Difference between revisions of "Coeducation" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 18:49, 13 February 2007

Coeducation is the integrated education of males and females at the same school facilities. The term Co-ed is a shortened version of co-educational, and is also sometimes used as an informal and increasingly archaic reference to a female college student, particularly in the United States. Before the 1960s, many private institutions of higher education restricted their enrollment to a single sex. Indeed, most institutions of higher education, both public and private, restricted their enrollment to a single sex at some point in their history. Modern-day education is primarily co-educational, but many single-sex educational institutions

Coeducation in History

World history shows a clear preference for the education of boys over girls; the education of girls, when it existed, was usually informal and at home. In most ancient societies, such as Greece, India, and Egypt, organized educational systems were for boys only. The education of women in general was rare; coeducation even more so. Sparta, a Greek city-state, was one of the few places in the ancient world with organized schooling for girls as well as boys. Although the two were seperate, many historians believe that both schools were very similar in nature. Most education in Sparta was of a physical nature; the goal of a Spartan education was to create ideal soldiers and strong young women who would bear strong babies.^[1]

Before the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, most schools were single-sex. In cases like one room schoolhouses in frontier America, coeducation was necessary from a practical standpoint; a single teacher was responsible for the education of all children in a given area, and seperation by age or sex was impractical. In England, the first public boarding school to become coeducational was Bedales School founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley and coeducational since 1898. The Scottish Dollar Academy claims to be the first coeducational boarding school in the UK (in 1818). In the 1960's, many Western countries shifted to coeducation. Not only was coeducation a less expensive way of schooling children, but it also supported the thrust towards gender equality. In 1972, U.S. schools made coeducation manditory in public schools.

1972: US Law making coeducation in public schools obligatory

Institutions of higher education have also been historically for men only. In most countries, when women were given the option of a higher education, their only choice was to attend an all-female school.

Coeducation Within Institutions of Higher Learning

The United States

The first coeducational institution of higher education in the United States was Franklin College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, established in 1787. Its first enrollment class in 1787 consisted of 78 male and 36 female students. Among the latter was Rebecca Gratz, the first Jewish female college student in the United States. However, the college began having financial problems and it was reopened as an all-male institution. It became coed again in 1969 under its current name, Franklin and Marshall College.

The longest continuously operating coeducational school in the United States is Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, which was established in 1833. The first four women to receive bachelor's degrees in the United States earned them at Oberlin in 1841. Later, in 1862, the first African-American woman to receive a bachelor's degree (Mary Jane Patterson) also earned it from Oberlin College.

The University of Iowa was the first public or state university in the United States to become coeducational, and for much of the next century, public universities (and land grant universities in particular) would lead the way in higher education coeducation. Many other early coeducational universities, especially west of the Mississippi River, were private, such as Carleton College (1866), Texas Christian University (1873), and Stanford University (1891).

At the same time, according to Irene Harwarth, Mindi Maline, and Elizabeth DeBra, "women's colleges were founded during the mid- and late-19th century in response to a need for advanced education for women at a time when they were not admitted to most institutions of higher education" [1]. Notable examples are the prestigious Seven Sisters. Of the seven, Vassar College is now co-educational and Radcliffe College has merged with Harvard University. Wellesley College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Bryn Mawr College, and Barnard College remain single-sex institutions.

China

The first coeducational institution of higher learning in China was the Nanjing Higher Normal Institute, which was later renamed National Central University in 1928 and Nanjing University 1949. For thousands of years in China, education, especially higher education, was the privilege of men. In the 1910s women's universities were established such as Ginling Women's University and Peking Girl's Higher Normal School, but coeducation was still prohibited.

In 1920, Nanjing Higher Normal Institute began to recruit female students, and later that year the first eight coeducational Chinese women students were enrolled. In the same year Peking University also began to allow women audit students. After 1949, when the Communist Party of China controlled mainland China, almost all schools and universities became coeducational. In recent years, however, many girl schools and women colleges have again emerged.

