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Quito -- (Ecuador) Congress on the Advantages of Separate Education

An International Congress on Separate Education was held in Quito on October 24 and 25 sponsored by Intisana High School, which simultaneously celebrated its fortieth anniversary. Talks were given by speakers from Spain, Uruguay and Ecuador. Those attending, besides teachers and parents from the school, included many directors of schools from Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

Maria José Soler, from the Psychiatric and Psychological Institute of Montevideo, described the structural, functional and hormonal differences between the brains of men and women. She stressed “how important it is that teachers be aware of the differences between the sexes and that they cannot demand the same things from boys and girls. Single-sex educational centers offer the possibility of an education adapted to the psychology proper to each sex, accommodating pedagogical techniques to the specific needs of each person.”

Josep Maria Barnils, from the European Association for Single-Sex Education (EASSE), summed up advances in the movement for separate education, emphasizing that in Europe and North America interest in this cause embraces very diverse political currents.

Fernando Chapresto, from Torremar High School in Guayaquil, offered his experiences as a teacher. In his opinion, separate-sex schools have fewer disciplinary and academic problems than co-ed schools.

Romana, n. 43, July-December 2006, p. 242.

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