Girls prefer single-sex PE classes & sporting activities · ICGS Research Library

Title

Girls prefer single-sex PE classes & sporting activities

Author

(2024)

Year Published

2024

Description

Researchers have found that mixed-sex sporting activities at school reinforce existing gender stereotypes that boys are 'better' at sport, leading to girls being discouraged from taking part. In addition, especially during adolescence when girls are highly conscious of body image and weight, they are reluctant to wear physical education (PE) uniforms or take part in PE classes and sporting activities with boys. Unsurprisingly, multiple studies find that girls prefer female-only PE classes, sports, fitness activities and outdoor education.

• Mission Australia's large-scale annual survey of young people aged 15-19 revealed that students at girls’ schools obtained higher scores than the female average in the key area of physical and mental health, even during the pandemic year of 2020. More girls attending single-sex schools in 2020 reported participating in sport over the past year than the average female (75% vs 68.6%) (Mission Australia, 2020).

• A study of the gendered nature of mixed-sex sailing programs for school students aged 14-18 in France and the United States concluded that “young men were viewed as being more legitimate participants and regularly took up the role of lead skipper — young women were considered secondary participants and were typically positioned as crew members” (Schmitt, Atencio & Sempé, 2020, pp. 1-2). Boys taking part in the study believed that girls were “less capable sailors” and “tried to intimidate the girls during races” (p. 9). This is consistent with previous studies which found that school sport “privileges males and often devalues female participants ” (p. 2).

• A 2020 Scottish study has found that girls spend significantly more time undertaking moderate to vigorous physical activity in single-gender PE lessons. In addition, most girls enjoy and prefer single-gender Physical Education (PE) lessons for games such as basketball. The study authors suggest that segregating PE classes for game-based activities could lead to greater health benefits for girls through a higher level of physical activity (Wallace, Buchan & Sculthorpe, 2020, pp. 231).

• A 2019 American study has found that PE lessons in co-educational schools “reinforce more sedentary behaviour in girls due to a more male-dominated, traditional, team-sport oriented curriculum that lacks a wide variety of choices” (p. 110). Timken, McNamee and Coste write that international research has demonstrated that co-ed physical activity and PE lessons “have been places rife with dominance, harassment, and intimidation of girls, leading girls to disengage and/or prefer different circumstances” (p. 111). Girls may prefer dance and fitness activities to traditional sports activities because they do not require a team, are non-competitive, can occur any time, and may require less coordination than team sports (p. 110). In addition, multiple studies have found that girls prefer single-gender rather than mixed gender PE classes, with two studies demonstrating that girls who participate in single-gender teams show increased competence, possibly because they perceived less competition and felt more confident about their ability level compared with the other girls (p. 111).

• A UK study found that the majority of girls support separating girls and boys for sports activities . There was also stakeholder support for girls’ sports activities to be run by female coordinators who could act as role models (Morgan, Van Godwin, Darwent & Fildes, 2019, pp. 1, 4, 7). The authors’ recommendations include that co-ed schools should introduce female-only physical activity sessions that take place after school and that female role models should be used as facilitators of these activities (pp. 9-12).

• Citing a 2014 study, Crystal Vargos writes that co-ed classes have been found to have a “negative effect” on girls’ participation levels in PE for multiple reasons including gender stereotypes, the teacher, the class environment, and the competitive design of PE classes. In addition, “Feelings of embarrassment, lack of confidence and self-efficacy, body image concerns, disinterest in particular activities, and dominance of males in PE” are reasons why females may dislike participating in co-ed PE classes (Vargos, 2017, pp. 1-2, citing Murphy, Diongi & Litchfield, 2014, n.p.).

• A 2014 meta-analysis of 22 studies found that the largest increases in sports participation occurred in studies where interventions were based on single-sex activities . In particular, interventions that targeted girls, rather than girls and boys together, had a “higher effect size”. The study authors noted that this effect was not just present in adolescent girls who may be experiencing body image concerns, but also in younger girls. They concluded that “ongoing physical education and other structured physical activity contexts might require greater use of single sex provision” (Biddle, Braithwaite & Pearson, 2014, p. 129).

• An American study examining co-