14 Reasons Why

Girls’ schools are more relevant today than ever before.

Women receive the message they don’t “make the cut” as early as elementary school, where research shows boys dominate classroom discussions, are perceived to be better in math and science, and are given more attention than girls.

Students at all-girls schools are steeped in an environment in which learning and success are valued. They have higher aspirations and greater motivation to succeed, fuelled by their desire to learn.

There is significant research data on the subject of an all girls' education, and we have seen the results in the success of our graduates. All girls’ schools like HNMCS nurture each unique learner while at the same time breaking down tired stereotypes. Here we are dedicated to developing curious, courageous and compassionate young women, to become engaged global citizens who lead with courage, competence, and empathy.

At their heart, girls’ schools are places of leadership. Places where community and collaboration, agency and self-efficacy flourish. But most of all, girls’ schools are places of incredible innovation.National Coalition of Girls' Schools

Why an All-Girls School?

1. Greater Cultural Competency

When compared to coeducated peers, graduates of girls’ school are more likely to:

  • to help promote racial understanding
  • value improving their understanding of other countries and cultures
  • count their desire to understand others with different beliefs as a strength
  • view their ability to work cooperatively with diverse people as strength

2. Stronger Community Involvement

When compared to coeducated peers, graduates of girls’ school are more likely to:

  • become involved in environmental programs
  • deem it essential to participate in community social action programs
  • be frequently active in volunteer work

3. Increased Civic & Political Engagement

  • Graduates of girls’ school are committed to civic duty. When compared to their coeducated peers, they are more likely to plan to vote in elections and to value keeping up with political affairs and influencing political structures.
  • Girls’ school graduates are 10% more likely than coeducated peers to have a political discussion with friends. They also find it essential to keep current with political issues.

4. Fostering Her Voice

  • Academic studies and countless anecdotes make it clear that being interrupted, talked over, shut down or penalized for speaking out is nearly a universal experience for women when they are outnumbered by men.
  • Girls’ school students are more likely than their female peers at coeducational schools to experience an environment that welcomes an open and safe exchange of ideas. Nearly 87% of girls’ school students feel their opinions are respected at their school compared to only 58% of girls at coeducational schools.
  • Students who attended girls’ schools, compared to coeducated peers, are more likely to publicly communicate their opinion about a cause.

5. Develops Leadership Skills

  • At girls’ schools, girls demonstrate great confidence in female leadership and become increasingly interested in leadership positions themselves. Data suggests that girls at coeducational schools actually become less interested in leadership positions with age.
  • Programs at girls’ schools focus on the development of teamwork over other qualities of leadership, while the qualities of confidence, compassion, and resilience also ranked prominently.
  • 93% of girls’ school graduates say they were offered greater leadership opportunities than coeducated peers and 80% have held leadership positions since graduating from high school.

6. Builds Self-Confidence

  • Girls’ school students show more confidence compared to girls in coeducational schools, which might explain why girls in girls’ schools typically do better academically and are more likely to choose to study STEM subjects than girls in coed schools.
  • The majority of girls’ school graduates report higher self-confidence than their coeducated peers.
  • All-girls settings seem to provide girls a certain comfort level that helps them develop greater self-confidence and broader interests, especially as they approach adolescence.

7. Dedicated to How Girls Learn

  • To be successful, students need more than just a feeling of support. That support must translate into actions geared toward student success. Nearly 96% of girls’ school students report receiving more frequent feedback on their assignments and other course work than girls at coeducational schools.
  • More positive academic and behavioral interactions were observed between teachers and students in single-sex schools than in the comparison to coeducational schools.

8. Inspirational Environment

  • The robust learning environment encountered by students at girls’ schools…provides unequivocal support for the value of an all-girls educational environment.
  • Single-sex programs…create an institutional and classroom climate in which female students can express themselves freely and frequently and develop higher order thinking skills.
  • Emphasizing their ability to learn independently, graduates of girls’ schools more frequently explore topics on their own, even when not required, compared to their coeducated peers.

