Interview question: Co-ed school vs single sex school

rose23

Hi,

I had an interview this morning and I was asked what I thought the main difference was between single sex schools and mixed schools. As the school I was being interviewed for I answered that I thought mixed was more natural and beneficial socially for students in preparation for life after school in college and the workplace and so on.

However the principal was pushing for what the differences were academically? He mentioned how research has shown that all girl schools do better academically.. do I think that boys domineer the class??

I was a bit taken back by this question and unsure how to respond.
Has anyone any advice? Second round interviews for this job are later in the week and I want to be prepared if this question arises again!

Let me know your thoughts!

Boober Fraggle

girls do better in single sex, alright, but boys do better in co-ed.

I think that maybe this is because girls who are more likely to be academic would be more likely to go to a convent school when there is a choice in the area... not sure I'd say that at an interview for a co-ed school though!! Also, maybe boys in a co-ed school are trying to impress, whereas in an all boys school they don't feel the need.

I would say that you need to be aware of the different learning styles of the students you are teaching, regardless of their sex, and that you feel in a co-ed school both girls and boys will do better as the teacher will be more aware of the different learning styles in the room.

Boober Fraggle

Boober Fraggle wrote: »

girls do better in single sex, alright, but boys do better in co-ed.

Actually, that's not the case according to a lot of research, and not according to a major study carried out in Ireland in the 1990s. Hannan et al (1996) found that, taking account of differences in social background and academic ability levels prior to enrolment, there were no significant differences in academic results between single-sex and co-educational schools for boys or girls. Research has shown similar patterns in a number of countries, including the UK, USA and Australia. Some other research has pointed to better academic results in single-sex schools, and then there is other work which suggests that this is more likely to happen in countries where single-sex schools are rare and therefore more selective.

The Irish study, if you're interested, can be read in a book called Coeducation and Gender Equality, edited by Damian Hannan. One of the contributors to that book, Emer Smyth, wrote this review in 2010 of the international research into the subject.

http://www.inrp.fr/publications/edition-electronique/revue-francaise-de-pedagogie/RF171-5.pdf

It's worth a read, not least because it doesn't simplify the research as much as I've had to for a short post on a message board.

rose23

rose23 wrote: »

Hi,

However the principal was pushing for what the differences were academically? He mentioned how research has shown that all girl schools do better academically.. do I think that boys domineer the class??

I recall how my son's principal went to great lengths to let all us parents know about the Irish study I mentioned in my previous post. As a co-ed principal trying to market his school to the parents of the girls, I can see why.

It's unlikely the same question will come up again, but if it does, it's worth saying that you get the questioner's point, but that there is in fact a fair bit of research out there showing that all girl schools don't actually do better academically - including that Hannan study (since it's Irish).