Female

by Aanahita Aanahita

Created on: April 14, 2009

Everybody knows girls excel in education. That is, at least while they're still girls. There are studies in every educational supplement, especially around school selection time, detailing the extraordinary achievements of our young ladies in school, and their subsequent decline in post-pubescence. Nobody really knows why. At least, nobody is sure yet, or we would have done something about it.

The success demonstrated by young girls in school is due to an army of female mentors. Women form the visible majority in early years schooling. In the early years of education, there are few male role models. Each one of us would be able, if we think to recall our educators from kindergarten, to list a myriad of female characters. But, we would be hard-pressed to provide male counterparts, except perhaps the omniscient headteacher.

By the time these girls become young women, the balance starts to shift in two key areas in education. The first is grade averages. Boys do better as we move to the high school years and beyond. At the same time as this phenomenon is observed, we find a definite gender shift in mentors, with male role models appearing in the classroom and the university lecture theatre. But, are these facts connected, or coincidental?

One additional fact holds the answer: Girls who are surrounded by other girls excel. Why is the difference between results for girls in co-ed and single-ed schools so striking.? You may have guessed by now it has something to do with mentoring, and you'd be right. But, mentors here must be understood in a much broader sense than simply the number of paid educators. We have to expand our viewpoint to include the other influences, both inside and outside the classroom, on these above-average achievers.

Single-sex schools are not necessarily restricted to single-sex teaching staff. While the numbers are skewed, men do teach in girls' schools, even though they are clearly in the minority. Having a strong female presence in the staff, at all levels including the management executive, has an effect. However, the real difference in single-sex education comes from girls' ability to leverage on their nurtured cooperative behaviours. Of course, this statement is a rose-coloured glance into the complexities of the daily realities that accompany large numbers of adolescents grouped in close proximity, under pressure from peers, parents, and schools. But really, girls mentor girls in a single-sex environment in a way that doesn't typically flourish within co-ed environments.

Another strong influence that rarely makes contact with the classroom itself: parents. Those parents who opt for single-sex education know the facts, and have chosen to place their child in an advantageous environment. They have their child's best interests at heart, and most importantly, take a deep interest in their education. These girls go to school knowing they have been selected for something other than ordinary.

So, do women make better mentors for girls? I'm not sure there is a simple one-word answer. But, do more women staff and more female role models in classmates and parents make better mentors than the status quo? Definitely. Or, shall we say, definitely worth a try.

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