Several recent studies have critiqued the cognitive science behind single gender education, and social cognitive theory has demonstrated that gender inequality in the classroom may inhibit students' academic achievement. This study examined a single-gender education program for both middle school boys and girls established to remedy academic achievement deficiencies at a public charter school, to be identified as Urban Charter School (UCS), located in an urban area. The key research questions examined the trend in mathematics and reading student outcomes over a 6-year period, the relationship between gender and outcomes in mathematics and reading, and the comparison of outcomes between the single gender program at UCS and coeducational programs in the district. This ex post facto quantitative research design used historical state level reading and mathematics assessment data from archival state assessments of 110-135 middle school students annually, in Grades 6-8. Chi-square tests were conducted to examine the differences in mathematics and reading score outcomes by gender and school type. The results demonstrated no trend in UCS student achievement scores, UCS female students exceeded state assessment proficiency expectations, and the average proficiency levels in reading and mathematics of UCS students were higher than were district averages. This study provides educators and the community at large with additional research on the relationships between single-gender education programs and student achievement.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the emerging school culture of Excel Academy for Boys [Pseudonym] located in the Southwestern region of the United States, and how it contributes to the social and academic development of urban African American male students. This case study was based on interviews and focus groups with parents, teachers, students, and the school administrator. Additionally, the researcher conducted participant observations of school meetings, new parent orientations, new teacher interviews, and reviewed student academic and behavioral records. This exploratory analysis consisted of two separate; but interrelated, qualitative studies relevant to educating urban African American males. The first inquiry featured a case study of Excel Academy for Boys, a singlegender middle school serving urban African American males. This detailed examination of Excel Academy’s organizational habitus yielded the Building African American Males Model. This organizational process was characterized by four essential factors that included: (1) educational justice; (2) expectations monitoring; (3) expectations casting; and (4) a culture of Effort. Particular attention was given to how each factor promoted community-school synergy or organizational synergy. These processes were essential for creating a school culture and climate that promoted the emotional, social, and academic maturation of students. Implications for protecting and strengthening the organizational habitus of Excel Academy were offered and broader implications for the emerging African American males’ school movement were discussed. The second study of Excel Academy uncovered four complexities that teachers, parents, and the school leader encountered as they sought to meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of urban African American males. These four critical complexities emerged through observations of the educational processes at Excel Academy, and were labeled: 1) expectations dissonance; 2) disguised engagement; 3) differential engagement, and 4) expectations overload. The emergence of each factor was detailed, and recommendations were offered to address each complexity.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires public schools to be highly accountable for dollars spent on education and for the achievement of students. To support this mandate, the law expanded local control and allowed schools to explore innovative ways to enhance student learning (U.S.D.E., 2004). Given the opportunity, some public schools have experimented with single-gender classes as an avenue for improving the way students are taught. Studies have indicated that separating students according to gender has a positive impact on learning (e.g., Haag, 2000; Maslen, 2001; and Sommers, 2001). Single-gender settings have also been reported to have a positive affect on the attitudes of students (NASSPE, 2004b; Colley et al., 1994, James & Richards, 2003; and Rowe, 2000). Because single-gender classes were not an option in the public school sector in recent years, most current studies of single-gender education involve private and parochial schools. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the initial impact of implementing gender-based instruction in a suburban public elementary school in central Mississippi. The impact was analyzed in terms of the overall perceptions of the administrator, teachers, students, and parents who participated in the pilot program. The impact was also measured by the students' performance in the areas of academic achievement, school attendance, and classroom behavior during the pilot year of fifth-grade, single-gender classes. The results of the study indicated the overall perceptions of the participants were favorable toward single-gender classes. The students maintained approximately the same level of academic achievement in fifth-grade, single-gender classes as in fourth-grade coeducational classes. They produced an average of 2.6 years (grade equivalent) growth in Accelerated Math during the year of single-gender classes. The average daily attendance was consistent with previous attendance patterns and exceeded the district average. An analysis of discipline records revealed a positive difference in the reported conduct of students in the single-gender classes as compared to the students in coed classes throughout the district. The conclusions drawn from this study suggest continuing the single-gender classes. It is recommended that the administration and staff continue to explore gender-based teaching and classroom management.

