Gender in Policy and Practice

Amanda Datnow is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. Lea Hubbard is Assistant Research Scientist in the Sociology Department at the University of California, San Diego. They are co-authors of the forthcoming Extending Educational Reform (RoutledgeFalmer, 2002).

"Which is better, same-sex or coeducational schooling? The question keeps popping up as politicians, policy-makers, teachers, administrators, and parents debate the merits of different forms of education. If you wonder what the research says about same-sex vs. mixed-sex education, this is the book to read. The scope is wide-ranging, with overviews of past research and legal issues plus fascinating, on-the-ground reports from publicly funded same-sex schools organized in the name of "school choice" and :"school reform"; Catholic schools, private universities, and military institutes moving from all-female or all-male to coed; and mixed-sex vs. single-sex math and drama classes.[Continued below].""The research results are clear: the either/or, "which is better" question is far too simplistic because the dynamics of gender are so complex and contingent. Same-sex and mixed-sex educational arrangements are enormously varied in context, content, and purpose, and they are deeply entwined with the dynamics of social class, racialized exclusion, sexuality, age, and culture. Gender in Policy and Practice will take readers to the forefront of contemporary thinking about and experiences of gender in education -- and beyond. It's a terrific, thought-provoking read!" -- Barrie Thorne, author of Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, University of California, Berkeley"This is the right book at the right time: a wonderful selection of articles pulling together current research on single-sex schools. By providing relevant findings on both sides of the issue, the editors have chosen to inform rather than persuade. This book respects the reader, the research, and the fact that there is much yet to learn. Read this important book and draw your own conclusions about the promises and pitfalls of single-sex and coeducation." -- David Sadker, American University, co-author of Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools CheatGirls

• Part I: Introduction and Background 1. Introduction Amanda Datnow and Lea Hubbard 2. What Do We Know about the Effects of Single-Sex Schools in the Private Sector: What Are the Implications for Public Schools? Cornelius Riordan 3. Challenging the System: Assumptions and Data behind the Push for Single-Sex Schooling Patricia B. Campbell and Jo Sanders 4. The Legality of Single-Sex Education in the United States: Sometimes Equal Means Different Rosemary Salomone Part II: Public Single-Sex Schooling in Changing Policy Contexts 5. The Intersection of Educational Reforms: Single-Gender Academies in a Public Middle School Kathryn Herr and Emily Arms 6. Engendering Public Education: Single-Sex Schooling in Western Canada Kathy Sanford and Heather Blair 7. Are Single-Sex Schools Sustainable in the Public Sector? Lea Hubbard and Amanda Datnow Part III: The Transition from Single-Sex and Coeducation 8. The Transition to Coeducation at Wheaton College: Conscious Coeducation and Gender Equity in Higher Education Alan R. Sadovnik and Susan F. Semel 9. Conservative Intent, Liberating Outcomes: The History of Coordinate Colleges for Women Leslie Miller-Bernal 10. Gender Integration at Virginia Military Institute and the United States Military Academy at West Point Diane Diamond and Michael Kimmel 11. Studying Gender Consciousness in Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools Patricia Schmuck, Nancy G. Nagel , and Celeste Brody Part IV: Single-Sex Schooling and Students' Attitudes and Experiences in School 12. Single-Sex Classes: Girls and Boys See It Differently Janice Streitmatter 13. Single-Gender or Coeducation for Middle-School Girls: Does It Make a Difference in Math? Judith Gilson 14. Participation in Science Courses in the Final Year of High School in Australia: The Influences of Single-Sex and Coeducational Schools John Ainley and Peter Daly Part V: Constructions of Gender in Single-Sex Schooling 15. Girls in the Company of Girls: Social Relations and Gender Construction in Single-Sex Drama Education Kathleen Gallagher 16. Constructions of Masculinity in California's Single-Gender Academies Elisabeth L. Woody 17. Constructions of Gender in Parents' Choice of a Single-Sex School for Their Daughters Barbara Heather