Research over the past decade or so has shown that girls learn differently than boys do. We used to attribute the differences to social and cultural influences, but studies have shown that there are differences in the chemistry and structure of the brain that help explain the differences in learning styles between boys and girls. According to the Girls’ Schools Association in the UK, girls are generally “more contemplative, collaborative, intuitive and verbal” in their approach to learning, while boys tend to be “more physically active, aggressive, and independent in their learning style.” The recognition of these differences has led to what American researchers are calling “girl-centred education”: that is, approaches to education that recognize and adapt to the particular ways in which girls learn. 3

Perhaps more than at any other time in history, we are exposed to a constant barrage of media images that suggest everything from how girls should look/act/be to what products and services are required to achieve various lifestyles. The curriculum at all-girls schools helps counter these images and expectations by providing girls with a framework within which to assess and analyze the prevailing culture around them. Even more importantly, this gives them room to decide who they are. At Holy Name of Mary College School, we’re particularly conscious of ensuring that our students foster an ability to critically discern media and societal expectations of who girls are and what they can achieve. 4

In a safe risk-taking environment, girls can learn from their mistakes without fear of being rejected or belittled. With respect to differences in development and learning styles, girls tend to lose self-confidence and self-esteem in their progress through adolescence. This can translate into a fear of being wrong or of being considered stupid. As a result, they tend to be more reticent to take intellectual risks. All-girls schools provide an environment that allows girls to explore their mistakes and acknowledge their value, and, in turn, help them develop confidence in their own abilities and see the rewards in a spirit of intellectual exploration.5

According to the National Association for Single Sex Education, “[t]he single greatest benefit of girls-only education is the greater breadth of educational opportunity which girls enjoy in an all-girls classroom. At every age, girls in girls-only classrooms are more likely to explore ‘non-traditional’ subjects such as computer science, math, physics, woodworking, etc. This finding is extraordinarily robust, having been replicated in every age group from kindergarten through college, and in every country where researchers have examined this question, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Jamaica, Iceland, and Kenya.” 6

At an all-girls school, the leadership opportunities are not just theoretical.

The opportunities for leadership for girls exist in co-ed schools, but for many reasons—some of them listed above: lack of confidence, deference to their male peers, etc.—girls don’t always pursue those opportunities or, indeed, even see them as their opportunities. At all-girls schools, “girls enjoy not just equal opportunity, but every opportunity. All the speakers, players, writers, singers, athletes, doers, and leaders are girls.” 7 The Girls’ School Association elaborates further: at an all-girls school, “every position of responsibility open to a pupil is filled by a girl—the opportunities girls have to hone their leadership skills are therefore second to none and this is excellent preparation for the leadership challenges they will meet in their future personal and professional lives.” 8 Or as American researchers Myra and David Sadker note in their study Failing at Fairness: How Schools Shortchange Girls, “When girls go to single-sex schools, they stop being the audience and become the players.” 9

Studies have shown that established teacher training often supports practices that favour boys’ academic needs and boys’ behaviour in the classroom. Whether these needs and behaviours are due to the differences between boys and girls in learning styles, brain development, maturation rates, or any number of myriad other possibilities, studies have shown that many classroom management techniques provide the advantage to boys in the classroom. A study by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) notes: “Of additional concern is how well prevalent teaching methods satisfy the individual learning styles of girls and boys. Some children, including many girls, learn better in cooperative settings. Competitive learning, favored in most classrooms, is a style that often puts girls at a disadvantage.” 10 That study goes on to indicate that many schools set girls up for failure, citing researchers Myra and David Sadker’s observations of classroom inequities:    “Schools transmit gender bias in the thousand and one signals they send girls and boys about what’s expected of them. These expectations determine how girls and boys are treated, how they’re taught, and ultimately how they’re tracked onto different paths through their schooling and into their careers. In dozens of separate studies, researchers have found that girls receive less attention, less praise, less effective feedback, and less detailed instruction from teachers than do boys. Research by Myra and David Sadker, professors of education at American University, reveals:

- Teachers typically initiate more communication with boys than with girls in the classroom, strengthening boys’ sense of importance.

- Teachers tend to ask boys more complex, abstract, and open-ended questions, providing better opportunities for active learning.

- In class projects and assignments, teachers are more likely to give detailed instructions to boys, and more likely to take over and finish the task for girls, depriving them of active learning.

- Teachers tend to praise boys more often than girls for the intellectual content and quality of their work. They praise girls more often for neatness and form.

- When boys perform poorly, teachers often blame failure on lack of effort. Girls receive a different message; the implication is that effort would not improve their results.

- All too often, teachers and counsellors track girls away from courses of study that lead to high-skilled, high-paying, high-technology careers.” 11

As a result of these things, boys tend to dictate classroom dynamics and teacher time. At an all-girls school, girls are not overlooked or shortchanged by boy-dominated classroom management techniques or educational approaches. The classroom management and teaching style in an all-girls school caters to girls’ way of learning and to their development.

Here’s what the Girls’ Schools Association of the United Kingdom says about the girls-only educational environment: “Girls’ schools celebrate the female perspective and way of doing things, are places where girls are accustomed to being heard and being valued for who they are, irrespective of what they look like or what they wear. The girls’ school environment affirms and encourages young women in their capacities as confident individuals, leaders and agents of social change.” 12  Here’s what we say about that: “Hooray!”