By: Nyla Naseer, the founder of Advance Merit, a higher education and professional career tutor agency. @advmerit, Facebook.com/advancemerit
Figures were recently released by education consultancy SchoolDash showing that girls in single-sex schools got better results at GCSE level than those who attended mixed-sex schools.
[1] https://www.schooldash.com/blog.html#20160127[2] http://time.com/3705454/teachers-biases-girls-education/).
[3] http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/05/single-sex-education-row-head-richard-cairns-criticises-girls-schools
Meet the author:
Credit: GSA |
Figures were recently released by education consultancy SchoolDash showing that girls in single-sex schools got better results at GCSE level than those who attended mixed-sex schools.
Of course, there are many factors at play: lots of girls’
schools are grammar schools, they tend to have long-standing permanent teaching
staff, rather than rely on supply teachers and girls’ schools can be favourites
amongst more conservative and perhaps more involved parents. However, those
issues all apply equally to boy’s schools and they tend to have nowhere near as
significant an advantage over mixed-sex schools. So what’s going on?
Studies have shown that teachers’ unconscious bias leads to
girls and boys being encouraged or discouraged in particular subjects. For
example, recent experiments have shown that teachers mark girls lower than boys
in maths when their genders are known, compared to ‘gender-blind’ marking. This
has led to calls for teachers to be better trained to combat this bias.[2]
Unconscious bias matters because what teachers think deeply
affects the choices that kids make. When girls feel that they are ‘not very
good’ at maths and science they tend to pass over these subjects, the very
subjects that could result in better jobs with higher pay, when choosing their academic
journeys. All-girls schools eliminate this problem.
A few weeks ago, Richard Cairns, Head of Brighton College, waded into the
debate by saying that girls at single-sex schools might leave with great exam
results but “if they cannot
meaningfully converse and communicate with male colleagues, they will be at a
huge disadvantage”.[3]
This leads me
to wonder what this special way of meaningfully communicating is, since I
thought that the general idea was to get good at communicating with people and most of the world is trying
to move away from the idea that you talk to a male colleague in one way and a
female colleague in a different (often less respectful way). I really want to
know what this special way of talking with male colleagues is: does it involve
football or other clichés for example?
I have a
natural aversion to segregation but when it comes to girls’ schools I’m a
supporter. Evidence shows that girls leave more, not less, prepared for further
study or work in a broader range of disciplines, more confident and ambitious.
Hopefully, one day, there won’t be a need to have single-sex schools but whilst
girls are subject to unconscious bias and gender stereotyping the need is real
and present.
[1] https://www.schooldash.com/blog.html#20160127[2] http://time.com/3705454/teachers-biases-girls-education/).
[3] http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/05/single-sex-education-row-head-richard-cairns-criticises-girls-schools
Meet the author:
Writer
Nyla Naseer has an interest in ensuring that students are able to succeed. She has held senior roles in education and professional skills. She has an LLM (Master of Law) degree, an MSc in Regeneration, a first degree in Management Science and a PGCE. Nyla has a focus on enabling people to achieve their academic and professional ambitions and is the founder of Advance Merit, a higher education and professional career tutor agency.
Is There Still a Place For Girls' Schools?
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