Together weak? Separated strong? Girls and coeducation

Results of (in most cases) quasi-experimental studies concerning mixed-sex or single-sex schooling are inconsistent. Many reported much less than effe cts much greater than of coeducation vs, single-sex education are probably due to self-selection of school types (by pupils or their parents). The pre sent study examines the effects of coeducation vs. single-sex schooling on facets of academic self-concept, sex-role orientation, leisure time interes ts and intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivational orientation. In order to contro l the self-selection of school type, only students of private secondary sch ools (belonging to the same denomination) were investigated. The sample (N = 649) consists of four groups: (a) girls of a girls' school, (b) girls of single-sex classrooms in coeducational schools and (c) girls and - addition ally - (d) boys of coeducational classrooms in the same schools. Findings r eveal only sex differences but no effects of coeducation vs, single-sex edu cation at all. This is attributed to the successful control of the factor m uch less than self-selection much greater than. Thus, in comparison to inst ructional influences the relevance of the grouping variable much less than coeducation much greater than vs. single-sex education,, is regarded as neg ligible.