Europe

In Europe, coeducation was more easily accepted in institutions of higher learning than it was in secondary education. In England, the London School of Economics was one of the first to open its doors to women in 1874. Women were first allowed to matriculate in Germany in 1901. By 1910, coeducation was becoming more widespread; women were admitted into universities in The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, norway, Austria-Hungary, France, and Turkey.^[2]

Arguments Against Coeducation

At the end of the twentieth century, there begun a movement back to single-sex education. Advocates of single-sex education, where male and female students attend separate classes or attend separate schools, cite studies that show students from single-sex environments outperfom those from coeducational schools. Others advocate single-sex education on the basis of tradition or religous and cultural values. In 2002, based on bipartisan support and evidence supporting single-sex education, the U.S. revoked the mandatory coeducation policy and provided three million dollars of funding for single-sex schools.

Differences in Learning Styles

Sex Differences in the Brain

The practitioners of single sex school state that boys and girls learn differently because of structural differences between male and female brains. Studies on male and female brains indicate that males and females process information using different sections of their brains. This is evidenced in the ways males and females approach problem solving. For instance, when men are asked to give directions, they access the left hippocampus, and often use abstract concepts such as north and south. Women, on the other hand, access the cerebral cortex, and typically refer to landmarks that can be seen or heard to navigate. Advocates of single-sex education argue that these differences mean that the best method of instruction differs for males and females; a technique that engages girls in the subject matter may bore boys, and vice versa.^[3]

File:Eton shield.gif

King's College of Our Lady of Eton, commonly known as Eton College

Many supporters of single-sex education hold that it can help students learn more effectively.

Gender Roles

From a pro-coeducation standpoint, single-sex institutions are inherently unequal. Advocates of coeducation argue that gender stereotypes are reinforced and that single-sex education accentuates gender based educational limitations and dicrimination by not offering courses like cheerleading or home economics to boys, or football or wood shop to girls.

Those who support single-sex education insist that this is not the case, and that single-sex institutions actually promote the subversion of gender roles. Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir, an Icelandic educator who introduced single-sex kindergarten to Iceland in 1989, stated: "Both sexes seek tasks they know. They select behavior they know and consider appropriate for their sex. In mixed [i.e. coed] schools, each sex monopolizes its sex-stereotyped tasks and behavior so the sex that really needs to practice new things never gets the opportunity. Thus, mixed-sex schools support and increase the old traditional roles." For example, in a single-sex school, it would be less intimidating for a girl to choose to play the trumpet than it would in a coeducational school where trumpets were already being played mostly by boys.

Socialization

Critics of single-sex education argue that without the presence of the opposite sex, students are denied a learning environment representative of real life. This deprives them of the opportunity to develop skills for interaction with peers of all genders in their work environment and fosters ignorance and prejudice towards the other gender.

However, defenders argue that socialization does not depend on the two genders being placed physically together, but is rather a matter of educating children in habits such as respect, generosity, fairness, loyalty, courtesy, etc. From a single-sex perspective, this can be done with more success knowing the distinct tendencies and learning style differences of boys and girls. It is also argued that mixing of the sexes creates distraction (particularly with adolescents), increased sexual harassment and teenage pregnancy, all of which interfere with the quality of education.

External links

National Association for single sex public education
Diferenciada.org Single-sex Education Forum
Coeducation Revisited for the 21st Century — by Fr. John McCloskey

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↑ "Education in Ancient Times" ABC. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
↑ "Coeducation" Compton's Desk Reference. 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
↑ "Functional Sex Differences in the Human Brain" National Association for Single Sex Public Education, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2007.

[1] "Education in Ancient Times" ABC. Retrieved February 12, 2007.

[2] "Coeducation" Compton's Desk Reference. 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 13, 2007.

[3] "Functional Sex Differences in the Human Brain" National Association for Single Sex Public Education, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2007.

