A high percentage of women who have become leaders in their field were educated at all-girl schools. The below research reveals the advantages of girls' schools, helping you choose the best education for your daughter.
Benefits of an all-girls school
Single-sex schools create a culture of strong academic achievement, particularly for girls
- A 2017 study of Year 3, 5 and 7 numeracy and literacy (NAPLAN) data found that even when socio-economic status was taken into account, Year 7 girls at single-sex schools were 4.2 terms ahead of co-ed students in reading and 2.8 terms ahead in mathematics
- A report examining numeracy and literacy data for junior secondary students and the tertiary entrance scores of senior secondary students “confirmed the positive effects of single-sex schooling” in New South Wales, where there are 21 boys’ and 24 girls’ government high schools
Girls’ schools buck the trend in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths)
- For girls, “single-sex settings resulted in much more favourable attitudes towards mathematics than those in co-educational settings” (Lee & Anderson, 2015).
- A researcher at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research found that, by Year 8, girls in single-sex schools are more likely to enjoy and be confident in maths than girls in co-educational schools (Ryan, 2016).
- A 2017 report by Monash University found that girls at single-sex schools were more likely than girls in co-ed schools to study chemistry, physics, intermediate-level mathematics and advanced-level mathematics (Forgasz & Leder, 2017).
Girls in single-sex schools perform better academically than their counterparts in co-educational schools, after holding constant measures of selection, background, peers and school factors.
Girls feel empowered to defy gender stereotypes
- An all-girl environment can stimulate discussion, dialogue and self-discovery in an atmosphere that “for the most part” is “free from ridicule and the fear of undermining self-image” (Younger, 2016, September).
- Australian and British researchers have found that girls in single-sex schools are less affected by ‘stereotype threat’ where girls are stereotyped as ‘bad’ at something, including science and mathematics (Booth, Cardona-Sosa and Nolen, 2013).
- Austrian researchers have found that “in more female environments, girls are less restrained by gender stereotypes and are more likely to consider traditional male school types and careers” (Schneeweis & Zweimüller, 2012).
Girls’ schools build self-esteem and enhance wellbeing
- An American study found that “participation in single-sex programs can help in easing social anxieties girls may experience while in middle school” (Hart, 2016).
- Less than 1% of girls in single-sex schools in the United States experience bullying compared with 21% of girls in co-ed schools (Johnson & Gastic, 2014).