Sexism in Single-Sex and Coeducational Independent Secondary School Classrooms

Abstract

This study investigated how engenderment (socialization to gender) operates in three types of independent secondary schools—boys' schools, girls' schools, and coeducational schools. Observational data were collected in 86 classrooms in 21 schools in specific curricular areas. The study found that teachers initiated most of the incidents in six categories of sexism. Furthermore, although the frequency of incidents was similar in the three types of schools, the forms of sexism were different. Chemistry classes were the major locus of sexism in coeducational schools, and the severest form of sexism was found in boys' schools. Although girls' schools exhibited the most gender-equity events, they also perpetuated a pernicious form of sexism: academic dependence and nonrigorous instruction. Schools with policies that actively promoted gender equity in enrollment, in the hiring of faculty, and in personal relations were the least likely sites of sexism.