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[2]

[3]

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
-'''Coeducation''' is the integrated education of men and women at the same school facilities. '''Co-ed''' is a shortened [[adjective|adjectival]] form of '''co-educational''', and the word '''co-ed''' is sometimes also used as a noun to refer to a female college student in the United States. Before the 1960s, many [[private university|private]] institutions of higher education restricted their enrollment to a single sex. Indeed, most institutions of higher education — regardless of being [[public university|public]] or private — restricted their enrollment to a single sex at some point in their history.
+'''Coeducation''' is the integrated education of males and females at the same school facilities. The term '''Co-ed''' is a shortened version of '''co-educational''', and is also sometimes used as an informal and increasingly archaic reference to a female college student, particularly in the United States. Before the 1960s, many [[private university|private]] institutions of higher education restricted their enrollment to a single sex. Indeed, most institutions of higher education, both public and private, restricted their enrollment to a single sex at some point in their history. Modern-day education is primarily co-educational, but many single-sex educational institutions
-==Coeducation in the United Kingdom==
+==Coeducation in History==
+World history shows a clear preference for the education of boys over girls; the education of girls, when it existed, was usually informal and at home. In most ancient societies, such as Greece, India, and Egypt, organized educational systems were for boys only. The education of women in general was rare; coeducation even more so. Sparta, a Greek city-state, was one of the few places in the ancient world with organized schooling for girls as well as boys. Although the two were seperate, many historians believe that both schools were very similar in nature. Most education in Sparta was of a physical nature; the goal of a Spartan education was to create ideal soldiers and strong young women who would bear strong babies.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/arts/wingedsandals/history8.htm "Education in Ancient Times"] ABC. Retrieved February 12, 2007.</ref>
-In the [[United Kingdom]], most [[school]]s are coeducational today. In [[England]] the first public coeducational boarding school was [[Bedales School]] founded in 1893 by [[John Haden Badley]] and coeducational since 1898. The Scottish [[Dollar Academy]] claims to be the first coeducational boarding school in the UK (in 1818). Many previously [[single-sex school]]s have begun to accept both sexes in the past few decades; for example, [[Clifton College]] began to accept girls in 1987.
+Before the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, most schools were single-sex. In cases like one room schoolhouses in frontier America, coeducation was necessary from a practical standpoint; a single teacher was responsible for the education of all children in a given area, and seperation by age or sex was impractical. In [[England]], the first public boarding school to become coeducational was [[Bedales School]] founded in [[1893]] by [[John Haden Badley]] and coeducational since [[1898]]. The Scottish [[Dollar Academy]] claims to be the first coeducational boarding school in the UK (in 1818). In the 1960's, many Western countries shifted to coeducation. Not only was coeducation a less expensive way of schooling children, but it also supported the thrust towards gender equality. In 1972, U.S. schools made coeducation manditory in public schools.
+*1972: US Law making coeducation in public schools obligatory
-{{sectstub}}
+Institutions of higher education have also been historically for men only. In most countries, when women were given the option of a higher education, their only choice was to attend an all-female school.
-==Coeducation in the United States==
+==Coeducation Within Institutions of Higher Learning==
-The first coeducational institution of higher education in the United States was [[Franklin and Marshall College|Franklin College]] in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], established in 1787. Its first enrollment class in 1787 consisted of 78 male and 36 female students. Among the latter was [[Rebecca Gratz]], the first [[Jewish]] female college student in the United States. However, the college began having financial problems and it was reopened as an all-male institution. It became coed again in 1969 under its current name, [[Franklin and Marshall College]].
+===The United States===
+The first coeducational institution of higher education in the United States was [[Franklin and Marshall College|Franklin College]] in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], established in [[1787]]. Its first enrollment class in [[1787]] consisted of 78 male and 36 female students. Among the latter was [[Rebecca Gratz]], the first [[Jewish]] female college student in the United States. However, the college began having financial problems and it was reopened as an all-male institution. It became coed again in [[1969]] under its current name, [[Franklin and Marshall College]].
