Dr Deborah Priest reflects on the social benefits of a single-sex education for girls.
Many of the points I discuss with families are captured succinctly in a book about education and human behaviour written by well known author and sociologist Katherine van Wormer. Wormer particularly investigated comparisons of learning experiences for girls in both single-sex and co-educational settings. In her book Human Behaviour and the Social Environment she noted the following:
While the points noted above are well-known and widely reported, Wormer adds an additional long term and enduring benefit of a girl being educated in an all-girls’ school. She writes:
"when girls go to a single-sex school, they emotionally invest in relationships with each other. In contrast, when they attend a mixed-sex school, they put a lot of this energy into cross-gender relationships and dating. These boy-girl friendships most often get defused later in life for obvious reasons. The girl friendships that achieved an intensity in the all-girls school, on the other hand, can only grow stronger over the years." — Katherine van Wormer
When I talk to former students at Ivanhoe Girls’ reunions, I can see clearly the long term connections that have been made and the importance of the shared experience of learning together at Ivanhoe Girls’. I can see the confidence nurtured in these women during their school days and I can see the agency it has brought them in adulthood.
Dr Deborah Priest
Principal