Students, teachers and parents are “overwhelmingly” satisfied with the new co-education system despite the “teething problems” in certain schools, a study has found.

The comprehensive year-long study, conducted among some 2,000 students across 12 State schools, has found that more than four fifths of middle-schoolers were happy sitting in mixed-gender classrooms.

Form 1 co-education classes were rolled out in all State schools this scholastic year after a pilot project at St Clare’s secondary school, in Pembroke between 2013 and 2014.

The rapid introduction had raised eyebrows among educators who felt more time was needed to review the results of the pilot project. The study, however, found that the “vast majority” of teachers had given the new system straight As.

Educational psychologist Mark Borg, who conducted the study together with consultant Maria Ciappara, said he was surprised with the magnitude of the positive feedback.

“The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, especially from parents and students. Teachers were always going to be the most difficult to convince but we found that the vast majority were also very happy,” Prof. Borg said.

The roll-out, however, was not given gold stars in every school district. Prof. Borg said some schools “with catchment areas synonymous with social problems” had experienced difficulties with discipline during the phasing out of single-gender classrooms. This, he insisted, did not mean that bad behaviour had necessarily increased but, rather, that the forms it normally took had changed.

“This was a particular concern for some teachers who had made a career out of teaching just boys or girls.

“These were preoccupied because the landscape in the classroom, which they had become used to, had suddenly changed and some of their methods no longer applied,” he said.

An expert in bullying, Prof. Borg said this illustrated the changing classroom environment. “Unfortunately, bullying is a reality that is part and parcel of schooling. But what we’ve found is that the way bulling occurs in co-education classrooms can be very different to single-gender environments,” he noted.

He said the change took various forms, some of which were unexpected, such as girls, rather than boys, dominating certain classrooms.

Prof. Borg believes the findings should form part of a deeper analysis of the discipline situation in schools. This would, in turn, be used to update policies and classroom techniques to tally with the new co-education environment.

Next year, the roll-out will be extended to Form 2 students, increasing one grade every year until all State middle schools are eventually transformed into co-education institutions.

Prof. Borg said the roll-out should also be closely monitored, at least in the medium term. “This is a project that has many implications and will require changes in the way schools operate. We have to keep tabs on developments, at least in the medium term,” he said.

The government is expected to unveil the findings of the study together with suggestions for the way forward later this week.

ivan.martin@timesofmalta.com