The Uzbekistan State University of World Languages

Single Gender Schools Allow For Tailored Curricula

As critics might suggest, simply placing young men in classes far away from young women is unlikely to accomplish a great deal. However, the benefits arise when this separation allows for teachers to provide techniques tailored towards the individual needs and learning styles of their students. A primary argument in favor of single-sex schools is that different genders typically have different styles of learning. Fortunately, in single-sex schools, the teaching can adjust to include techniques and concepts proven to work best for the expanding minds of young women and young men.

For instance, at a male boarding school, teachers can introduce a reading list with books that speak to the concerns of their students. “Hamlet” may help to introduce a “coming-of-age” discussion and father-son relationships, for example. Although similar discussions are possible in co-educational schools, they are often more concentrated and open in a single-sex environment.

The theory of tailored curricula in single-gender schools was tested with a public school in Florida that chose to separate fourth-grade students into single-sex and co-educational classrooms. In each class, the students covered the same curriculum with the same number of students, and at the end of the study, the single-gender environment produced dramatically improved scores in standardized tests. 86% of the young men in the single-sex classroom scored proficient on the test, compared to only 37% of the boys in co-ed classes.