Empowering women: Duke dabbles in single-sex education for women.Eighteen female freshmen at Duke University (NC) will have the opportunity to participate in a four-year program offering single-sex education Single-sex education is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and higher education. this fall. The program was created in response to a yearlong year·long adj. Lasting one year. Adj. 1. yearlong - lasting through a year; "attending yearlong courses" long - primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or study which found that many undergraduate females experienced low levels of self-confidence. "Many felt an expectation of effortless ef·fort·less adj. Calling for, requiring, or showing little or no effort. See Synonyms at easy. ef  fort·less·ly adv. perfection PerfectionGiotto’s O perfect circle drawn effortlessly by Giotto. [Ital. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 463] golden mean or section ," says Donna Lisker, director of the Women's Center at Duke. "They felt they were being assessed by both the traditional male and female standards of achievement--not only being smart and getting good grades, but also being thin and fashionably dressed. This program seeks to create a more intellectually engaged environment for these women." Modeled after the University of Richmond's (VA) Women Involved in Living and Learning program (created more than 20 years ago), the program is expected to include 72 women over four years. Participants will be required to take certain all-female classes in addition to co-ed classes, and will live in an all-female residence hall their sophomore year. Sound like the makings of a woman's college? Think again. "We're we're Contraction of we are. we're we are not looking to recreate a women's college," Lisker says. "We're simply trying to understand the impact that fully co-ed institutions have had on women." |
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