This article in the Observer today suggests boys do better with a smaller number of girls in the class. My brother is the researcher named! It's for his PHd!

So, are you posting this because you agree with the results of the study???

Although I have to say that I have heard of research which has come to a similar conclusion.

So what about girls? Do they do better in sngle sex classes as well?

I'm posting this because I'm proud of my bro! But also because it has relevance more lots of people here.

I do know it's a very quantitave (sp?) study - my brother is a mathematician and economist, so it's done statistically.

I've argued the toss a little bit, as I think my ds1 does better for having the girls, but he is excellent at English, and very proactive about contributing in class. He is also great friends with some of the girls, so doesn't suffer the 'english is for girls'! But I could see generally that it could be true across the board.

I'd always heard that girls did better in single sex classes, boys in mixed, but my brother tells me that this is the case in maths and science, but not in English, which is interesting.

That's probably because maths and sciences are seen to be more "male" subjects than English, so perhaps boys are more proactive in those subjects. If a child feels they are not as good as others at a subject (viz. boys feeling girls are better at English), then they will hold back and be less likely to get involved.

And perhaps teachers expect more of boys in maths and science, and less in english?

bump! Everyone come and say how clever my little bro is!

bump

You must be very Proud!

I'm too new to education to have an opinion although having watched a class of 8 boys and 2 girls (4/5yo) in their first swimming lesson on Saturday, I deduce that more attention would have been paid to the teacher had there been 7 less boys...

hahahaha DofNorks - can you imagine how many times that was said at my wedding????

I did deliberately pick a private school that was all boys because I want my twins to have a boy education, where the books are suitable for boys, where normal boy behaviour is not seen as bad behaviour, where they aren't constantly compared with girls who are very different and often ahead of boys at primary level, where rugby and football etc are the themes the class will use and they will at least for some lessons be taught by men. So this research does not surprise me.

That's interesting xenia - I hadn't thought of the 'behaviour' side, but I do know that in my area of music (largely chorister training) it doesn't work to mix boys and girls, as you end up with a girls choir, whereas a boys only choir can be very successful.

The teachers being men is important too I think - ds1's mixed state school has a headmaster, and I do think ds1 really benefits from this.

i had heard boys feel more free to express themselves in single sex education - free from the shackles of their machismo

That's interesting too Butterfly!

Any more thoughts?

TheDuchessOfNorksBride, you mean fewer, not less ... were you in a mixed sex class or single sex?

lol trolleydolly!

I do have ghastly English but I did acquire the manners not to criticise other peoples mistakes.

Duchess, sorry if I offended you, it really wasn't my intention! I thought it'd be a funny comment given the context. As a foreigner, I always ask people to correct my english and am used to it.