Coeducation (Mixed-Sex Education)
Coeducation, or mixed-sex education, refers to educational systems where both males and females learn together in the same environment. This approach is rooted in the philosophy of equality and aims to provide both genders with equal educational opportunities. The origins of coeducation can be traced to the early modern era, particularly during the Reformation, and it gained traction in Northern Europe and British colonies, notably in New England, where it became more common in the 19th century. While coeducation has been embraced in many regions, traditional and religious cultures have often resisted this model, opting instead for single-gender education.
Historically, coeducation faced challenges, including tracking systems that directed male students toward higher educational opportunities while relegating female students to less advantageous paths. Legislative changes, such as Title IX in the United States, have aimed to eliminate discrimination in educational settings and promote gender equality. Despite the progress made, ongoing debates exist about the effectiveness of coeducation versus differentiated education, with some arguing for the benefits of single-gender classrooms based on perceived learning differences. Overall, coeducation strives to prepare students for a contemporary world where men and women share equal roles in the workforce, though it continues to grapple with institutionalized biases and the need for ongoing reform.
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Coeducation (Mixed-Sex Education)
Coeducation, also known as mixed education, refers to pedagogical systems in which females and males share a common space. In other words, it is used to describe the education of both sexes in the same school. The contemporary ideology of coeducation is to educate from a standpoint of equality of the individuals. The philosophy of coeducation was born in the early modern era, more specifically during the Reformation. It extended to Britain and, in time, the British colonies in America, specifically where the Society of Friends or Quakers held sway. In the British Isles, it was most marked in the Northern regions. Although Catholic and more traditional cultures proved significantly less receptive to coeducational settings, it became common in New England. By the inception of the twentieth century, most public high schools in North America were coeducational.
Brief History
Coeducation was born from the Reformation goal to teach both boys and girls scripture. It spread through Northern Europe, first through England and Scotland and the British colonies, followed by the Scandinavian countries. It started with the admittance of girls into town schools, usually for primary education. By the early 1800s, most women who pursued higher education still attended single-gender seminaries or academies. The limited population of the western United States at the time made coeducation a more practical option, so that it became common in the West. In the eastern states, on the other hand, women continued to be educated separate from men.
After the Civil War, more women attended college, mostly in coeducational institutions. Land-grant colleges opened as coeducational facilities, even as northeast institutions continued to reject coeducation. By the late 1800s, about 70 percent of all female college students attended coeducational institutions. Prestigious private colleges, as well as Catholic schools, resisted the growing trend towards coeducation, and preferred to establish women’s colleges, such as the Seven Sister colleges. It is important to note, however, that at the time, less than 1 percent of women went to college. By the early 1900s, it had risen to almost 3 percent, and most public secondary institutions and colleges had become coeducational.
Coeducation did not always offer equal opportunities. Tracking systems directed men toward higher education or profitable vocational trades, whereas women were usually tracked to the lesser paid trades; up to the late 1960s, female students were tracked towards secretarial, teaching, nursing or homemaking roles. In the United States, the enactment of Title IX (1972) made it illegal for public schools to discriminate on the basis of gender in school academics and sports. By the late twentieth century, many religious schools subscribed to the coeducational method, except for the most orthodox.
Coeducation evolved to include the goal of offering equal educational opportunities to children of both sexes. Coeducation is considered by many educators, activists and policymakers as a fundamental step towards eliminating discrimination and inequality. It builds upon ideals of gender equality and respect for different cultures, aiming to prepare students for the contemporary realities of the market, in which men and women increasingly share workplaces equally.
Overview
The opposite of coeducation is known as differentiated education, a pedagogical philosophy which believes in separating students according to gender. The most common reason given to date to sustain differentiated education is that this system facilitates the best learning opportunities for each gender group, because it treats them according to specific characteristics common to each. In other words, supporters argue that due to biological or cultural differences, boys and girls learn differently; therefore, they will learn best in environments suited to their particular ways of engaging with the world. Others support differentiated education because they believe that girls do not learn in mixed settings as well as in differentiated settings, where they can participate without suffering from the ingrained discrimination typical of dominant male behavior.
Coeducation, on the other hand, encompasses a more holistic and universal view of education across genders. Coeducation has had ups and downs throughout its history, generating many debates as to its convenience or appropriateness. Different styles of coeducation exist. While in some environments males and females share the same rooms for all classes, for example, in others they study in the same institution, but in separate spaces according to gender or topic. The modern goal of coeducation is to provide men and women the same kind of education. This, however, has not always been the case.
According to educational philosophies popular in the eighteenth century, men and women were destined to fulfill different familial and societal roles. Therefore, their education reflected these differences. These differences include the ways in which coeducation tracked and guided girls and boys in the classroom. In fact, even in shared environments, girls and boys were initially separated by gender and responded to different expectations. Such theories are found in the educational philosophies of prominent thinkers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau, who in his seminal work Emile, Or On Education (1762), proposed an educational model that fostered in a male student the ability to become an autonomous, thinking person; for girls, however, Rousseau proposed an educational model that would be designed in relation to males, and dependent upon them.
The education of women was a topic of lively debate. Critics argued that over-educated women would reject the role they were naturally meant to fulfill, causing bitterness and despair and endangering society. There were also many defenders of equal education for women, such as Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), and Madame Roland (1754–1793).
By the nineteenth century, the Enlightenment notion that all people deserved to be educated had spread, although debates about the rightfulness of equal education for women continued. Women’s education was meant to prepare them better for their domestic roles. Therefore, they were not admitted to higher education or allowed to pursue university degrees.
Due to practical concerns, rural and town schools became mixed-gendered in Norway, Sweden, the United States, and other Protestant countries, except some areas in Britain. It remained unusual in Catholic countries such as Spain, Italy, France, and the Latin American nations up until the second half of the twentieth century. In the late twentieth century, feminist and human rights activism—and more proactive democratic legislation—eroded sexism in coeducation, albeit slowly.
Many experts argue that coeducation systems continue to suffer from institutionalized sexism, that is, gender discrimination ingrained in the system. For example, for generations, girls were steered towards teaching, which correlated with the gradual stagnation of salaries for teachers, as the profession was increasingly geared towards women. Girls are still often channeled away from educational career paths in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Policies that address gender inequality in education, however, keep working towards more inclusiveness, offering new visions for the role of women in society.
Bibliography
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De Welde, Kristine, Andi Stepnick, and Penny A. Pasque, eds. Disrupting the Culture of Silence: Confronting Gender Inequality and Making Change in Higher Education. Sterling: Stylus, 2014. Print.
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Laird, Susan, and Richard Bailey. Mary Wollstonecraft: Philosophical Mother of Coeducation. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Print.
Madigan, Jennifer C. "The Education of Girls and Women in the United States: A Historical Perspective." Advances in Gender and Education 1 (2009). 11–13. Print.
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