Why all schools should be public/co-ed schools

Schools are a place for education, not segregation. In an age where we preach inclusivity and diversity, why is it that we still have divide among schools? Whether it be private vs public, or co-ed vs. single sex schools, schooling seems to have lost touch with what they aim to achieve. We can all agree that everyone should have an equal opportunity when it comes to education, so why is it that we advocate for single-sex schools to this day, despite them dating back to before the 20^th century, and why is it that we enable those with wealthier backgrounds to achieve higher levels of education and support? The issues of public vs. private and single sex vs. co-ed schools have gone on for some time, and these issues are now outdated. Segregation by gender and wealth is unacceptable, and yet society turns a blind eye to it because it has become the norm. We need to recognise these issues, raise awareness and ask questions, as these impact the way we live and connect with one another day-to-day.

Should schools operate on the basis of classism? It is an outlandish claim, but there is truth to such a statement. There is an apparent divide within the education system, which is driven by the clash between public and private schools. It costs between $24,000 - $50,000 for a year 12 student to attend a private school^[1], which many families cannot afford. However, as stated in the AFR on the Sep 28, 2024, independent schools “have been growing in popularity over the past two decades and drawing in students from public schools.”^[2] Astonishingly, “Australian parents collectively spend about $12 billion each year in school fees alone,”² excluding additional expenses, including school uniforms and textbooks. What about funding from the federal government, you may ask. According to the Australian Institute, “the Commonwealth Government will spend an estimated $29.1 billion on schools in Australia. More than half of this – $17.8 billion – will go to private schools.”^[3]

So where does this money go?

Well of course, it goes back into staff wages, facilities, and education. However, there is a major imbalance between private and public schools. Public school funding is allocated towards essential buildings that provide “unambiguous educational benefits,”³ including libraries and classrooms. On the other hand, private schools can still use their “tax-deductable building funds to build boatsheds, rifle ranges, hypoxic chambers, grandstands, orchestra pits, cafes for students,”³ and much more. Thus, the government should reconsider where they allocate their education funds, and how they are spent, as there is an apparent divide between the public and independent school systems.

We see many private schools that are single-sex; however, it has gained prevalence in the media recently that these single-sex schools are either considering or already making the move towards becoming co-ed. For instance, an article published in the ABC, “with more single-sex schools going co-ed, what is the evidence for gender-segregated education?”, authors Claudia Long and Emily Laurence discuss the reasons for this collective change. A common argument is that single-sex schools prove to be more beneficial for girls than they are for boys. However, “University of Sydney Professor of Education Helen Proctor said there wasn't much evidence when it comes to academic outcomes.”^[4]

So what evidence is there?

According to Helen Proctor, "there's a very strong statistical correlation, stronger than it should be, between social class and academic achievement."⁴ But what about girls being more likely to study STEM subjects in single-sex schools? It had been concluded after “researchers Helen Forgasz and Gilah Leder looked at 17 years of Victorian data, they found boys and girls alike were more likely to study maths and science in single-sex schools, and suggested socio-economic status, class size and teacher quality might have been the main drivers.”⁴

Additionally, Dr. George Variyan, an education lecturer at Monash, investigated “how sexist attitudes can manifest in private single-sex boys' schools.”⁴ Dr. Variyan argues that “schools could do a lot to address these issues and educators were doing their best, but often school traditions and cultures hampered these efforts.”⁴ Traditions and cultures are at the core of this issue, and must be attended to first before we justify gender segregation as a means of improving academic performance, as said by Dr. Variyan, “Right now we are seeing increasing diversity, increasing nuance in understanding of gender, that I don't think it's particularly sustainable that we are gender segregating our schools."⁴

Historically, evidence shows that private schools and single-sex schools perform better than public and co-ed schools. However, there are more factors to consider. To name a few, factors including increased funding towards teachers and facilities, coinciding with culture and tradition, prove to have an impact on academic performance in a positive light. Thus, segregating schools by gender and dividing schools by wealth should change. We should work towards diversifying our communities and being more welcoming towards inclusivity, rather than forming this great divide in hopes of enhancing student performance, when it is clear that there is evidence to show that these are not the underlying reasons as to why students at these prestigious and single-sex schools outperform those that are not.

Bibliography:

^[1] Australia : Private School Fees and Costs | Exfin - The Australian Expatriate’s Gateway. (2015). Exfin.com. https://www.exfin.com/private-school-costs

^[2] Hare, J. (2024, September 27). How much do private schools cost in Australia? Australian Financial Review. https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/the-cost-of-sending-your-child-to-a-private-school-in-seven-charts-20240131-p5f1cc

^[3] Starr, H. (2024, April 26). Federal funding for private schools. The Australia Institute. https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/federal-funding-for-private-schools/

^[4] Long, C., & Laurence, E. (2024, February 29). With the single-sex vs co-ed debate back in the news, we asked experts what type of school is better. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-01/single-sex-boys-girls-schools-education-pros-cons-for-kids/103516546