 The longest continuously operating coeducational school in the [[United States]] is [[Oberlin College]] in [[Oberlin, Ohio]], which was established in 1833. The first four women to receive bachelor's degrees in the United States earned them at Oberlin in 1841. Later, in 1862, the first African-American woman to receive a bachelor's degree (Mary Jane Patterson) also earned it from Oberlin College.
-The [[University of Iowa]] became the first public or state university in the United States to admit women, and for much of the next century, public universities, and land grant universities in particular, would lead the way in higher education coeducation. Many other early coeducational universities, especially west of the Mississippi River, were private, such as [[Carleton College]] (1866), [[Texas Christian University]] (1873), and [[Stanford University]] (1891).
+The [[University of Iowa]] was the first public or state university in the United States to become coeducational, and for much of the next century, public universities (and [[land grant universities in particular]]) would lead the way in higher education coeducation. Many other early coeducational universities, especially west of the Mississippi River, were private, such as [[Carleton College]] (1866), [[Texas Christian University]] (1873), and [[Stanford University]] (1891).
-At the same time, according to Irene Harwarth, Mindi Maline, and Elizabeth DeBra, "[[Women's colleges in the United States|women's college]]s were founded during the mid- and late-19th century in response to a need for advanced education for women at a time when they were not admitted to most institutions of higher education" [http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/PLLI/webreprt.html]. A notable example is the prestigious [[Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters]]. Of the seven, [[Vassar College]] is now co-educational and [[Radcliffe College]] has merged with [[Harvard University]]. [[Wellesley College]], [[Smith College]], [[Mount Holyoke College]], [[Bryn Mawr College]], and [[Barnard College]] are still [[women's colleges]].
-Other notable women's colleges that have become coeducational include [[Ohio Wesleyan Female College]] in [[Ohio]], [[Skidmore College]], [[Wells College]], and [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in New York state, [[Goucher College]] in Maryland and [[Connecticut College]].
-In U.S. slang, "'''Coed'''" is an [[informal]] and increasingly archaic term for a [[female]] student attending a formerly all-male college or university (or any university).
-===U.S. institutions of higher education coeducational from establishment===
-* [[Franklin and Marshall College]], [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]] (1787) (''began as a coeducational school but the coed policy was soon changed and it would take 182 years before women were again permitted to enroll in the school)
-* [[Oberlin College]], [[Oberlin, Ohio]], (1833) (''usually credited as the first consistently coeducational school in the United States'')
-* [[Alfred University]], [[Alfred (village), New York|Village of Alfred]] in western [[New York]] State, (1836)
-* [[Guilford College]], [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], (1837)
-* [[Knox College]], [[Galesburg, Illinois]], (1837)
-* [[Hillsdale College]], [[Hillsdale, Michigan]], (1844)
-* [[Olivet College]], [[Olivet, Michigan]], (1844)
-* [[Lawrence University]], [[Appleton, Wisconsin]], (1847)
-* [[Urbana University]], [[Urbana, Ohio]], (1850)
-* [[Antioch College]], [[Yellow Springs, Ohio]], (1853)
-* [[Hamline University]], [[Red Wing, Minnesota]], (1854)
-* [[Bates College]] (1855), [[Lewiston, Maine]], ''(first woman to receive a bachelor's degree in New England in 1869)''
-* [[University of Iowa]], [[Iowa City, Iowa]], (1856)
-* [[Cornell University]], [[Ithaca, New York]] (1865) (''first woman enrolled in 1870'', ''first woman graduated in 1873'')
-* [[Carleton College]], [[Northfield, Minnesota]], 1866)
-* [[Boston University]] (1869)
-* [[Swarthmore College]], [[Swarthmore, Pennsylvania]] (1870)
-* [[Texas Christian University]], [[Fort Worth, Texas]], (1873)
-* [[Stanford University]], [[Stanford, California]], (1891)
-* [[University of Chicago]] (1892)
-* [[Rice University]], [[Houston, Texas]], (1912)
-* [[Brandeis University]], [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], (1948)
-===Years U.S. educational institutions became coeducational===
-: Schools that were previously all-female are listed in ''italics''.
-<table>
+At the same time, according to Irene Harwarth, Mindi Maline, and Elizabeth DeBra, "[[Women's colleges in the United States|women's college]]s were founded during the mid- and late-19th century in response to a need for advanced education for women at a time when they were not admitted to most institutions of higher education" [http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/PLLI/webreprt.html]. Notable examples are the prestigious [[Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters]]. Of the seven, [[Vassar College]] is now co-educational and [[Radcliffe College]] has merged with [[Harvard University]]. [[Wellesley College]], [[Smith College]], [[Mount Holyoke College]], [[Bryn Mawr College]], and [[Barnard College]] remain single-sex institutions.
