Girls' participation in physics in single sex classes in mixed schools in relation to confidence and achievement

Abstract

The establishment of single sex classes in mixed secondary schools has been proposed as a strategy to increase the participation and achievement of girls in physics. This paper reports some findings from a three-year longitudinal case study of two single sex GCSE physics classes in a mixed comprehensive school in England. The results indicate that girls who elected to study physics in a single sex class gain confidence in the subject over the GCSE course, that gain in confidence is associated with better GCSE achievement, and that this increases the likelihood of studying A-level physics.