Children have more friends in coeducational than single-sex schools, according to new research.
The findings are contained in the latest results from a landmark longitudinal study, Children’s School Lives, undertaken by UCD’s School of Education, which is following 4,000 children across almost 200 primary schools.
The study, released on Friday and commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, focuses on the impact of gender at school and is based on surveys of children, teachers and parents, as well as focus groups with children and “intensive immersion” in some classrooms.
Overall, it found girls’ friendships are closer while boys are more likely to emphasise popularity in their social networks. These patterns are strongest in single-sex schools.
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While they have fewer friends, girls in all-girls schools have closer bonds compared to girls in coeducational schools.
Conversely, boys in single-sex schools have the lowest levels of closeness or social connectivity.
The report also finds girls in all-girls schools have the most gender-equal views, while boys in all-boys schools have the least. For example, boys in single-sex schools were significantly more likely than boys in coeducational schools to disagree that girls deserve as many good things as boys deserve.
Interviews with pupils found most children associated being a “good” boy with intelligence, ability in maths and being physically strong with an expectation to be good at sport.
On the other hand, children frequently associate a “good” girl with niceness, kindness, caring and politeness.
As children get older there is evidence of less gender stereotyping among girls, especially, but more gender stereotyping among boys. For example, in interviews, girls were more likely to comment on identities that cut across stereotypical gender boundaries ranging from “girlie girls” to “tomboys”.
Children were also aware of diverse sexualities, informed by experiences in their families and communities.
Teachers discussed the need for professional development to support them in their conversations with children about diverse sexualities in school.
The extent to which gender shapes attitudes is evident in findings on children’s future aspirations and attitudes to learning. There is a higher expectation by teachers for girls to attend higher education, for example.
Girls consistently reflect more positive attitudes toward school than boys. Whether a child attended a single-sex or coeducational school did not influence these views.
Girls are also more likely than boys to be interested in reading and writing while boys are more likely than girls to report feeling bored, worried or confused by literacy learning activities.
However, when children were asked to rate their academic ability, boys consistently reported a higher level than girls. For example, boys tend to rate their abilities in reading similarly to girls despite girls’ higher performance in this area. Gender differences in literacy attainment have levelled out by sixth class, however.
In maths, it is a different story, with more boys placed in the highest ability group for the subject in fifth and sixth class.
In the area of extracurricular activities, boys are significantly more likely than girls to participate in team sports outside school, while girls are more likely to participate in music, dance and swimming activities.
The report’s authors said the overall findings highlight how gender dynamics pervade children’s school lives through their expectations, aspirations and sense of belonging in school.
“The findings suggest that teachers and school leaders need to be attentive to gender effects, mindful of peer dynamics, attentiveness and visibility in classroom interactions, as children navigate their friendships, their academic and social esteem in their primary school lives,” the authors added.
