This doctoral study examined teachers’ and students’ “perceptions about single-sex classroom implementation in a public, urban elementary school serving a predominantly low-income student population” (Morrell, 2009, p. 3). An ethnographic, single-case approach was utilised.

In 2006, the United States Department of Education changed Title IX regulations to ease limitations on single-sex public schooling. There has since been a return to single-sex classrooms and schools across America. “Empirical studies are beginning to show that minority students enrolled in single-sex educational programs in public schools with strong curricula and effective teachers are making significant achievement gains in public schools” (Morrell, 2009, p. 28).

Participant observation, in-depth interviews and student focus group interviews were the primary sources of data for this study. Secondary data sources included documents related to student social and academic achievement. The school Principal, five core curriculum classroom teachers, two special education teachers, and 24 students participated in the study. Single-sex classrooms operate at the 7th and 8th grades in the school and involve approximately 100 students.

The following results highlight the successful implementation of single-sex classrooms in this school:

> “The data indicated that teachers and students perceive that there are unique learning styles and needs of the separate genders that teachers are able to more readily address within the single-gender classroom environment” (Morrell, 2009, p. 84).
> “Students in the single-sex classroom program also perceived their learning arrangement as more conducive to their own learning, although they often complained about being separated by sex. Students openly admitted that the separate learning environments for boys and girls are better for their learning overall” (Morrell, 2009, p. 87).
> “Single gender classrooms seem to have increased student focus on learning and academics rather than the adolescent subculture associated with adolescent socialization” (Morrell, 2009, p. 97).
> “The level of support offered to students in the single-gender program seemed to bolster the warm and inviting climate that has become characteristic of the school” (Morrell, 2009, p. 121).
> “Opportunities for girls to engage in mathematics and science classes, was described as a positive aspect of the single-gender classroom environment, where girls are given opportunities to develop leadership through taking initiative in subject areas which have been historically male dominated” (Morrell, 2009, p. 123).
> “The three-year trend data indicated that students at the target school have shown considerable gains in improved attendance and increased state
assessment scores in English Language, Arts and Mathematics” (Morrell, 2009, p. 154).
> “Single-sex classroom experiences in the target school created unique opportunities for addressing the specific needs of poor and minority students, who often find themselves marginalised in traditional public school settings” (Morrell, 2009, p. 161).
> “The all-female classrooms in the target school provided an academic benefit to girls, as they were less concerned about what they wore or what boys were doing or thinking, and this translated into enhanced opportunities for girls to engage in classroom leadership at a critical time when female adolescents often show a declining self-esteem and self-confidence in schools” (Morrell, 2009, p.163)
> “Female students were highly engaged in the learning processes in all their classes, especially math and science classes, and had developed a certain camaraderie or sisterhood that was highly relative to academic achievement” (Morrell, 2009, p. 163).
> “Teacher professional development and district support for single-sex classrooms are critical for the overall success of the single-gender classroom program” (Morrell, 2009, p. 190).

Morrell (2009) concludes that “this research shows a positive impact of single-sex schooling on the academic, attitudinal, and social achievement levels of students, especially female students and students of color in urban communities” (p. 194). She recommends that American “educators have no other option but to give the single-sex education reform innovation a wholehearted try” (p. 195).

LINK

Morrell, P. (2009). Single-sex classroom implementation in a predominantly low-income, public, urban elementary school: perceptions, engagement, and achievement. Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, State University of New York.

4b3f1521966d1-pqdtopen.proquest.pdf