The Wiley Handbook of Gender Equity in Higher Education

21Single‐Sex and Coeducational Higher Education in International Contexts

Kristen A. Renn

The question of who should be educated and to what level is an enduring one that cuts through time and cultural contexts. In the twenty‐first century, consensus has evolved in nearly every world region that educating girls and women is not only acceptable, but optimal. Educating women increases their ability to participate fully in democratic societies, lowers infant mortality and child marriage rates, increases health and the education levels of their children, and boosts personal and national per capita income growth (UNESCO n.d.). To that end, the U.N. Millennium gender equality and women's empowerment goals called for aligning elementary and secondary school‐going cultures with opportunities and encouragement for women to pursue higher education (UNESCO 2012). The historical and contemporary context for women's education is not a story of ceaseless forward progress to equity, but one influenced by cultural, religious, and socioeconomic forces. Single‐sex and coeducational colleges and universities continue to play complementary roles in this complex process.

For the purposes of this chapter, a few definitions are in order. First, higher education, also called tertiary, further, or postsecondary education in some regions, refers to formal schooling after secondary school. It typically leads to a credential in the form of a certificate or first postsecondary degree (e.g. a diploma or ...