What the Research Shows
What class is being taught
in the picture?
Over many years, the data consistently and persistently confirm that single-gender programs are more educationally effective than coeducational ones. In recent years, work in many fields has helped us understand the differences between boys and girls. This has included advances in cognitive neuroscience, studies in the developmental differences between males and females, and studies of different school environments.
From this research, we have learned that boys learn better in an environment that:
- Gives them tasks, asks them to apply knowledge, and lets them learn by doing.
- Is verbally enriched.
- Encourages teachers to speak clearly, slowly, and more loudly in the classroom. Boys do not hear as well as girls.
- Provides boys with regular and realistic feedback, and coaches them on their performance and progress.
- Provides interesting materials. Boys are motivated more by what interests them than by what pleases adults.
- Recognizes that boys prefer to discuss, write, and draw about action rather than feelings.
- Uses games and provides opportunities for competition. Moderate stress enhances boys’ learning.
- Gives boys their own personal space.
- Lets them move. Gives them jobs. Lets them stand at their desks.
- Does not compare them to girls.
Princeton Academy has taken this research to heart in designing and running our school. As a result, we are the school where boys thrive.
To go further into the research, we encourage you to explore the National Association for Single Sex Public Education website. In particular, you may find these topics of interest:
- Gender differences in the brain
- Gender differences in learning style
- Single-sex vs. coed: The evidence
Resources about boys' education include: