Sustained Effects of the Single-Sex Secondary School Experience on Attitudes, Behaviors, and Values in College

Extending an earlier study ( Lee & Bryk, 1986 ), this research investigates sustained effects of single-sex and coeducational secondary school on the attitudes, values, and behaviors of young men and women, measured 2 or 4 years after high school graduation. The sample from High School and Beyond consists of 1,533 college students who had attended 75 Catholic high schools, 45 of which were single-sex. Longitudinal data were available biennially from their high school sophomore year (1980) until their college senior year (1986). Although sustained effects of single-sex secondary schooling appear for both sexes on college choice and postcollege interests, effects on young women extend to attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The single-sex educational experience, especially during the formative adolescent period, appears to enable young women to overcome certain social-psychological barriers to their academic and professional advancement.