Social Development in Gender-Integrated and -Segregated Contexts

• In Event: The State of Single-Sex Schooling: Theoretical, Empirical, Methodological, and Legal Issues

Abstract

In response to concerns about the academic performance and behavior of boys and girls, a popular “cure” is to segregate girls and boys into separate classrooms, with teachers being trained to teach to the specific needs and abilities of each sex. This approach has been challenged by studies comparing gender segregated (GS) and integrated (GI) classrooms and by research on naturalistic interactions of children. Before educators adopt GS approaches, they need to carefully consider information about potential negative consequences of GS and the benefits of GI. In this presentation, we discuss two related lines of research: one on children’s tendencies to segregate and the consequences of that segregation, and the other on an intervention designed to bring boys and girls together in the classroom.

Children show strong tendencies to segregate by sex, and the consequences of this segregation have been the focus of much theorizing. Maccoby (1998) has proposed that boys and girls grow up in “two separate worlds” and that this leads children to work and play more effectively with same-sex classmates. At the same time, they become less comfortable with classmates of the other sex. Thus, a cycle begins in which skills, behaviors, interaction styles, and interests that are typical of one’s own sex are practiced and strengthened whereas those that are typical of the other sex are not (Leaper, 1994). Surprisingly little empirical research has been conducted to explore the consequences of children’s gender-segregated peer interactions. In this talk, we discuss evidence from several studies that children who experience more GS interactions early in the school year become more gender-stereotypic in their activity preferences and behavior. In the first study, preschool girls and boys who experienced more exposure to same-sex peers changed their behavior more than other children. Boys became more aggressive and engaged in more rough and tumble play, moved away from teachers, and engaged in more gender-typed activities over time. Girls engaged in more gender-typed activities and were more likely to play near teachers over time. In a recent study using a different sample of preschool children, gender differences in behavior and emotionality were evident in GS contexts but not in GI contexts. These studies provide converging evidence in support of theorizing about the influence of GS peer interactions to limit children’s skill and behavioral development.

The second line of research concerns the testing that has been conducted on the Sanford Harmony Program (SHP), a new theoretically and empirically based school-based program for early childhood (Preschool Program) and late elementary school (Fifth-Grade Program). The SHP, which was designed in consultation with educators, provides teachers with the skills, strategies, and activities to promote girls’ and boys’ interactions and relationships in the classroom. In the talk we will provide an overview of the programs for each age group, and discuss preliminary efficacy data supporting the utility of the SHP in improving classroom peer relationships and children’s academic functioning.

Authors

• Richard Fabes, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Carol Lynn Martin, Arizona State University

• Laura Hanish, Arizona State University