Are boys profiting from coeducation? An empirical study of the significance of coeducation to boys

In the recent discussion on coeducation, boys are supposed to be the real " winners" of coeducation. However; It is not possible to conclude that boys gain advantages from evidence that girls are disadvantaged. Only if there i s evidence for advantages of boys in mixed-sex schools over boys in single- sex schools can the thesis that boys are the winners of coeducation be supp orted. Therefore, in a study comparing school types we examined if boys in mixed-sex schools differed from buys in single-sex schools with respect to (1) interests and variables relating to interests, (2) achievement and achi evement orientation, (3) social-emotional wellbeing and (4) love relations with girls. Subjects were male and female pupils in the 11th and I?,th grad e of four catholic private schools (two coeducational schools, two boys' sc hools) in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The results do not support the thes is that boys are profiting from coeducation on a broad basis. The similarit ies between the two groups of boys by Far outweigh the differences. If ther e are differences, they are not necessarily in favor of boys in coeducation al schools.