Commentary: Are we missing the point in the single-sex vs co-ed school debate?

SINGAPORE: On May 6, the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that Maris Stella High School (Primary), currently an all-boys school, will begin accepting girls in 2027, while the secondary school will remain a single-gender school “for now”.

This echoes news last year that Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) will become coeducational when it moves to its new location at Tengah in 2030.

These developments may make one wonder if more single-sex schools will become co-educational. While MOE said in February 2023 that it does not have plans to proactively convert single-gender schools to co-ed schools, new schools opened by MOE will generally be co-ed to ensure they meet the community’s needs.

Should we welcome a broader move towards co-ed schools?

The debate between single-sex and co-ed schools is a longstanding one, with advocates on both sides presenting compelling arguments rooted in decades of research.

At the heart of this discussion lies a critical question: Which is better for educational and social development - single-gender or co-ed?

The conversion of some primary schools from single-gendered to co-ed makes sense when we consider that the taxpayers’ dollars and land dedicated to school rebuilding shouldn’t benefit one gender over the other.

Likewise, from a convenience standpoint, many parents would prefer to enrol their child in a co-ed school since it makes subsequent sibling enrolment far less anxiety-inducing.

Once we account for the obvious, the debate is more than a mere choice between two educational paradigms; it reflects our deeper convictions about gender and education.

UNCLEAR LINK BETWEEN SINGLE-SEX SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

There is a long-held notion that single-gendered schools produce better academic results, something when you look at the Singapore landscape, is easy to buy into.

However, NUS economist Dr Kevin Seah noted in a 2019 op-ed that most single-sex schools in Singapore are selective and have stringent entry requirements. This means that the students in those schools are already academically inclined, leading them to score higher in national exams.

Other supporters of single-gendered schools might say that boys and girls learn differently, and single-gendered schools are able to cater to those differences.

A 2010 paper from Cleveland State University found that both genders do learn in different ways. Girls could do better with more encouragement to pursue math and science areas - to counter the belief in many societies that these are more the playground for the boys.

The converse that boys should receive additional support in the language arts holds the same. A 2003 University of Virginia study found that boys who attended single-sex schools were more than twice as likely to pursue subjects such as art, music, drama and foreign languages compared with boys of similar ability in co-ed schools.

MIXED BENEFITS OF CO-ED SCHOOLS

However, some researchers argue that single-sex schools reinforce gender stereotypes. A 2011 article by non-profit American Council for Coeducational Schooling states that boys who spend more time with other boys become “increasingly aggressive”, while girls who mix more with other girls become “more sex-typed”.

In a 2019 news report about New South Wales’ Armidale School, a traditionally all-boys school that became co-ed in 2016, the principal shared that the social environment has improved, and that the interaction between boys and girls isolates the less desirable aspects of both genders. 

Proponents also argue that co-ed schools better prepare students for post-secondary schooling and employment by providing opportunities for both genders to work together, as they are expected to throughout life.

However, some research suggests that co-ed schools benefit boys more than girls. When younger, boys read better when there are more girls in class; and on the whole boys seem more likely to perform better in schools with a higher proportion of girls.

Educators would like to think themselves fair, but some studies show that in a mixed-gender classroom, girls are called on less frequently, and are less likely to take math and science subjects and even leadership opportunities.

A 2018 University of Queensland study found that girls who graduate from single-sex schools are more confident than those who graduate from co-ed schools, and are also more likely to hold leadership roles.

NO EASY ANSWERS

For every piece of evidence favouring single-gender or co-ed schools, an argument against is to be had.

The reason why the debate feels circular is because we are missing the point: Picking either has little to do with learning or development outcomes, and everything to do with a family’s needs, values and lived experiences.

I enjoyed the best of both worlds: A co-ed primary school and an all-girls secondary school. I appreciated that having boys in class normalised girls having male friendships and found that those friendships are markedly different from the female iteration.

But I am also glad to have spent the bulk of my awkward puberty years in an all-girls school. Growing up is much kinder and gentler when girls can navigate puberty and its travails, such as bodily changes and period-stained skirts, within the safety of a sisterhood.

We need to peel away the layers and confront uncomfortable realities like gender biases and parental presuppositions, and examine how we define our children’s success and happiness.

A family that prizes academic success would make one choice; another that needs convenience might make another. One child might need a same-sex learning environment to thrive, another might be unfazed either way.

With the Ministry of Education offering multiple pathways to success with its roll-out of subject-based banding, they have made strides in reimagining the next generation of learning. Stretching the imagination, a hybrid version - co-ed school with single-gendered classes, does not seem too improbable.

Rather than pitting single-sex against co-ed schools, we must confront the assumptions that cause parents and students to select one option over the other.

It is imperative that we strive to build educational environments that not only challenge existing gender biases but also prepare all students to thrive in a diverse and equitable society.

Cherie Tseng is Chief Operations Officer at a local fintech company, a mother of three and editor with The Birthday Collective.