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Jewish Education

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Many communal activists view Jewish education as critical to Jewish continuity in America. The vast majority of American Jews in the more Jewishly engaged population of 4.3 million -- to which this section is restricted [7] -- experienced some kind of Jewish education in their childhood years. Moreover, enrollment in Jewish day schools and yeshivas and Jewish studies courses during college years has increased substantially over time.

Almost three-quarters (73%) of Jewish adults report receiving some kind of formal Jewish education while they were growing up (see Table 13). More than one-tenth attended Jewish day schools or yeshivas, nearly four in ten went to a part-time Jewish school that met more than once a week, and about a third attended a one-day per week educational program. [8] Beyond the adolescent years, 23% of Jewish adults who attended at least some college enrolled in at least one Jewish studies course. Finally, among today's Jewish adults, nearly a quarter report that they participated in an adult Jewish education class or other Jewish learning experience in the year prior to the survey, usually under the sponsorship of a synagogue.

Comparing the Jewish educational experiences of Jewish children with Jewish adults provides initial information about trends in formal Jewish education over time. Nearly four-fifths (79%) of Jewish children age 6-17 have received some kind of Jewish schooling, including 71% who are currently enrolled in a formal Jewish education program and another 8% who were enrolled in the past but are not now. Among those who are 14-17 years old, even more (83%) have received some kind of Jewish schooling. This pattern reflects an increase in Jewish schooling over approximately the past 15 years. Eighty percent of adults under 35 years of age also received some kind of formal Jewish education, roughly 5-10 percentage points higher than adults in all older age groups.

The most common type of Jewish educational program among today's children is Jewish day school or yeshiva (29%). Nearly equal proportions have attended part-time Jewish programs that meet more than once a week (24%) and one-day per week educational programs (25%). The rise in day school and yeshiva enrollments is particularly noteworthy. Among 18-34 year olds, 23% attended day school or yeshiva, compared to 12% of 35-44 year olds and fewer than 10% of all older adults. The increase in day school attendance has been somewhat offset by losses in less intensive forms of Jewish educational programs, with current enrollments in both part-time and one-day per week programs declining relative to adults. In short, over the last two decades, day school and yeshiva enrollments have grown dramatically, largely at the expense of supplementary Jewish schooling.

In addition to formal Jewish schooling, many Jewish children have informal Jewish educational experiences, for example in Jewish youth groups and Jewish summer camps. NJPS collected data on these topics for various age groups of children. Among children age 3-17, 23% went to a Jewish day camp in the year before the survey, and 19% of children age 8-17 went to a Jewish sleep-away camp in the year prior to the survey. Among children age 12-17, nearly half (46%) participated in Jewish activities or an organized Jewish youth group in the year before the survey.

Significantly, