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Do single-sex schools enhance students’ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) outcomes?

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  • Park, Hyunjoon
  • Behrman, Jere R.
  • Choi, Jaesung

Abstract

In many countries, males currently lag behind females in schooling attainment but females are still underrepresented in STEM studies. This pattern has raised renewed interest in the potential of single-sex schools for enhancing STEM outcomes. Utilizing the unique setting in Seoul, where assignment to single-sex or coeducational high schools is random, and with multiple years of administrative data from the national college entrance examinations and a longitudinal survey of high school seniors, we assess causal effects of single-sex schools on students’ math test scores and choice of the science-math test. We also assess whether single-sex schools affect students’ interests and self-efficacy in math and science, and expectations and actual choices of a STEM college major in university. We find significantly positive effects of all-boys schools consistently across different STEM outcomes but not for girls. We address one possible mechanism by conducting mediation analysis with the proportion of same-gender math teachers.

Suggested Citation

  • Park, Hyunjoon & Behrman, Jere R. & Choi, Jaesung, 2018. "Do single-sex schools enhance students’ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) outcomes?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 35-47.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:62:y:2018:i:c:p:35-47
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.10.007
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    Cited by:

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    3. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2019. "Understanding gender differences in STEM: Evidence from college applications✰," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 219-238.
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    5. Judith M. Delaney & Paul J. Devereux, 2021. "Gender and Educational Achievement: Stylized Facts and Causal Evidence," Working Papers 202103, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    6. Mcnally, Sandra, 2020. "Gender differences in tertiary education: what explains STEM participation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108232, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    9. de Souza, Laeticia R. & de Xavier Pinto, Cristine Campos & Queiroz, Bernardo L & de Oliveira e Silva, Dimitri, 2021. "Peer effects in college: how peers' performance can influence students' academic outcomes," SocArXiv 7n6ks, Center for Open Science.
    10. Kamal, Zahra, 2021. "Gender separation and academic achievement in higher education: Evidence from a natural experiment in Iran," BERG Working Paper Series 171, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Single-sex schools; STEM; Random assignment; Seoul;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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