This study looked at the leadership style of one public elementary school principal that chose single-gender education as an innovation to manage and improve student behavior and the leadership of the principal during the implementation process. The anticipated outcome was that the researcher would discover that the principal followed steps outlined in professional research, however, what was learned were that some principals do not adhere to those guidelines. In this study, the principal researched, implemented, and oversaw the implementation, and she strategized a short-term plan for teacher training and support. Outside complexities, such as the simultaneous implementation of the Responsive Classroom® program and looping, influenced the implementation of the innovation as well as the principal's leadership of the program. Another influential factor affecting the principal's leadership was the lack of long-term planning for ongoing training and support of the initiative. Leading an innovation as unique as single-gender education is a multi-faceted process. Assessment of a principal's leadership of an innovation has multiple layers of complexity as well. These stem from the principal's rationale for the innovation and the methods used to initiate, implement, and sustain it. When leading an innovation, leaders rarely follow a prescribed path as outside factors arise that either enhance or derail the innovation. The leader must have the ability to analyze these factors and make essential alterations while maintaining integrity to the innovation. The leader must also have the ability to analyze individual participant needs during the implementation process and provide re-direction when the innovation deviates from its desired outcome. / Ed. D.

Studies have documented challenges in meeting No Child Left Behind (NCLB) expectations as well as gender differences that contribute to the achievement gaps between boys and girls. In response to increased NCLB accountability and achievement gaps between boys and girls, several experts have promoted single-sex education as a possible strategy to improving student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine data that were gathered from an economically disadvantaged Title I federally-assisted upper elementary school with respect to the implementation of single-gender classrooms. This study was guided by the following two research questions: First, what were the perspectives from teachers, students, and parents with the initial year of implementation of single-gender classrooms? Second, what school level data could be analyzed and summarized with respect to student behaviors during the initial year of implementation? Unlike previous studies, which focused on private or parochial schools at the secondary school level, this study focused on an economically disadvantaged school within an upper elementary setting. In addition, limited previous research has examined the perspectives of teachers, students, and parents. As research continues to show an ever-increasing achievement gap between students in poverty and those who are not, many educators seek alternative ways to educate students in economically disadvantaged schools. While single-gender classrooms are by no means a cure-all for the adversity faced by disadvantaged students in public schools, an analysis of the aforementioned research data indicated salient benefits for such students in that they can provide a learning environment where affective and cognitive learning outcomes could be realized. The results from this study revealed that teachers and parents considered single-gender classrooms provide a positive learning environment for students. Teachers, students, and parents emphasized that single-gender classrooms allowed students to be more productive, removed the largest distractions for male and female students, and allowed them to concentrate on their schoolwork. In addition, the data revealed that single-gender classrooms had a positive impact on girls as viewed by teachers, female students, and parents of female students in terms of feeling comfortable enough to ask questions when they did not understand something.

A quantitative, causal-comparative study between single gender and traditional mixed gender schools was conducted to examine how single gender schooling affected the academic achievement of African American males in a high-poverty urban community. This study examined the differences in TSI and EOC scores between African American males who attended a single gender male high school and a traditionally mixed gender high school serving students in the same community in Fort Worth, Texas. A two sample t-test was used to compare the STAAR and TSI scores of the two groups of African American males. Microsoft Excel was used to collect the descriptive statistical data and analysis was conducted in SPSS version 25.0 for Windows. A detailed description of the participants, the research design that was used in the study, a description of instruments that was used to analyze the data, research problem, research questions on which the study was based, and a description of data analysis methods that was used. This quantitative research compared the STAAR and TSI scores in language arts, math, and reading. The findings of study indicate the single-gender school model impacts the academic achievement of African American males in a particular community in Fort Worth, Texas. The single-gender school had 100% of the African American males in its first graduating class during the 2017-2018 school year were accepted into college.

