%0 Journal Article
%T Arguing Separate but Equal: A Study of Argumentation in Public Single-Sex Science Classes in the United States
%A Howard M. Glasser
%J International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology
%D 2011
%I The Open University
%X Amended federal regulations have attempted to expand the circumstances in which single-sex classes are permissible in public schools in the United States. Applying a grounded theory methodology, this ethnographic study investigated studentsĄ¯ grades and the discursive practice of argumentation in an all-boy and an all-girl science class taught by the same teacher at a public co-educational middle school in the United States to explore whether they learned the same science. Although the classes receivedsimilar grades, the boys gained greater exposure to argumentation, a skill that could assist them in future science pursuits. The emerging theory is that single-sex settings can construct differences between the sexes, possibly aiding the development or maintenance of differences between boysĄ¯ and girlsĄ¯ interest and performance in science. This study highlights the concern that the recent increase in single-sex offerings in the United States could impact equity goals and gender-related outcomes.
%K Single-sex education
%K middle school
%K argumentation
%K public schooling
%U http://genderandset.open.ac.uk/index.php/genderandset/article/view/102/247