Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
John Kellmayer
Committee Member
Shery Bennett
Keywords
academic achievement, achievement gap, Assessment and Accountability Office, classroom instruction, discipline referrals, eighth-grade students, Florida Department of Education, GPA, middle schools, mixed-methods research, parent perceptions, public education, seventh-grade students, single-gender education, single-gender environment, single-sex classes, single-sex classrooms, student achievement, student perceptions
Abstract
Achievements gaps exist in education and the gaps have been evident for many years. Several approaches have been taken to reduce this gap and improve student academic performance in school. Single-gender education is an approach to increase student achievement that has been adopted by school districts all over the United States and abroad. This dissertation examined the effects of single-gender education at two public middle schools in Florida as part of this research study and attempted to determine if the conversion to single-gender education resulted in increased student academic achievement for seventh- and eighth-grade students.
The following research questions guided the study:
1. What is the correlation in terms of direction and magnitude between gender and academic achievement and discipline referrals for students who attend single-gender middle schools?
2. What are the perceptions of teachers and administrators, and parents or guardians regarding the impact for students who attend single-gender middle schools?
Research data for the study were collected through the use of survey instruments and anonymous student archival data from the school district's Assessment and Accountability Office (AAO) and the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). Surveys were collected from 26 teachers, 41 parent or guardians, and 39 students with more than 2 years' experience in a single-gender environment in order to gain their perceptions of the single-gender environments at the boys' and girls' middle schools.
The results of this study indicated that the majority of teachers favor the single-gender environment and feel that it has positively impacted student achievement. The results also indicated that teachers in the environment were encouraged to take extra measures to understand and meet the academic needs of students and related classroom instructional material to students' lives. Additionally, the study revealed that parents or guardians generally agreed that single-gender environment helped to improve student achievement, eliminated opposite gender distractions, and helped to keep students more focused.
Lastly, the study revealed that a small majority of students favored the single-gender environment at their school. The students also agreed that single-gender classes encourage increased class participation, reduced distractions of the opposite gender, and led to increased grade point averages (GPA).
NSUWorks Citation
Maurice Pickett. 2015. Mixed-Methods Research Study of the Effects of Single-Gender Education on Seventh- and Eighth-Grade Student Achievement. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (1219)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/1219.