As the Director of an independent junior girls’ school, I am fortunate to receive the most up-to-date research in education. I was particularly interested in some in-depth research from Ireland this month, that examined educational outcomes over a five-year longitudinal study.
Of specific interest were the outcomes for students in single-sex schools, particularly girls’ schools. It reinforces the belief that we all hold at St Hilda’s; that girls thrive in an all-girls environment.
Academic perceptions and outcomes
Attitudes around learning, ability and aspirations for future education are important aspects of girls’ experiences in girls’ schools. While there was no significant difference in the type of academic subjects pursued by girls at coeducational and girls’ schools, teachers strongly felt that there was more recognition for girls’ talent in extracurricular activities at girls’ schools, including options like sports. Teachers typically had a higher expectation for girls to attend higher education compared with boys. Likewise, all girls, regardless of school type, are more likely to aspire to attend college/university than their male counterparts.
What is significant about those attending girls’ schools is their perceptions of their capabilities and how they feel this is viewed by their teachers. Girls attending girls’ schools were significantly more likely than girls from coeducational schools to agree that boys and girls can achieve as well as each other at the same task. They also had a more positive perception of their teachers’ opinions of their ability, and felt their teachers would agree that they were “smart”.
Behavioural advantages
Girls have a more positive approach to the presence of rules, which was more pronounced in girls’ schools, especially younger students. Girls attending girls’ schools were also the most likely out of all cohorts to agree that it is important that all people are treated fairly. In fact, it was in girls’ schools that students were most likely to feel listened to. It was in these environments that students felt like they had a voice, could make decisions, and felt like their ideas were being used to make positive changes in their schools.
Wellbeing advantages
The benefits of girls’ schools for primary school children extend to a crucial aspect of the student journey: relationships with their peers and the impact of this on experiences of bullying. With rising rates of anxiety, especially among girls, bullying is a significant focus for educators, principals and families. Concerningly, the number of times girls reported witnessing bullying has increased over time compared to boys. But this was not the case for those in girls’ schools. Girls attending girls’ schools reported the lowest levels of bullying out of all the project participants.
The researchers attribute this to the stronger social connectivity girls have with their peers at girls’ schools, compared to girls in coeducational environments. Girls attending girls’ schools are less likely to single out others as being “popular” or “socially prestigious”, and there were typically smaller and tighter networks of friends, with girls’ schools having the highest levels of closeness among students.
Summary
This research across coeducational and single-sex schools allows us to critically review the benefits of an education from a school like St Hilda’s. Being able to adapt our programs to meet girls’ physical, academic and emotional needs allows our students to better prepare themselves for a successful future.
At St Hilda’s our Junior School all-girls experience continues to deliver results in Senior School. The majority of our 2024 ATAR high achievers were Junior School students and many were voted into leadership positions by their peers.
Read about the study here.