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1860</td><td>[[University of Wisconsin]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1867</td><td>[[DePauw University]]<br>[[Indiana University Bloomington|Indiana University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1868</td><td>[[University of Iowa]] Law School</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1869</td><td>[[Northwestern University]]<br>[[Ohio University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1870</td><td>[[Michigan State University]]<br>[[University of Michigan]]<br>[[Washington University in St. Louis]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1871</td><td>[[Pennsylvania State University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1872</td><td>[[Wesleyan University]] (Until 1912, when it became all male once again.)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1876</td><td>[[University of Pennsylvania]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1877</td><td>[[Ohio Wesleyan University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1883</td><td>[[Bucknell University]]<br>[[Middlebury College]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1885</td><td>[[University of Mississippi]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1888</td><td>[[George Washington University]]<br>[[Tulane University]] Pharamaceutical School<br>
-[[University of Kentucky]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1892</td><td>[[Auburn University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1893</td><td>[[Macalester College]]<br>[[University of Connecticut]]<br>[[Johns Hopkins University]] Graduate School<br>[[University of Alabama]]<br>[[University of Tennessee]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1894</td><td>[[Boalt Hall]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1895</td><td>[[University of Pittsburgh]]<br>[[University of South Carolina]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1897</td><td>[[University at Buffalo, The State University of New York|University at Buffalo]] Law School<br>[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] (graduate students)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1900</td><td>[[University of Virginia]] (nursing only)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1902</td><td>[[Miami University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1909</td><td>[[Tulane University]] School of Dentistry</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1914</td><td>[[Tulane University]] Medical School<br>[[University of Pennsylvania]] Medical School</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1918</td><td>[[College of William and Mary]]<br>[[University of Georgia]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1920</td><td>[[University of Virginia]] (graduate students)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1922</td><td>[[Northeastern University, Boston]] School of Law</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1930</td><td>[[Roanoke College]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1931</td><td>[[Seattle University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1942</td><td>[[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]<br>[[Wake Forest University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1946</td><td>''[[James Madison University]]'' (de facto)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1947</td><td>''[[Florida State University]]''<br>[[University of Florida]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1952</td><td>[[Lincoln University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1953</td><td>[[Georgia Tech]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1953</td><td>[[Harvard Law School]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1963</td><td>[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] (all programs)<br>
-''[[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1964</td><td>[[Texas A&M University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1966</td><td>''[[James Madison University]]'' (official)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1968</td><td>[[Virginia Tech]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1969</td><td>''[[Connecticut College]]''<br>[[Franklin and Marshall College]]<br>[[Georgetown University]]<br>[[Kenyon College]]<br>[[La Salle University]]<br>[[MacMurray College]]<br>[[Princeton University]]<br>''[[Siena Heights University]]''<br>[[Trinity College (Connecticut)]]<br>
