An argument against sex segregation in post-primary schools: examining wellbeing perspectives

ABSTRACT

There currently exists a substantial body of research regarding the influence that the educational environment can bear upon the social and emotional wellbeing of male and female students. It has been highlighted that young female students tend to present with lower levels of wellbeing than do male students, and that the behaviour of male students may be implicit in this discrepancy. Some scholars have proposed sex segregation to be an appropriate palliative measure in addressing the lower measures of wellbeing observed among female students. This paper will present a counter-argument to this proposal based on two principal arguments. First, that sex segregation can have deleterious outcomes for female students and may reify the identity of young girls as ‘weaker than’, or ‘needing protection from’, young boys. Second, that sex segregation overlooks the performative aspect of gender and fails to account for male students who may perform a feminine gender-identity. Wellbeing perspectives from a post-primary context will be examined in relation to international research regarding both biological sex and socially constructed concepts of gender. It will be proposed that educational discourse that informs decisions to segregate the sexes be reconceptualised to include a broader understanding of students’ needs and identities in relation to both sex and gender.

KEYWORDS:

• Sex segregation
• gender
• victim-identity
• hegemony
• education
• wellbeing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Connell identifies the patriarchal dividend as ‘the advantage to men as a group from maintaining an unequal gender order’. These advantages can include increased authority, respect, safety, institutional power and emotional support (R. Connell, 2009, p. 142).

2. So as not to conflate sex and gender, it is important to note that the terms ‘hegemonic boys/girls’ and ‘non-hegemonic boys/girls’ are in specific reference to the sex-type ‘boys/girls’ who perform the hegemonic ‘gender-type’ masculinity/femininity and non-hegemonic gender-type ‘masculinities/femininities’ respectively.

Additional information

Funding

Technological University Dublin Research Scholarship

Notes on contributors

David Byrne

David Byrne is a research scholar based at the Blanchardstown Campus of TU Dublin. David’s primary areas of research interest are mental health/wellbeing, group dynamics, and gender. David is currently conducting his PhD research, which examines Irish post-primary educators’ attitudes regarding the promotion of student social and emotional wellbeing.

Aiden Carthy

Aiden Carthy directs the Research Centre for Psychology, Education and Emotional Intelligence (PEEI) which is located on the Blanchardstown Campus of Technological University Dublin. Aiden’s principal areas of research interest are mental health and applied education. Specifically, Aiden’s work focuses on using emotional intelligence coaching to enable educators, students and others to reach their maximum potential and on research related to student support and educational design.