David working with a group of educators. David presenting to a group of educators.
SINGLE-GENDER EDUCATION
Single-gender or single-sex education is when you separate boys and girls for some or all of the school day. Public school single-gender education is legal at this time in the United States, but there are important regulations that guide what constitutes a legal form of public school single-gender education.
It is important to recognize that boys and girls must learn the same set of state standards and must take the same state assessments. This is not the resurgence of 1950's education of girls and boys. Single-gender or single-sex education has existed for a very long time. However, in previous years public school single-gender education was something that meant that boys received one type of education and access to certain privileged knowledge and girls received another type of education. Private school single-sex education has existed and continues to exist across the country. In fact, many research organizations turned to these institutions to conduct studies. Of course, other countries (i.e. England and Australia) also have a significant number of single-sex schools.
In the United States, considering gender within education was strictly forbidden by the passage of Title IX in 1972; discrimination based upon sex is illegal. It was not until 2002 that public school single-gender schools and classes received a new look through No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB said that using single-gender classes and schools could be a way to address educational objectives and in October 2006 the official federal regulations guiding the creation of public single-gender classes and schools were released. These regulations took effect in November 2006.
First, it is imperative that anyone interested in single-gender education become familiar with the Federal regulations. Access them here.
My approach to single-gender education comes from the combination of fourteen years as a classroom teacher, three years as an administrator of a single-gender program, knowledge about recent research on gender differences, and a statewide view of organizing, training, and troubleshooting teaching within single-gender programs. My unique perspective combines the practical aspect of the teacher, the organizational issues of an administrator, and theoretical concerns of researchers.
Some important insights I have learned so far:
1. Gender is not just a single-gender issue. Issues of gender matter in coed classes as well as single-gender classes and should be address in all types of classrooms.
2. Gender is one of many aspects of a person that affect their learning: learning style, previous experience, multiple intelligence, culture, socio-economic status, etc. all are a part of a person's learning influences. "Gendered strategies" are really another way to differentiate instruction.
3. There is no such thing as a strategy that is only good for boys or only good for girls. There may be strategies to which boys tend to have a positive reaction and girls tend to have a positive reaction, but that does NOT mean that these strategies are "bad" for the opposite sex.
4. Single-gender classes are not necessarily or by themselves better than coed classes. Single-gender classes are choices for parents and opportunities to meet the needs of children in a different learning environment.
DAVID'S ROLE WITH SINGLE-GENDER EDUCATION
In 2004 I became the Lead Teacher for the TWO Academies at Dent Middle School. TWO is a single-gender program within a larger middle school. The program started with sixth grade and grew into eighth grade by the fall of 2006. After three years, I moved to the South Carolina State Department of Education to be the Coordinator of Single-Gender Initiatives. I work with districts, schools, teachers and parents as they design and implement their own single-gender programs. In addition, I train teachers in understanding gender differences and effective strategies for single-gender classrooms. I continue to work with teachers from around the nation as they develop their own single-gender programs. On October 1, 2007, the Associated Press ran an article nationwide that recognized South Carolina as the leaders in single-gender education. Read this article here.
As Coordinator for Single-Gender Initiatives, I run a conference on single-gender education every March. This conference, called the Teacher-to-Teacher Conference, is centered on teachers of single-gender classes within South Carolina presenting what they do to other teachers involved with or interested in single-gender education. While the conference is designed for South Carolina educators, out of state educators may also attend. Contact me to learn more.
I talked about single-gender education on MSNBC's The Most and South Carolina ETV program Speaking of Schools.
I wrote an article titled Engaging the Differences Between Boys and Girls for Middle Matters (March 2007, Vol. 15, No.4).
I wrote an article titled Single-Gender Education: An Option for Meeting Diverse Student Needs for Diverse Learning Communities Today of National Association of Elementary School Principals (November 2008, Vol. 1, No. 2).
USEFUL WEBSITES
This website has numerous news articles, monthly newsletters, and data (including national studies, South Carolina school results, and survey reports.) Information about workshops and conferences is also available to anyone across the country.
COSEBOC is an active group that works to strengthen the education of boys of color, specifically involving schools for boys and charter schools for boys. They host a conference every spring and offer professional develop opportunities.
Articles about Single-Gender Education in South Carolina
Associated Press Article: S.C. Leads in Single-Gender Classes (October 1, 2007)
Charleston Post and Courier State Hires Single-Gender School Official http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jul/16/state_hires_single_gender_school_officia10661/
Other news articles about single-gender education across the United States and world are located at the South Carolina Department of Education, Single-Gender Initiatives website: www.ed.sc.gov/sgi.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Boys and girls live in a coed world. Aren't you are hurting them by creating a false single-gender educational experience.
My Response: 1. Single-gender classes are, by federal guidelines, a choice. No one is the power to force single-gender classes on anyone. Schools need to inform parents as to the possible benefits of their single-gender program as well as how their program will operate. Parents can decide if they think that the program would benefit their child. 2. School is one part of the day. Students have access to and experience with the other sex before school, after school, during related arts classes, lunch. There is time for exposure to and socializing with the other sex. 3. Based upon a spring 2007 survey of 2200 students, they indicate that they have plenty of friends of the opposite sex and friends outside of the single-gender programs. To them, it isn't an issue. 4. And more important ... by being in a single-gender classes, it seems that students are more confident and willing to be an active part of the class. And, I am starting to see - from talking to parents, teachers, and students - that this effect continues AFTER they leave the single-gender environment ... including 6th graders who return to coed for middle school and 9th graders after middle school single-gender and 10th graders after a 9th grade experience. Boys and girls who have been in a single-gender environment and return to a coed environment seem to be more mature, focused on academics, and better behaved. That to me seems to be a win for the students and shows that they are capable to taking on the coed world. In essence, single-gender is giving boys and girls that tools to better prepare them to meet the demands of the coeducational world. They do not need experience with it ... they need better tools and habits to address it. Perhaps it is like growing a plant in a greenhouse and then planting it outside ... the plant has a better chance to survive and thrive rather than planting seeds directly in the ground.