Overview of Advantages Co-Ed Schools Have Over Single-Sex Schools

Let’s turn back time to the 16th century, where mixed gender schools were unheard-of and considered blasphemous. The preference for the education of boys over girls was obvious. Nevertheless, Sparta, a city state in ancient Greece took it up a notch and introduced an education system for both genders. Decades and centuries later, most countries followed suit.

What made them change their minds? What made them in the slightest bit, consider combining both sexes to pursue their education under the same roof? The answer to these questions is simple. People soon came to their senses about the importance of both men and women working and engaging together. Plato, for instance, was the first person to argue that both girls and boys should be taught together.

To further strengthen our understanding on this topic, a school by definition means an institution to educate students. Over the years, its meaning is altered to suit the modern-day and age. In this case, Nalliah, a lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Education, teaches English to ensure her students can use the language in the real world. To deduce, school is a place where students get the gist of what the real world would be like. For this to occur, students must be exposed to situations faced in real life.

Take an article published by The Star on March 3rd 2019 as an example. It highlights the concern of an engineering student on the importance of associating syllabuses taught by lecturers with real life. What better way to implement this at a tender age than being in co-educational schools or colleges?

On the contrary, some might argue that single-sex schools equally educate their students about the real life out there. Well, I agree! But it is necessary to be aware of this one slight difference. The real world consists of both men and women co-existing, complementing each other. In other words, a normal environment! Single-sex schools clearly do not comprise of both genders further creating a gap between them. Likewise, the pressing issue here is if the students are segregated by gender (same-sex schools), unrealistic expectations of life ten years down the road will exist. For example, female students are smarter than the males. Co-educational schools without a doubt help to shatter this social stigma or misconception and provide students an excellent foundation for the development of a realistic later life.

Besides, both genders can acknowledge their differences which can later benefit them in many ways. Quoting Professor Simon Baron Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge, a strong reason for the existence of co-education is to prevent both genders from not mixing or learning about each other. He has a point here! A study conducted by the London Business School found that teams with an equal gender split performed much better in terms of sharing information or knowledge and fulfilling tasks.

Equally, both the statistics imply that co-educational schools will be a stepping stone for students to form relationships. It helps the students to feel comfortable socially in other environments, including the world of work and profession. At the same time, having these experiences in high school will empower them to communicate appropriately and efficiently especially when meeting new clients in future.

Speaking of the real world, it is cut-throat or in other words, brutal! Having said that, students from co-educational schools can survive the horrors of the real world as they are constantly being pushed out of their comfort zone. Unlike in same-sex schools where people from the same gender mingle around and have the same ideology introduced and embedded in them, co-ed school students are taught to always work together despite their differences, specifically their gender. This is to further prepare them to thrive in the real world as an average workplace doesn’t make men and women work in separate corners. A survey conducted in the US showed that 30% of students coming from same-sex Catholic high schools have a hard time adjusting when they start working, thus proving my point.

In general, life is co-ed. The question needed to be asked here is which is more important, providing the needs of a specific gender or allowing both genders to conquer the real world? I’ll let you decide.