-[[University of the South]]<br>''[[Vassar College]]''<br>[[Yale University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1970</td><td>[[Boston College]]<br> [[Johns Hopkins University]]<br>[[Rutgers University]]<br>''[[University of Mary Washington]]''<br>[[University of Virginia]] (all programs)</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1971</td><td>[[Brown University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1972</td><td>[[Davidson College]]<br>[[Dartmouth College]]<br>[[Harvard|Harvard College - Harvard University]]<br>''[[Radford University]]''<br>''[[Texas Woman's University]]''<br>[[University of Notre Dame]]<br>[[Washington and Lee University]] Law School<br>[[Wesleyan University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1974</td><td>[[Fordham University|Fordham College]]<br>/[[United States Merchant Marine Academy]]<td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1976</td><td>[[Claremont McKenna College]]<br>[[United States Air Force Academy]]<br>[[United States Coast Guard Academy]]<br>[[United States Military Academy]]<br>[[United States Naval Academy]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1982</td><td>''[[Mississippi University for Women]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1983</td><td>[[Columbia College of Columbia University|Columbia College]] at [[Columbia University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1985</td><td>[[Washington and Lee University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1991</td><td>[[Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1993</td><td>[[The Citadel (Military College)|The Citadel]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1997</td><td>[[Virginia Military Institute]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>2001</td><td>''[[Notre Dame College]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>2002</td><td>''[[Hood College]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>2004</td><td>''[[Immaculata College]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>2005</td><td>''Lesley College of [[Lesley University]]''<br>''[[Wells College]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>2006</td><td>''[[vfmac|Valley Forge Military College]]''</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>2007</td><td>''[[Randolph-Macon Woman's College]]''</td></tr>
-</table>
-==Coeducation in Canada==
+===China===
-===Years Canadian educational institutions became coeducational===
+The first coeducational institution of higher learning in [[China]] was the [[Nanjing Higher Normal Institute]], which was later renamed [[National Central University]] in [[1928]] and [[Nanjing University]] [[1949]]. For thousands of years in China, education, especially higher education, was the privilege of men. In the 1910s women's universities were established such as [[Ginling Women's University]] and [[Peking Girl's Higher Normal School]], but coeducation was still prohibited.
-<table>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1884</td><td>[[McGill University]]</td></tr>
-<tr valign="top" halign="left"><td>1980</td><td>[[Royal Military College of Canada]]</td></tr>
-</table>
-{{sectstub}}
+In 1920, Nanjing Higher Normal Institute began to recruit female students, and later that year the first eight coeducational Chinese women students were enrolled. In the same year [[Peking University]] also began to allow women audit students. After [[1949]], when the [[Communist Party of China]] controlled [[mainland China]], almost all schools and universities became coeducational. In recent years, however, many girl schools and women colleges have again emerged.
-==Coeducation in China==
+===Europe===
-The first coeducational institution of higher learning in [[China]] was the [[Nanjing Higher Normal Institute]] which renamed [[National Central University]] in 1928 and [[Nanjing University]] 1949. For thousands of years in China, education, especially higher education, was the privilege of men. In the 1910s women's universities were established such as [[Ginling Women's University]] and [[Peking Girl's Higher Normal School]], but coeducation was still prohibited.
+In Europe, coeducation was more easily accepted in institutions of higher learning than it was in secondary education. In England, the London School of Economics was one of the first to open its doors to women in 1874. Women were first allowed to matriculate in Germany in 1901. By 1910, coeducation was becoming more widespread; women were admitted into universities in The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, norway, Austria-Hungary, France, and Turkey.<ref>[http://deskreference.britannica.com/ebc/article-9024629 "Coeducation"] Compton's Desk Reference. 2007. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 13, 2007.</ref>
-[[Tao Xingzhi]], the Chinese advocator of coeducation, proposed ''The Audit Law for Women Students'' (規定女子旁聽法案) on the meeting of Nanjing Higher Normal Institute hold on December 7th, 1919. He also proposed the university to recruit girl students. They were supported by the president [[Guo Bingwen]], academic director [[Liu Boming]], and such famous professors as [[Lu Zhiwei]] and [[Yang Xingfo]], and were opposed by many famous men of the time.
+==Arguments Against Coeducation==
+At the end of the twentieth century, there begun a movement back to single-sex education. Advocates of single-sex education, where male and female students attend separate classes or attend separate schools, cite studies that show students from single-sex environments outperfom those from coeducational schools. Others advocate single-sex education on the basis of tradition or religous and cultural values. In 2002, based on bipartisan support and evidence supporting single-sex education, the U.S. revoked the mandatory coeducation policy and provided three million dollars of funding for single-sex schools.
