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School learner
Education experts say co-educational schooling plays an important role in preparing learners for modern workplaces and broader society.
They say mixed-gender learning environments encourage collaboration, social development and problem-solving skills needed in professional settings.
Executive Head of Reddam House uMhlanga Chad Moses says co-educational schooling gives learners exposure to working with different people in structured environments.
Moses says, “You know, with the co-ed environment, you’ve got boys and girls in the same space that have to work together, they have to collaborate. Um they get to experience what it is like to have the other sex in the same space as them, and um what we’ve seen or what a lot of the educational trends have seen and the educational experts have seen, is that it actually gives a student an advantage when they do get into the real world. You know, schools are generally a safe and controlled space, and when you go into the real world, you actually get a taste of what it’s like out there.”
Moses says research does not show consistent academic advantages for single-sex schooling.
“Yes, so there’s actually no clear evidence for single sex schooling. A large review of students on single sex versus co-ed schooling found that there’s no consistent academic advantage for single sex education, so there’s no real evidence that points to splitting boys and girls.”
He also says mixed-gender environments can improve social interaction and reduce stereotypes.
“So, what you find is that, uh, students in co-ed environments are very much more capable of being in a diverse society. It also reduces gender stereotypes,” adds Moses.
Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal Parents’ Association has condemned the targeting of undocumented children in schools amid growing anti-foreigner sentiment in some parts of the country.
Association chairperson Vee Gani says all children have a constitutional right to access education regardless of nationality or documentation status.
Gani says, “These issues about undocumented learners, but you know in terms of the Constitution of the country, in terms of the um the South African Schools Act, in terms of policy that is within the education departments, you cannot prevent or deny um undocumented learners or children from attending school.”
Gani says schools should assist parents in helping undocumented learners obtain the necessary documentation.
