There is a debate between the advantages and disadvantages of both single-sex and co- educational schools types. There is no doubt that any system, whether educational or none- educational, has its own pros and cons and neither types of schooling would show any benefits over the other. However, this section will evaluate both school types and reveal the benefits of each one.
Some of the arguments about this issue believe that single-sex schools provide females academic success because girls' schools can focus on girls’ interests and encourage them to compete with boys in subjects that are viewed as masculine (Mael, Alonso, Gibson, Rogers & Smith, 2005) . However, other authors believe that single-sex schools may fail to achieve gender equality since girls would not be able to share experiences with the opposite gender and may lead to gender inequality outside of schools (Dale, 1969, 1971, 1974, Marsh, Smith, Marsh, and Owens, 1988, Sullivan, 2009). If those arguments applied to the current study, we would expect to see girls showing higher academic self-concept than boys in single-sex schools. Girls would feel less deprived if they were studying at the same schools as boys and they would have greater opportunity for success, but they would have lower general self-concept as they will feel unimportant compared to boys outside schools.
Mael, Alonso, Gibson, Rogers & Smith (2005), carried out a meta-analysis of 40 studies that evaluated the single-sex school versus co-educational schools. Most of these studies were conducted in U.S schools, and most single-sex schools were private. The findings from the analysis showed that single-sex schools are more beneficial in terms of academic achievement than co-educational schools. Most studies in the review showed that boys and girls in single-
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sex schools achieved higher grades than their peers in co-educational schools on the achievement tests. In terms of self-concept, Mael et al (2005) reported predominantly high self- concept in favour of single-sex schools over co-educational schools, especially for boys. On the other hand, most studies reported no difference between single-sex and co-educational schools in self-esteem or the global self-concept.
In the current study, the situation would be the opposite. Co-educational schools in Jordan are almost private and the single-sex schools are public. Considering high-achievement leads to high-self-concept and vice versa, it would be envisaged that students in co-educational schools in Jordan would report higher academic self-concept than their peers in single-sex schools. If single-sex schools were proved to be healthier for self-concept, then it would be expected, in the current investigation, that students in single-sex schools have higher academic self-concept than those who attend co-educational schools.
Pahlke, Hyde & Allison (2014), conducted a meta-analysis of 184 studies that evaluated both single-sex and co-educational schooling systems. Mathematics, science, verbal performances, gender, social relations and self-concepts are the variables that were used among the 184 studies. They found no significant difference between both types of schools in either the self-concept nor any of the other variables.
However, Dale (1969, 1971, and 1974), compared co-educational with single-sex schooling in relation to students’ satisfaction, social relations, and personality. His instruments also included statements that measured self-concept. Dale found that students at co-educational schools showed higher self-concept in comparison to students who attend single-sex schools.
Marsh et al. (1988), argue that co-educational schools are more beneficial than single-sex schools in terms of self-concept since the former provide students, males and females, with a natural social environment helping them to take up their roles in society. Marsh et al (1988),
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conducted a study to investigate the effect of transition from single-sex to co-educational schooling on self-concept. The study was carried out over four years in three stages: pre- transition (year1), in the transition (year2) and post-transition (year3). This study examined students’ self-concept in Mathematics and English. The results showed that students’ self- concept in Mathematics and English increased from year 1 to year 2 providing evidence of the benefit of co-educational schooling in enhancing self-concept.
Sullivan (2009), assumed that in single-sex schools, boys would have lower academic self- concept in mathematics and science, with girls suffering a low academic self-concept in English and modern languages with the opposite case in co-educational school. He based this assumption because in single-sex schools, boys or girls would not have an opposite gender to use as a frame of comparison. They are more likely to use their peers’ ability to establish their own academic self-concept. This would indicate that gender would influence the BFLPE results in single-sex schooling.
In terms of the BFLPE, Sullivan (2009) suggests that gendered norms enforcement models would indicate negative effects on academic self-concept similar to those effects introduced by the BFLPE model. As gendered-atypical interests and abilities are strongly enforced in a co- educational school setting, it would be expected that girls would suffer low academic self- concepts in mathematics and science whilst boys would have low academic self-concept in English and modern languages. Students may also suffer low self-concept depending on a teacher’s gender. For example, if the teacher was female, boys then would have lower self- concept since their teacher would not be able to act as a role model for boys. In this case single- sex schooling would be more beneficial for boys.
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