-Finally, the meeting passed the law and decided to recruit women students next year. Nanjing Higher Normal Institute enrolled eight coeducational Chinese women students in 1920. In the same year [[Peking University]] also began to allow women audit students. The most notable female student of that time may be [[Chien-Shiung Wu]].
+===Differences in Learning Styles===
+===Sex Differences in the Brain===
-After 1949, when the [[Communist Party of China]] controlled [[mainland China]], almost all schools and universities became coeducational. In recent years, however, many girl schools and women colleges have again emerged.
+The practitioners of single sex school state that boys and girls learn differently because of structural differences between male and female brains. Studies on male and female brains indicate that males and females process information using different sections of their brains. This is evidenced in the ways males and females approach problem solving. For instance, when men are asked to give directions, they access the left hippocampus, and often use abstract concepts such as north and south. Women, on the other hand, access the cerebral cortex, and typically refer to landmarks that can be seen or heard to navigate. Advocates of single-sex education argue that these differences mean that the best method of instruction differs for males and females; a technique that engages girls in the subject matter may bore boys, and vice versa.<ref>[http://www.singlesexschools.org/research-brain.htm#development "Functional Sex Differences in the Human Brain"] National Association for Single Sex Public Education, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2007.</ref>
-==Co-education in Hong Kong==
-[[St. Paul's Co-educational College]] was the first co-educational [[high school|secondary school]] in [[Hong Kong]]. It was founded in 1915 as St. Paul's Girls' College. At the end of the [[World War II]] operation was temporarily merged with [[St. Paul's College, Hong Kong|St. Paul's College]], which is a boys' school. When class at the campus of St. Paul's College was resumed, it continued to be co-educational, and changed to its present name.
-{{sect-stub}}
-==Single-sex education==
-'''Single-sex education''' is the practice of conducting [[education]] where male and female students attend separate classes or in [[Single-sex school|separate buildings or schools]]. The practice was predominant before the mid-[[twentieth century]], particularly in [[secondary education]] and [[higher education]]. Single-sex education is often advocated on the basis of tradition, as well as [[Religion|religious]] or cultural values.  It is practiced in many parts of the world.  A number of studies starting in the 1990s are showing statistical data that children from single-sex schools are outperforming students from coeducational schools, although some studies also say that these are non-conclusive. In 2002, because of these studies and bipartisan support, the US law of 1972 was revoked and funding was given in support of the single-sex option. There are now associations of parents who are advocating for single-sex education.
-===Short history===
-*1960s: mandated shift to coeducation in many Western countries; Reasons: coeducation is a less expensive way of schooling the baby boomers; the thrust towards gender equality
-*1972: US Law making coeducation in public schools obligatory
-*1990s-2000s:  some studies supporting single-sex education: children of single sex schools are outperforming children in coeducational schools
-:US: “Together or separate?” (Cornelius Riordan 1990)
-:Germany: “Was coeducation a historical error?” (Der Spiegel 1998)
-:Australia: 20-year study of 270,000 students (2000)
-:England: [http://195.194.2.34/research/pub_template.asp?theID=289 The National Foundation for Educational Research (2002)]
-:France: “The Pitfalls of Mixed Education” (Fize 2003)
-*US Law of 2002: revocation of obligatory coeducation in public education; 3 million dollars were allotted to support the single-sex school option
-In the U.S., single sex education receives bipartisan support. [[Hillary Clinton]] said in June 2001: “Our long-term goal has to be to make single-sex education available as an option for all children, not just for children of parents wealthy enough to afford private schools.”
-===Sex differences===
-The practitioners of single sex school state that boys and girls learn differently.{{fact}}
-===Academics===
 [[Image:Eton shield.gif|140px|thumb|left|King's College of Our Lady of Eton, commonly known as [[Eton College]]]]
 Many supporters of single-sex education hold that it can help students learn more effectively.
-Several studies show that single-sex groupings deliver advantages to students. Dr Rowe, a Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research, presented the VCE Data Project – a population study of 270,000 Year 12 students’ achievements on 53 subjects of the Victorian Certificate of Education over a 6-year period (1994-1999). The findings indicated that after adjusting for measures of students’ ‘abilities’ and school sector (government, Catholic and independent), the achievements of boys and girls in single-sex environments were, on average, 15-22 percentile TER ranks higher than the achievements of their counterparts in co-educational settings.
