Spielhagen reports on her interviews with students in Hudson Valley Middle School, a middle school in a rural district in upstate New York that has offered voluntary single-sex classes for three years. The 24 6th, 7th, and 8th graders whom she interviewed had chosen to take all-boy or all-girl academic classes for at least one year. All Hudson…

Given the dramatic increase in depression that occurs during early adolescence in girls, interventions must address the needs of girls. The authors examined whether a depression prevention program, the Penn Resiliency Program, was more effective for girls in all-girls groups than in co-ed groups. Within co-ed groups, the authors also tested…

Addresses the "terribly traumatic" experience of many girls in their passage through adolescence. Examines the response of schools to this reported cultural crisis by reviewing the literature on successful programs for adolescent girls since 1994 and by reporting the results of a survey of 20 middle schools in the Tidewater Virginia area. (SG)

Considered are advantages of summer science programs limited to young high school women. Same sex courses are seen to eliminate unconscious gender bias in instruction and counter tendencies for female students to be less involved in science, mathematics, and computer activities. Four specific programs are briefly described. (DB)

Responses from 42 of 55 female and 92 of 110 male agriculture teachers revealed traditional preferences for instructional areas, although some equity progress was indicated by females preferring agricultural mechanics. Support for traditional beliefs in the advantages of single-sex classrooms was found, although male teachers acknowledged…

The current debate about boys' education risks taking us back decades in terms of understanding the significance of gender in relation to education. Of particular concern here is the tendency within such debates to rely on dichotomous understandings of gender which reinscribe essentialist understandings of both "girls" and…

Schools are raising standards to improve academic and technical achievement and intellectual growth for all groups of students, particularly at-risk students. This newsletter contains tools and strategies that school leaders and teachers are using successfully to help students meet higher expectations. It organizes the techniques into five…

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance. This digest focuses on the theme of single-sex education. Articles featured in this issue include: (1) "Single-Sex Education" (Diane S. Pollard); (2) "A Legal Framework for Single-Sex…

Examined adolescents views about sex education, specifically their views about interaction in single- and mixed-sex groups. Surveys of English secondary school students indicated that most girls, and one-third of boys, want some or all of their sex education to be delivered in single-sex groups. Girls' experiences of sex education with boys…

Examines data collected from a girls-only physics class in a public coeducational high school. Interview and observation data from this class, as well as from coeducational physics classes taught by the same teacher, illustrate that the girls in the single-sex class made substantial gains in both academic achievement and in perceptions of…

Describes a study that examined gender differences and the process of Internet-assisted inquiry in a single-sex, technology-enhanced environment. Results indicate that female students in a single-sex environment display similar behaviors as male students do when engaging in technology-enhanced activities. Discusses student attitudes and…

A collaborative model based on feminist pedagogy was used to assess gender-specific programs for juvenile female offenders. Criteria for the provision of emotional and physical safety and cultural appropriateness were used to identify areas for improvement, especially in terms of discourse, consensus, and equity in voice. (SK)

A summer math class for gifted girls (grades 5-9) was established and conducted by a female instructor for 3 weeks. The class involved take-home work, puzzles, problem solving, and computer work. Parents and students were satisfied with the enrichment class, but questions remained concerning such an approach's legality, the advisability of…

Evaluates a program of single-sex mathematics classes at one coeducational high school three years apart by focusing on parents' perceptions. Concludes that in both years more parents supported the program than were opposed to it and support appeared to have waned over the three-year period. Contains 38 references. (Author/ASK)

Middle school students who participated in both single-sex and coeducational physical education (PE) classes completed questionnaires eliciting their opinions on perceived abilities, affinity toward PE, and preferences for coeducational and same-sex classes. Most students liked PE, preferred same-sex classes, and rated themselves highly on PE…