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Boys taught in male-only schools face divorce and depression by their early 40s, research reveals.
Research by Londons Institute of Education appears to support claims by education psychologists that boys school pupils are less able to relate to the opposite sex than those from mixed schools.
You might have thought that boys brought up in a single-sex environment would find relationships with girls difficult to handle.
Now research proves it. It shows that boys taught in single-sex schools are more likely to be divorced or separated from their partner than those who attended a mixed school by their early 40s.
However, those who stayed together were just as likely to be happy in their relationship as men educated in mixed schools when asked to rate the quality of their marriage on a scale of one to seven.
The research covered 17,000 adults who had been taught in a range of institutions from private boarding schools to state comprehensives. The majority had been brought up in day schools.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: All the research shows single-sex schools are good for girls but bad for boys both in terms of academic performance and ocialization.
Girls seem to learn what the nature of the beast is if they have been to single sex schools whereas boys taught on their own seem to find girls more puzzling.
Dr Bousted added: Boys learn better when they are with girls and they actually learn to get on better.
The research also reveals that men taught in boys schools are more likely to suffer from a sense of malaise or depression by their early 40s possibly as a result of relationship breakdown.
Men were also more likely to have spoken of a dislike for their school days if taught in a male-dominated environment.
However, there was no difference in the likelihood of marital breakdown between girls brought up in single-sex schools and those taught in a mixed-sex environment.
The research also shows that boys from single-sex schools were just as likely to take part in household chores such as cooking the evening meal, laundry, cleaning and shopping.
The research failed to back up a claim made by advocates of mixed schooling that being taught co-educationally meant youngsters were less likely to opt for a homosexual or lesbian lifestyle. Only 21 men and 22 women reported living with same-sex partners at age 42, says the research.
We are therefore unable to comment on whether co-education did provide the clean, healthy, natural atmosphere so commended by its early advocates.
Nearly half of those born in the 1958 week under study, who subsequently graduated from universities, had attended single-sex schools, the research also found.
However, this was more likely to have been as a result of the type of schools they attended there are more single private schools and grammar schools than comprehensives. Pupils taught in single-sex schools are more likely to study for subjects traditionally thought of as the preserve of the opposite sex, though.
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For instance, more girls choose to study maths and science in single-sex schools and more boys pick the arts and humanities than if they were taught in mixed classes.
A central finding is that single-sex schooling moderates the effect of gender-stereotyping in terms of choice of field of study, says the research.
This runs counter to earlier assertions that co-education would widen subject choice.
Richard Garner
www.independent.co.uk
B. Compare the results of the research for boys and girls and make your conclusions. What type of school would you prefer as a parent?
Single-Sex Education
A. Skim through the text to give the authors criterion of choosing a certain type of school.
Theres lots of talk once again about the value of single-sex education. Do boys and girls benefit from being in classes with only other boys or girls? Some research indicates yes; some says no. This is typical of most education research. Reports clash with astonishing regularity and confusion. Many highly successful single-sex parochial and private schools think yes. On the other hand, many once single-sex schools especially colleges have gone coed. Whats the right answer?
For what its worth, heres what I think. Its up to us adults to recognize whats best for our kids, knowing that whats right for one child is not the same as for another. Any parent with more than one child knows that. For some students, single-sex classes make good sense. Many children do, indeed, succeed with more ease when theyre free of the distractions of the opposite sex. Other students, however, blossom when in the company of the opposite sex.
I say if its right for a child, if its what he or she needs, its good to have the single-sex option. The wider the range of school options, the better. Its what we expect when we go shopping for clothes and cars; why would we want any less from our schools?
Beware of anyone who tells you that theres one way to teach all students, one method, one curriculum, and one research study that proves it. Show that person the door.
If theres anything we educators have learned in the past few years, its that all children are capable of learning, but they learn in different ways and at different rates. A superintendent friend says, All kids can learn, but not in the same way and not on the same day.
Thats why schools look so different today from when we adults went to school. Thats why teachers jobs are so much more difficult now, trying to reach every child, teaching in the way each child learns best. Thats why there are so many school options for families, single-sex schools being just one.
There are also home schools, magnet schools, and charter schools. Online schools, summer schools, and boarding schools. Schools-within-schools, international schools, and foreign-language schools.
And, oh yes, single-sex schools. The diversity is remarkable. The more we learn about the many ways children learn, the more we can expect different configurations of schools, classrooms, and learning environments. We should embrace these new configurations not run from them.
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That doesnt mean we shouldnt have high expectations from them. What should we expect from these schools, from the people who run them, and the students who go to them? We should expect that the adults who propose them have done their homework, know what kinds of learners will benefit from their schools, and can articulate what they hope to accomplish and how they hope to do so.
We should expect that teachers are chosen not because of seniority or some other artificial criterion but because of their talents, because they understand and approve of the philosophy of the school, because theyve shown they can adjust their instruction and curriculum to fit the schools mission, and because they can meet the needs of the students and families they serve.
We should expect students and their families to take seriously these new ways to learn. Parents should communicate regularly with teachers, know when assignments are due, when tests are given, and give their children the support they need every day. Students should learn quickly that the adults in their lives will be watching them, supporting them, rewarding them, and, when necessary, dishing out consequences.
Education and learning are too important and too diverse to fit into a one-size-fits-all box. How and what we taught in the past may have worked for our needs then, and may still work for many students today, but, for others, times and needs have changed. Single-sex schools (or even a single-sex class or two within an otherwise traditional school) may be the answer for some kids. So might some of those other options I mentioned. Just dont expect one option to work for all learners.
I say lets try as many as we can. Whats more important than our kids?
www.drrickblog.com
B. Answer the questions.
1. Is there any definite answer which type of school is better? Why?
2. What is the undoubtful thing all educators have learned in the past few years? Why does it make a teachers job more difficult?
3. What should we expect from any school and any teacher?
4. What should be expected from parents?
5. Do you agree with the authors statement The wider the range of school options, the better. Why?
C. Sum up the article.
2.5. ?
