Single-sex vs co-ed schools: Which is better?

There is no clear winner when it comes to academic outcomes, but experts say there are other important benefits to single-gender and co-ed schools that parents should know.

Ballarat Grammar school’s coeducational environment offers a breadth of subject options to all students. Picture: Chloe Smith

It’s a question that many parents face at some point in their child’s education: are single-sex schools better or would coeducation offer the kind of life experience that is more akin to the “real world?”

According to long-time educator and professor emerita in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Helen Forgasz, there is no “simple answer”.

“Proponents of coeducational schools sometimes say that it’s a ‘natural thing’ for boys and girls to be together so they are socialised,” she says.

“And, on the other hand, there is this belief that girls always perform better at single-sex schools.”

Girls who attend single-sex schools, such as Methodist Ladies' College in Melbourne, do not achieve higher grades than those from co-ed schools, but they are more confident about their ability in STEM subjects, according to research.

Research shows boys at single-sex schools, such as Melbourne Grammar School, are also more confident in STEM subjects compared to boys at coeducational schools.

However, according to Ms Forgasz, research does not indicate that students — either boys or girls — achieve higher grades in single-sex than in coeducational settings.

She does note some research suggests girls who attend single-sex schools are more confident about themselves in STEM subjects than in coeducational schools.

“So, yes, you might have more girls doing STEM subjects in all-girls schools than in coeducational schools, but that pattern is repeated for boys too,” she says.

Ms Forgasz, therefore, cautions parents about automatically assuming their daughter will be better off in a single-sex school, pointing out that the culture of the school matters more than whether it’s co-ed or single-sex.

Professor emerita Helen Forgasz in the Faculty of Education at Monash University.

Instead, Ms Forgasz says parents should make sure the school has a “gender equity focus” — especially in light of recent news reports of disturbing and misogynistic behaviour of some private boys school students.

“I’d be asking the school about the enrolments in VCE subjects to see if there’s a gender balance across subjects and be asking why there are fewer girls doing physics than boys, if that is the case,” she notes. “Also ask some of those subtle things, such as ‘my daughter really likes kicking around the football and playing cricket, do you offer these things?’ ”

Ms Forgasz says parents should be wary of single-sex or coeducational schools that have rigid thinking in relation to boys’ and girls’ societal roles.

“Attend open days so you can get a feel for what this place is all about, what your own value system is and what outcome you would like for your child,” she says.

“If it’s a co-ed school, then I’d be looking at if there was gender balance in leadership roles, not necessarily just the principal but the heads of departments and the pastoral care team.”

According to headmaster of the coeducational Ballarat Grammar, Adam Heath, respect for gender differences and diversity is paramount to the school’s coeducational model.

“The social and emotional education of our students is as important as their academic education,” Mr Heath says.

Ballarat Grammar headmaster Adam Heath.

“Sometimes coeducational schools have a broader range of subjects for boys and girls to choose from and a male student might choose to do something that might not be available at a single-sex boys school, such as textiles or fashion,” he says.

“A female student might choose to do something that might not be available at a single-sex girls school, such as systems technology.”

Mr Heath added that parents most frequently select a coeducational school because they see opportunities for children to “form respectful relationships with their own and the other gender”.

“Accentuating this is families that have children of one sex who they want their children to experience education and friendships with students of the opposite sex,” he says.

Mr Heath says there are other practical reasons why parents choose a coeducational school for their children. “Sometimes (it’s) because of the very valid reason of making life just that little bit easier, with all children in a mixed-gender family at one school,” he says.

Ms Forgasz says the most important thing is to talk to the child and ask them whether they would prefer a single-sex school or co-ed. “I think parents should not make the decision without consulting their child,” Ms Forgasz says. “If a child is happy they’re more likely to do well.”

She also advises checking in with them regularly to ensure the model they have chosen is a good fit. “After a year reassess the decision because there’s a whole range of factors that can affect a child and their happiness,” she says.

“And it could affect them for life if they were forced to stay on at a school where they’re not happy and they’re not learning in the way they like to or their interests are not being met.”

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