Coeducation

I

Introduction

Coeducation, system of education in which students of both sexes share the same classrooms, faculty, and school facilities. The history of education reflects the changes in attitude that have accompanied the development of human experience from simple to complex life-styles. As the roles of men and women evolved and expanded within a given society, the efforts of that society to provide an adequate structure of education also developed.

II

History

In early civilizations, citizens were educated informally, usually within the family unit. Education meant simply learning to live. As civilizations became more complex, however, education became more formal, structured, and comprehensive. Initial efforts of the ancient Chinese and Greek societies concentrated solely on the education of males. The post-Babylonian Jews and Plato were the exceptions to this pattern. Plato was apparently the first significant advocate of the equality of the sexes. Women, in his ideal state, would have the same rights and duties—and the same educational opportunities—as men. This aspect of Platonic philosophy, however, had little or no effect on education for many centuries, and the concept of a liberal education for men only, which had been espoused by Aristotle, prevailed.

In ancient Rome, the availability of an education was gradually extended to women, but they were taught separately from men. The early Christians and medieval Europeans continued this trend, and single-sex schools for the privileged classes prevailed through the Reformation period. Gradually, however, education for women—on a separate but equal basis to that provided for men—was becoming a clear responsibility of society. Martin Luther appealed for civil support of schools for all children. At the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic church encouraged the establishment of free elementary schools for children of all classes. The concept of universal elementary education, regardless of sex, had been born, but it was still in the realm of the single-sex school.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coeducation became a more widely applied principle of educational philosophy. In Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union, the education of boys and girls in the same classes became an accepted practice. Since World War II, Japan and the Scandinavian countries have also adopted relatively universal coeducational systems. The greatest negative reaction to coeducation has been felt in the teaching systems of the Latin countries, where the sexes have usually been separated at both elementary and secondary levels, wherever local conditions have permitted.

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III

Coeducation in the U.S.

Educational opportunities for children of the American colonists gradually evolved from the home to the “town school,” and from the Latin grammar school structure to the academy. Until well into the 19th century, it was common wisdom that boys and girls were not to be educated together. By about 1860, however, the principle of tax support for education had become generally accepted.

The emergence of the “common school” ushered in a new era in education, offering opportunity and enrichment for all. Girls were permitted to attend common schools, and usually they attended the same classes as the boys. Thus, what arose out of economic necessity gradually became an educational principle: If girls were going to attend classes, they should join the boys who were attending the same classes. Boys and girls were seated in separate sections and had separate recreation facilities, but the first step had been taken, and by 1882 coeducation was virtually universal in the U.S.

With the need for advanced education ever more apparent, a system of high schools was established, and as an outgrowth of the common school, the vast majority of these were coeducational by 1900. Again, the reason for coeducation was not a theoretical one, but simply that it offered the most economical and practical means of providing a more advanced education for the majority of American youth.

In the area of higher education, once the idea of advanced education for women ceased being regarded as an absurdity and was seen as a benefit to society, women's colleges began to spring up. In 1833 Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, began to admit qualified students, regardless of sex. This was repeated by Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1852, and in 1855 the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, was founded as the first coeducational state university. Coeducation was strongly resisted at the college level, the opposition coming predominantly from the beliefs of a society still unsure of the emerging role of women.

In the 20th century, coeducation at all levels has become a generally accepted reality. Since the early 1950s, more single-sex institutions of higher education have moved to a coeducational structure than ever before. Society has begun to recognize the equal rights of women in every area of life, and the feminist movement has drawn attention to the need for self-growth and self-fulfillment among women as well as men. Financial stringencies of the 1960s and '70s also increased the attractiveness of coeducational institutions. The trend toward total coeducation was challenged by a few of the prestigious women's colleges, which saw it as increasing rather than lessening the male dominance of higher education. Today, however, almost all colleges and universities have followed the trend to coeducation. The last barriers fell with the acceptance of women in the U.S. military academies.

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