St Margaret Mary’s College has been offering the option of a girls’ only education for over sixty years; an opportunity to provide an education where girls can take centre stage and become global changemakers. In this blog I will outline how a girls’ education still matters and the myriad of ways how learning in a single-sex setting provides a unique opportunity to foster confidence, resilience, leadership skills and self-efficacy. In a society where two in five women have experienced serious violence by the age of 15 and on average one woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner (https://www.ourwatch.org.au/quick-facts), now more than ever our young women require the strong foundations of academic success, physical and mental wellness and confidence to face continued gender inequality in their post-school worlds.

At St Margaret Mary’s College we are committed to fostering a culture of ‘sisterhood’ amongst our students; Senior students interacting with Junior students affectionately known as our Sorella Sisters program. By promoting a system of support within and across grades at the College, we aim to build a sense of belonging and self-efficacy - all proponents of higher levels of academic success for students. In three College studies at Cambridge Massachusetts, results found that a student’s sense of belonging “Improves academic outcomes, increases continuing enrolment and is protective of mental health”. The studies also showed that these results had a longitudinal effect, so the results were felt long after students finished secondary school. (https://tll.mit.edu/sense-of-belonging-matters/).

In an all-girls’ learning environment, there is less gender stereo-typing so students feel more empowered in their learning. At St Margaret Mary’s College, we are in a unique position to be able to offer a tailor-designed curriculum that specifically suits their needs and preferences and that promotes engagement in non-traditional areas such as Science, Technology, Information Technology and Mathematics. Sadly, girls and women are still grossly underrepresented in STEM education and careers and this results in lower levels of women in senior leadership roles and further contributes to the gender pay gap. Girls’ schools however are having a direct impact in improving the participation of women in these fields with graduates of a girls’ education being “six times more likely to consider majoring in mathematics, science and technology and three times more likely to consider engineering” when compared to girls who attend a co-educational secondary school. (https://girlsschools.org/advocacy/why-girls-schools/) A girls’ only education serves to subvert rather than support society’s assumptions and gender stereotypes. This assists students to develop a strong sense of themselves and builds great self-confidence.

When girls are not competing with boys for teacher attention in the classroom, there is an interesting shift in the types of questions that girls ask in class. This is particularly evident in Science classrooms where research suggests that when young women are in single-sex lessons, they are more likely to ask higher order questions and have a far greater allocation of teacher time when compared to being in a co-ed setting. Boys are called on more to answer questions, and they even receive more non-verbal teacher attention such as nodding and positive affirmations. (https://narst.org/research-matters/teaching-for-gender-difference). At St Margaret Mary’s College, we strive to develop young women of spirit and purpose - girls who are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills, challenge limits and speak their mind without interruption, about matters that are really important to them.

Another significant contribution to girls’ self-esteem and subsequently academic success, is their participation in team activities. At St Margaret Mary’s College, our students have the confidence to participate in and take leadership roles in a large number of extra-curricular activities. Centred around our four pillars of Academic, Sports, Faith and Culture, our girls develop skills of connection, relationship and resilience when participating in team events in a single-sex environment. Of course, there is a place for interaction and competition in co-educational settings and these are offered to our students. But with girls being six times more likely to drop out of team sports when compared to boys, there is a critical need for our young women to be fully supported to participate and flourish in such activities. (https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy/benefits-sports-participation-girls-women/#:~:text=Girls%20and%20women%20who%20play,who%20do%20not%20play%20sports.). 

Finally, a girls’ education in a Catholic school ensures that not only are they in an environment that fosters academic excellence and positive connection, they are also surrounded by staff who provide high levels of pastoral care and nurturing support for them to truly develop to their full potential. Our Religious Education curriculum and Catholic identity also serve to create a learning environment that enables young women to learn, grow and develop spiritually. At St Margaret Mary’s College, our Pastoral Care programs utilizes the Resilence Project and other mental health programs to teach our students to build strong relationships with each other, to tackle challenges with confidence and to seek out help with issues related to depression, anxiety and the devastating impacts of social media on body image. A girls’ education allows for a safe place for these matters to be explored with students. Internal programs such as our Samaritan Angels group which consists of students who sew hygiene products for developing countries, or hero capes for children in hospitals, are an example of how our young women are capable of being changemakers in the world; girls who are empowered to reach out to others in need while at the same time developing leadership and problem-solving skills.

The theme of International Women’s Day this year is Accelerate Action. For students at St Margaret Mary’s, this is our modus operandi and what we aim to achieve every single day; supporting young women to realise their dreams, overcome inequality and make a very real positive difference to the world.