Abstract:
This paper tracks the gender segregation in Hebrew state religious primary schools in 2001–10. It was found that the share of students studying in mixed-gender classes declined from 50 percent to 37 percent. This decline occurred primarily in schools where the students come from strong socioeconomic backgrounds. The chances of studying in separate institutions are greater for girls, and are lower for immigrants from Ethiopia. The gender composition of teachers in separate schools tends toward the students’ gender, and this phenomenon strengthened in boys-only schools. The chance that a Hebrew state religious school is separate declines the more there is a Sephardi ultra-Orthodox school in the city. Separate schools allocate fewer study hours to secular studies and to sports, and more hours to Judaic studies.