2022. The school’s principal, Phillip Heath, said, “After graduation, virtually everyone will work for and with females and males – students need to learn mutual respect and the social skills of interacting.” The case of Barker shows a shift towards co-education.

Then there’s the issue of trans and intersex students. There was a student at a Sydney all-boys school who transitioned to become a girl. In that case, the student was allowed to stay at the school, but one can only assume that things probably would have been more comfortable at a co-ed.

The verdict? While attending a single-sex school doesn’t provide any disadvantage, in some cases it can cause a social disadvantage. The world is co-ed. The future is co-ed.