To counter gender bias effects and improve student learning, staff at a Virginia middle school decided to group eighth-grade students by gender for math and science instruction. Girls felt freer to speak out. Grade point averages in gender-based science and math classes for both girls and boys were higher than in coeducational classes. (MLH)

This issue of "Focus On" examines where boys are underachieving and some possible reasons for their under-achievement, including biological and environmental factors. It also offers strategies that teachers can employ in their classrooms in order to address the educational needs of boys. Books in Brief; Web Resources; and Related ERS Resources are…

This book examines research and public policy regarding single-sex schooling, particularly girls-only classes in public, coeducational schools. The book explains that since the passage of Title IX in 1972, which calls for equal access and participation regardless of gender, educators have attempted to address gender equity issues in schools. It…

A private alternative school in the slums of New Delhi (India) is committed to ending female child labor and ensuring that its students don't grow up poor. The school was able to enroll girls in its all-female afternoon classes by getting their mothers involved in income-generating cooperatives. The students often outperform their peers in state…

A single-sex group learning project involving 100 seventh graders yielded positive results. Behavior improved without teacher intervention, particularly among the boys. Also, students' attitudes and motivation improved immensely, along with work habits and academic performance. Students reported that they enjoyed working and competing in teams.…

Jon Gilgoff is the Boys Services Manager of the Youth Justice Institute in Oakland, California, and a former Robert Bowne Foundation Fellow who researched Boyz 2 Men through his work with the Educational Alliance in New York City. Boyz 2 Men aimed to provide a positive alternative to drugs as a means of coping with the multiple challenges young…

The Allama Iqbal Open University of Pakistan started the Women's Secondary Education Project through distance learning in 1986. It was designed to meet the educational needs of rural women who are denied access to the formal education system because of social and economic constraints. The distance education method suited these women because by…

A course developed for young at-risk women in an alternative high school program involves trips out of the city, earns credits for physical education, and links students to the environment. Although balancing leadership and shared decision making was difficult, trips planned by the students became the ideal cooperative venture to seduce students…

The principal of one urban New Jersey middle school chose to deal with a long history of student behavior and discipline problems by making every class single sex. The change helped curb classroom distractions, reduced discipline problems, and restored a sense of order. (SM)

Discusses girls' use of computers and examines why they are often discouraged and lose interest. Topics addressed include the issue of gender; gender bias in computer games; use of the Internet; exposure to technology; girls' preferences; educational reform; choosing software; technology programs for girls; all-girl classrooms; and role models.…

In response to indicators that a decline in interest in mathematics occurs among girls--particularly those from low-income and minority groups--during middle school, the GO-GIRL (Gaining Options: Girls Investigate Real Life) program was designed to help potentially talented at-risk girls. The program aimed to build mathematical confidence, skills,…

Once a week, several classrooms of Philadelphia 4th-grade girls participate in Sisters in Science, an afterschool, intergenerational program sponsored by Temple University that provides hand-on activities exploring urban environmental issues. A two-week summer camp program helps these students explore the rivers of Philadelphia. Participants…

The research that has been conducted on single-sex schools and classes, has for the most part, been done in the private school and college realm, primarily because very few public schools established single-sex programs. One of the consistent findings has been that with so much emphasis having been placed on the development of girls, that boys are…

A national conference of city supervisors of home economics was called by the U.S. Commissioner of Education, and attended by representatives from 20 States and the District of Columbia, plus one representative from New Zealand. The three-day conference was convened in Washington, D.C., to: (1) bring together supervisors, teachers of home…

All superintendents of schools in cities of 5,000 population and over were recently invited by the United States Commissioner of Education to describe plans or methods they had worked out in their respective schools during the past few years. In response to this invitation, several hundred letters were received. Some gave complete accounts of one…