Co-Education -a Problem?

Cue (NZERS), Issue 10, 31 October 1944, Page 16

Co-Education -a Problem?

FROM childhood through adolescence, and up to the time when ’’earning a living” marks the near attainment of adult status, the average New Zealander is under some form of collective instruction. It is almost a • boast that we are among the best-educated people in the world —’’free, secular and compulsory education having been our lot for several . generations. ’

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A CONSTANT desire to improve the ./A .standard is evident by the numerous extensions and amendments to our • education system " over the past decade. One of the most drastic changes has been the scrapping of the matric. examination as a focal point for all education up to university standard. It is now generally agreed that this has been a sound step, for it enables vocational studies.suited to the aptitude and ambitions of the individual to be undertaken without . jeopardising university- entrance. Provided that the new curriculum can cater for the average occupational pre-requisites, increased efficiency must result in schools and from their products. There are, however, many problems yet to be tackled, and perhaps the most pertinentcertainly one of the most contentious —is the question of coeducation. This is a-matter which may make its impact felt in the home as much as in the school, and is one of tremendous interest to .parents and teachers alike. Co-education must be considered. in all its varied aspects. The efficiency or otherwise of the method; its suitability as applied to student age-groups; its social influences — all require examination. .

Though this system has long been in vogue in NZ and has covered primary, secondary and adult education, little attempt has yet been made to collect the data which must now be available, and from the result to set down a definite policy. When, if at all, segregation of the sexes in our schools is desirable, is a matter for sound, solid research — and investigation cannot start too soon. Much- can be said for both methods, and few subjects lend themselves so readily to shallow sentiment, biological busybodying and twisted thinking on the vexed question of the training of adolescents outside the family circle. Associating with others has a large share in the formation of character, and the school age is the period when the all-important habits which collectively comprise character are 'formed. Adolescence 'is the most impressionable period. - / ?< Social customs, common to almost every race, have subscribed to the segregation of the sexes from - the age of puberty until marriage. Has it ever been proved that such segregation is desirable? Many arguments can be advanced in favour of the opposite case.

Fundamentally there is no , great difference in interest or intellect, and it is for discussion if the onset of adolescence, coming as it does' during school age, is any reason for the segregation of the sexes. Association with the opposite sex at this time may result in the majority acquiring a better understanding, a sounder appreciation, and consequently enjoying, in the later years, & more stable life. Segregation may have the opposite effect. Prejudice and tradition have so far caused this problem to be avoided, .and the blame cannot be laid wholly at the door of the educationist. The experiences, however, of teachers familiar with both types of class will be invaluable in the determination of this aspect. - The practical difficulties of designing a, curriculum to suit both sexes can hardly be considered as insurmountable, for apart from the purely ■vocational subjects, the basic syllabus is the same for each. True, the handling of a mixed class / 0 will call for special skill on the part of the teacher, but this is not to be compared with the difficulties and limitations imposed by tradition on the instruction of, say, a male, class by a woman teacher. The opposite also applies, and it can be fairly confidently stated that, measured both by standards of discipline and academic achievement, a mixed class under • a skilled teacher attains results more easily. . < Problems of behaviour must be carefully examined. For instance, is the desire to excel stimulated by the presence of the opposite sex? If so, has. this phenomenon any practical value, or is it merely "showing off?" Again, what is the reaction of the boy whose efforts are overshadowed by a more gifted girl? Is the male pride wounded? If so, is the damage permanent? Is there a spirit of competition evident between the sexes, and does this aid instruction? The mixed class, learning the same subjects from- the same instructor, has reactions apparent in its individual

members which must be reconciled with the principle of co-education before it can be proved that the method is sound. The solving of this problem will, no doubt, be one of the post-war tasks of the education authorities. A conclusive answer, followed by the necessary practical application, will mark one of the most important advances ever made in education •in the Dominion.