Girls' Academic Achievements: Single-Sex Versus Coeducational Schools in Australia

This paper compares the effects of parents occupational status, teachers encouragement for further study, and high school curriculum on girls academic achievement in girls schools and coeducational schools. Data on high school seniors were collected in two Australian states: Victoria and Queensland. We used multiple regression analysis to identify the most important predictors of Year 12 academic success among girls at girls schools and coed schools. In both states, we found that mothers education was the most important independent predictor of the type of school a girl attended. In one state, attendance at a girls school was a significant predictor of a girls exposure to key social influences, her enrolment in a science course in Year 12, and her academic achievement. In the other state, however, the sex composition of the school did not affect academic achievement or selected antecedents.