+===Gender Roles===
+From a pro-coeducation standpoint, single-sex institutions are inherently unequal. Advocates of coeducation argue that [[gender stereotypes]] are reinforced and that single-sex education accentuates gender based educational limitations and dicrimination by not offering courses like [[cheerleading]] or [[home economics]] to boys, or [[American football|football]] or [[wood shop]] to girls.
-According to defenders of coeducation, segregated learning facilities are inherently unequal.  System bias will reinforce [[gender stereotypes]] and perpetuate societal inequalities in opportunities afforded to males and females. Single-sex schools in fact accentuate gender-based educational limitations and discrimination.  Boys' schools do not offer [[cheerleading]] or [[Family and consumer science|home economics]] classes, while girls' schools do not offer [[American football|football]] or [[wood shop]].
+Those who support single-sex education insist that this is not the case, and that single-sex institutions actually promote the subversion of [[gender role]]s. Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir, an Icelandic educator who introduced single-sex kindergarten to Iceland in 1989, stated: "Both sexes seek tasks they know. They select behavior they know and consider appropriate for their sex. In mixed [i.e. coed] schools, each sex monopolizes its sex-stereotyped tasks and behavior so the sex that really needs to practice new things never gets the opportunity. Thus, mixed-sex schools support and increase the old traditional roles." For example, in a single-sex school, it would be less intimidating for a girl to choose to play the trumpet than it would in a coeducational school where trumpets were already being played mostly by boys.
-However, [[gender role]]s can be subverted in a single-sex environment; boys will be more likely to pursue the arts, and girls more likely to pursue math and science.  Margrét Pála Ólafsdóttir, an Icelandic educator who introduced single-sex kindergarten to Iceland in 1989, stated: "Both sexes seek tasks they know. They select behavior they know and consider appropriate for their sex. In mixed [i.e. coed] schools, each sex monopolizes its sex-stereotyped tasks and behavior so the sex that really needs to practice new things never gets the opportunity. Thus, mixed-sex schools support and increase the old traditional roles." In one school which shifted from coeducation to single sex education, the girls who once didn't want to take up playing the trumpet, took courage to take it up in the single sex system and became very good at it.
-Without the presence of the opposite sex, students will be less distracted from their academics.
-Female graduates of single-sex schools go on to achieve greatness in typically male-dominated careers and statistically obtain more high-ranking positions in [[Fortune 1000]] companies than girls who were educated in a co-educational setting.
 ===Socialization===
-Critics of the single sex education argue that without the presence of the opposite sex, students are denied a learning environment representative of real life.  This deprives them of the opportunity to develop skills for interaction with peers of all genders in their work environment and fosters [[ignorance]] and [[prejudice]] towards the other gender.
+Critics of single-sex education argue that without the presence of the opposite sex, students are denied a learning environment representative of real life. This deprives them of the opportunity to develop skills for interaction with peers of all genders in their work environment and fosters [[ignorance]] and [[prejudice]] towards the other gender.
-However, the defenders argue that socialization is not the same as putting together, but is a matter of educating in habits such as respect, generosity, fairness, loyalty, courtesy, etc. And this can be done with more success knowing the distinct tendencies of boys and girls.
-Defenders also state that there are more teenage pregnancies and [[sexual harassment]] cases in coeducational schools. Catholics usually refer to teachings of Pope [[Pius XI]] in 1929. He wrote an encyclical entitled "Christian Education of Youth" where he addressed the topic of coeducation. He said: "False also and harmful to Christian education is the so-called method "co-education". This too, by many of its supporters is founded upon naturalism and the denial of [[original sin]]."
+However, defenders argue that socialization does not depend on the two genders being placed physically together, but is rather a matter of educating children in habits such as respect, generosity, fairness, loyalty, courtesy, etc. From a single-sex perspective, this can be done with more success knowing the distinct tendencies and learning style differences of boys and girls. It is also argued that mixing of the sexes creates distraction (particularly with adolescents), increased [[sexual harassment]] and teenage pregnancy, all of which interfere with the quality of education.