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Providing new opportunities or reinforcing old stereotypes? Perceptions and experiences of single-sex public education

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  • Goodkind, Sara
  • Schelbe, Lisa
  • Joseph, Andrea A.
  • Beers, Daphne E.
  • Pinsky, Stephanie L.

Abstract

There has been a widespread increase in single-sex public schooling in the U.S. following 2006 changes to the Department of Education regulations motivated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Single-sex public schooling is viewed as a means to improve the educational experiences and performance of low-income youth of color. Yet little is known about its effects and efficacy, particularly for these populations. This article is based on a community-based participatory research project, on which high school students and university researchers collaborated, conducted in a low-income, African American high school implementing single-sex courses. Our findings challenge proponents' key assumptions that single-sex education will improve the academic achievement of low-income youth of color by 1) eliminating distraction from the other sex; 2) addressing the different learning styles of girls and boys; and 3) remedying inequities by offering these youth opportunities traditionally afforded to more privileged youth. While some distractions were decreased, others were increased or ignored; racialized stereotypes of hypersexuality and essentialized notions of gender were reinforced; and students felt punished rather than privileged by being separated by sex. We conclude that single-sex education as a public school option is a neoliberal approach to addressing low achievement that deflects attention from the structural inequities that created the problem and implicitly blames those experiencing oppression.

Suggested Citation

  • Goodkind, Sara & Schelbe, Lisa & Joseph, Andrea A. & Beers, Daphne E. & Pinsky, Stephanie L., 2013. "Providing new opportunities or reinforcing old stereotypes? Perceptions and experiences of single-sex public education," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1174-1181.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:35:y:2013:i:8:p:1174-1181
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.04.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ramey, Jessie B., 2013. "For the public good: Urban youth advocacy and the fight for public education," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1260-1267.
    2. Billger, Sherrilyn M., 2009. "On reconstructing school segregation: The efficacy and equity of single-sex schooling," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 393-402, June.
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