Schools segregated by sexes

We are talking about grade school, right? Worrying about university-level same-sex schooling not adequately preparing you for the 'real world' is ridiculous, as evidenced by the disproportionate success of women in male-dominated fields, and it's easy to meet men if you have any kind of transportation. (Can't find much about men's colleges but I imagine it's more or less the same deal.)

Anyway - I don't think schools should be segregated by sex until (at least) high school, and only if the student has a say in that decision. So, who wants to get around to overhauling the public school system?

There's only 3 4 year Men's schols in the US that aren't religious, and maybe a dozen 2 year non-religious schools. So yeah, data on that will be scarce.

Yet, I can't find any data indicating an all girl's university yeilds any special bennefit. Or data at all. My google fu is weak.

This is a pretty comprehensive rundown of the benefits. Again, I'd hold back from assuming that they're "special" (due to rampant self-selection) but they're consistent enough for me to believe that single-sex education should be an option for students who desire it.

At the university level I cannot see it being an advantage.

You did read the linked article?

and old questionnaire about how students going to a womens college felt doesn't exactly scream hard stats. I'd like to compare grades.

Comparing grades won't help you either, because lolinflation. Standardized test scores or rates of admission to grad school would probably work better, no idea how single-sex schools measure up in that respect.

As for hard stats, it's pretty well-known that girls' school graduates are much more likely to obtain positions of political/financial power than coed school grads, my link gave numbers. Ooh, I can also drop my favorite statistic about my college, which is that something like a quarter of American female chemists got their bachelor's degree there.

edited 18th Mar '11 6:42:05 PM by Penguin4Senate

Which might just be self-selection; particularly (let's say feminist) women are probably more likely to go to women's colleges and also probably more likely to become powerful.

I'd like to know how these controll groups it mentioned worked.

Also:

Racial diversity, maybe. But how can you even imply high diversity when you're keeping out more than 50% of the population? I also doubt these schools harbor a lot of right wing viewpoints, diversity extends to political views.

Well, universities in general tend to be pretty liberal.

Not all, my university will have a sizable young Republicans. Although the libertarians are likely bigger yet. Lot of Heinlein is read by incoming students, you see.

Yes, I've said this twice. I guess the question is, do you think they would have done as well or better at coed institutions?

Biological sex is one part of human identity - a huge part, certainly, but most diversifying traits exist independent of sex. Women's colleges tend to be diligent about attracting and supporting minorities, including international, disabled and GLBT students.

edited 18th Mar '11 9:23:25 PM by Penguin4Senate

Yes, because an Indian man and an Indian woman are going to bring expirences so close to eachother you only really need one of them.

Also, more for the comedy factor:

Race is one part of human identity - a huge part, certainly, but most diversifying traits exist independent of race. White colleges tend to be diligent about attracting and supporting white minorities, including international, disabled and GLBT students.

edited 18th Mar '11 9:43:48 PM by HungryJoe

Right, but universities like that are still in the minority, just like no doubt women's colleges that lean right are in the minority.

edited 18th Mar '11 9:48:46 PM by zoulza

Regardless, the whole idea is sexist, isn't it? The exclusion of individuals based on sex with ^^no other factors is just ridiculous. There isn't even a physical reason, segregated housing, sure, but ^^no reason college aged people can't hand in their reports alongside people with different naughty bits.

Did you know that there are in fact black colleges? The more accurate term is historically black, but at the most prestigious schools, whites make up <1% of the student body (which is comparable to the number of men who wind up living with their girlfriends at women's colleges anyway, but I digress). I'm not entirely sure what point you were trying to make with this, but switching to a non-oppressed group sort of defeats the purpose, since whites/men/blahblah had (and in many places still have) disproportionate access to higher education.

So Yale can go ahead and switch back to all white males?

EDIT: The point is sex does play a big role in experience. Just because us white males haven't been oppressed doesn't mean ^we can't contribute to the conversation.

edited 18th Mar '11 10:39:27 PM by HungryJoe

Many single-sex schools were created at a time when (for women) no serious educational alternatives existed, i.e. the best colleges were exclusively male. Now that we have things like coed Ivy Leagues, it doesn't seem to matter nearly as much - and many women's and men's colleges have since become coed.

Is it ridiculous to exclude qualified students from higher education based on sex, skin color, disability, religion? Yes, of course. I'd love to go to Deep Springs, I can't, and ultimately I don't think it matters. Prospective college students in this country have so many options that finding a replacement is trivial.

Think of it as a different kind of conversation. I've never been too fond of the idea of college as a great diversifier, since people tend to wind up in homogeneous groups anyway, but I think we as a society can afford to let kids choose to go four years without rooming with the opposite sex. Also, god I hate clogging up a thread this broad with yet more anecdotes, but: men can take classes at some (possibly all, will need to check) women's colleges, and frequently show up for guest lectures, so fear not, they aren't necessarily missing out on the exotic wisdom of white male culture.

edited 18th Mar '11 10:57:11 PM by Penguin4Senate

Depends on the class, I'd think.