AFRICAN MALES IN SINGLE-SEX SCHOOLS

African Males in Single-Sex Schools with a focus on grades 3-6



African Males In Single-Sex Schools With a Focus On Grades 3-6

Introduction

Single-sex education (SSE) is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and higher education. Single-sex education in many cultures is advocated on the basis of tradition, as well as religion and is practiced in many parts of the world. A number of studies starting in the 1990s are showing statistical data that children from single-sex schools are outperforming students from coeducational schools. In 2002, because of these studies and bipartisan support, the US law of 1972 that made coeducation in public schools mandatory was revoked and funding was given in support of the single-sex option. There are now associations of parents who are advocating for single-sex education. (Balkin, 2002)

Single-sex classrooms and African-American boys

Many argue that single-sex education will help groups that are struggling, specifically inner-city minority boys and rural white boys. Well-known researchers, including Dr. Alvin Poussaint of the Harvard Medical School, state that single-sex classrooms for boys are an opportunity to help African-American boys. Dr. Poussaint states that “schools…kind of give up on them, and we know that after third grade, a lot of black boys start falling behind.” A 2006 report from The Task Force on the Education of Maryland's African-American Males states that “for historically disadvantaged students, single sex classes have shown a consistently positive effect on academic outcomes. In classes where gender and racial differences are suppressed - rather than served - it's almost always the African-American male that loses out” Dr. Spencer Holland, educational psychologist and former director of the Center for Educating African-American Males, notes that “we have all-boys classes by default; they're called special education.” (Kommer, 2006, 247)

While there is little argument that public schools have been segregating African-American boys into single-sex classes for years, there is great discussion about whether or not to keep African-American boys in separate classrooms. As attention to single-sex education grew, some saw this as a way to focus on developing positive attitudes for African-American boys, and developing a “sense of academic identification that would overcome educational and social deprivation.” Advocates explain that boys, especially those living in the inner city, have their own set of learning needs that can best be addressed in an all-male environment. Beverly Hall, Superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools System, states that single-sex education is “a strategy designed to really turn around what is a failing environment for lots and lots of young people.” (Kommer, 2006, 247)

In his book, “Girls and Boys in School: Together or Separate”, Providence College sociology professor Cornelius Riordan found that single-sex education benefits girls and minority boys. He suggests that “in co-educational settings, minority boys are 'expected' to fail, in comparison to their white peers and to minority girls.” He states, that single-sex education is “a viable ...