The problem addressed in the study was the lack of evidence on the efficacy of the single-gender educational model as compared to the coeducational model in increasing reading achievement for middle school boys in the local school district. Leaders in the district implemented the single-gender model to address the problem of an ongoing reading achievement gap among middle school boys and girls. The gap has also been noted nationally and leads to limited reading-dependent opportunities for boys. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the two educational models to determine whether the single-gender model offered advantages over the coeducational model as measured by standardized reading test scores. The study was grounded in Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and Jensen's brain-based learning theory. A causal-comparative design was used to compare the two models. Archival data for 386 boys who were enrolled, but not necessarily continuously, in Grade 6 in 2011-2012, Grade 7 in 2012-2013, and Grade 8 in 2013-2014 were analyzed. The independent variable was school type (either single-gender or coeducational), and the dependent variable was standardized reading test scores. The one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis H tests indicated no statistically significant differences in reading test scores between school types. Based on the findings, a continuous improvement model was proposed in a white paper as an alternative solution to address reading achievement among middle school boys. This project has the potential to elicit positive social change for middle school students by revitalizing instruction and assessment strategies in both single-gender and coeducational schools to maximize reading achievement and learning outcomes.

A rural middle school in Mississippi has been labeled at-risk of failing or failing by the Mississippi Department of Education for the past 5 years, and the parents, students, teachers, and administrators have been looking for ways to improve academic achievement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of students, teachers, parents, and administrators about single-gender grouping that was used to raise achievement levels in this Mississippi middle school. The theoretical framework for this qualitative case study was Deci and Ryan's work on student motivation for learning. The research questions focused on perceptions of single-gender classroom instructional settings in relation to students' motivation to learn. Interviews were conducted with 2 teachers, 2 administrators, 2 parents, and 5 male and 5 female students who were involved with 2 single-gender Grade 7 English and mathematics classrooms in the focus school. Transcribed interviews were analyzed for emerging ideas, coded, and organized into themes. The findings from this study showed that the single-gender setting had a positive influence on student achievement, and the students reported that this type of environment enabled them to be comfortable, more motivated, and focused. The culminating project is a program of professional development that applied participants' ideas for motivating learning such as active student engagement and working in teams. This study may stimulate positive social change by suggesting merits of single-gender instruction, helping teachers increase student motivation, and improving academic success in the classroom, which can allow students to maximize their learning potential and become more productive citizens in society.

As boys in the upper elementary grades become increasingly influenced by peer pressure, many are less likely to participate in singing activities because singing is considered a "feminine" activity. The purpose of this research was to explore if there was an effect on upper elementary boys' level of participation during group singing activities when they attended music classes in a single-sex setting. This study employed a true experimental design and a mixed method. Boys (N = 186) were videotaped during their regular coeducational music classes on two occasions to establish baseline data. Then the students were randomly assigned to attend music classes in either a single-sex or coeducational group. Boys were videotaped again after seven music classes (approximately 9 weeks later). The videos were scored using the author-designed Singing Participation Measure, and the scores (N = 123) were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA). In addition, qualitative data were collected in the form of music teacher interviews and journal entries. The ANOVA showed no statistically significant differences between groups (single-sex or coeducational) or within groups (baseline scores versus post-treatment scores). In contrast, the qualitative data showed substantial differences in most of the boys' participation in single-sex classes. The teachers reported a sudden increase in the boys' singing participation and described numerous advantages of single-sex music education. Further research is needed. Implications for music educators suggest teachers could create single-sex singing opportunities, choose repertoire mindfully, and establish a "singing culture" at the school to increase boys' participation during singing activities. In addition, music educators are encouraged to know their students' strengths, weaknesses, interests, and needs, and to remember that "one size" does not "fit all" when it comes to what is best for developing young musicians.

As a result of the increased number of schools failing to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP), school districts are searching for innovative ways to raise student achievement and meet the rigorous performance standards set by state governments. Using the theoretical framework provided by brain research and the theory of multiple intelligences, the purpose of this quantitative study was to compare 2 middle school classroom structures for differences in mathematics achievement among students. The study examined whether a significant difference existed in mathematics achievement scores on the state-mandated mathematics test for 2 groups (single gender classes versus coeducational classes) in 6 middle schools during a 3-year period. Mean scores from the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) performance statistics in mathematics were used to determine achievement levels of single-gender and coeducational instruction. Study results indicated a statistically significant difference in academic performance for students in single-gender mathematics classes compared with academic performance for students in coeducational mathematics classes. Further, girls outperformed boys. These findings led to a project consisting of implementing a professional learning community and a series of professional development sessions for Algebra I teachers. The results of this study may contribute to social change by identifying an academic program structure in which all students can be supported academically while providing teachers with ongoing opportunities to collaborate and build their capacities with the goal of improving student performance.