9. Academic Achievement

  • Girls’ school graduates are more likely to frequently seek alternative solutions to a problem and more than 2/3 report frequently supporting their arguments with logic, which coeducated graduates are less likely to report doing.
  • Females especially do better academically in single-sex schools and colleges across a variety of cultures. …Single-sex schools help to improve student achievement.
  • Nearly 80% of girls’ school students report most of their classes challenge them to achieve their full academic potential compared to only 44% of girls at coeducational public schools.

10. Fosters Increased Interest & Confidence in STEM

  • All-girls learning environments champion the educational needs of girls as a group currently underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) majors and careers.
  • Girls’ school graduates on average report greater science self-confidence than coeducated peers in their ability to use technical science skills, understand scientific concepts, generate a research question, explain study results, and determine appropriate data collection.

11. Excellent Mentoring

The overwhelming majority of girls’ school students agree to strongly agree that they feel supported at their schools:

  • 95% feel supported by their teachers (compared to 84% of girls at coeducational public schools),
  • 90% report feeling supported by other students (compared to 73%), and
  • 83% feel supported by their school administrators (compared 63%).

12. Free From Stereotypes

-Girls as young as six can be led to believe men are inherently smarter and more talented than women, making girls less motivated to pursue novel activities or ambitious careers.
- All-girls educational environments negate this societal norm by providing opportunities for girls during a critical time in their growth and development. Not only do girls receive a wealth of avenues for self-exploration and development, they also see a wealth of peer role models.

13. Higher Aspirations

  • Students at girls’ schools have higher aspirations and greater motivation than their female peers at coeducational schools. 99% of students at girls’ schools expect to earn a four-year degree. More than 2/3 expect to earn a graduate or professional degree.
  • Girls at all levels of achievement in the single-sex schools receive a…benefit from the single-sex school environment in terms of heightened career aspirations—an effect unprecedented in any other portion of our study.

14. Prepares Girls for the Real World

  • Girls’ school students display more mental toughness in comparison to girls in coed schools. Research shows that individuals with higher levels of mental toughness are more likely to deal effectively with stress, pressure, opportunity, and challenge.
  • Nearly half of all women graduating from single-sex schools rate their public speaking ability as high compared to only 39% of women graduates from coeducational schools. A similar differential exists for writing abilities: 64% of girls’ school graduates assess their writing as high (compared to 59%).

 

Sources Cited:

  • Quick Facts. NCGS. https://www.ncgs.org/research/quick-facts/
  • Dr. Tiffani Riggers-Piehl, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Fostering Academic and Social Engagement: An Investigation into the Effects of All-Girls Education in the Transition to University
  • Dr. Linda Sax, UCLA, Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College
  • The New York Times, “The Universal Phenomenon of Men Interrupting Women.”
  • Dr. Richard A. Holmgren, Allegheny College, Steeped in Learning: The Student Experience at All-Girls Schools
  • Dr. Katherine Kinzler, Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago and Visiting Professor in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University
  • Dr. Nicole Archard, Student Leadership Development in Australian and New Zealand Secondary Girls’ Schools: A Staff Perspective
  • Goodman Research Group, The Girls’ School Experience: A Survey of Young Alumnae of Single-Sex Schools
  • AQR International
  • U.S. Department of Education, Early Implementation of Public Single-Sex Schools: Perceptions and Characteristics
  • Dr. Rosemary C. Salomone, Columbia University’s Teacher College Record
  • Dr. Cornelius Riordan, Providence College, Girls and Boys in School: Together or Separate?
  • Dr. Sarah-Jane Leslie, Princeton University and Dr. Andrei Cimpian, New York University, Gender Stereotypes About Intellectual Ability Emerge Early and Influence Children’s Interests
  • Megan Murphy, Executive Director, National Coalition of Girls’ Schools
  • Dr. Cary M. Watson, Stanford University, Sex Roles: A Journal of Research