Can Single‐sex Classes in Co‐educational Schools Enhance the Learning Experiences of Girls and/or Boys? An Exploration of Pupils' Perceptions

The introduction of single‐sex classes within co‐educational schools is a strategy adopted by some schools to enhance the learning experiences of either the girls or the boys depending upon the educational climate of the time. In a period dominated by the ‘what about the boys?’ debate, this strategy is currently being introduced and advocated in a number of schools in an attempt to raise boys' achievement. This article explores the value of introducing single‐sex classes within co‐educational schools, and in doing so, it draws upon the perspectives of girls and boys involved in one such initiative. The article concludes that girls‐only classes may have positive effects for girls. However, curriculum‐as‐usual boys' classes do nothing to challenge the problematic macho male cultures inherent in schools; indeed, it may be the case that they actually exacerbate them.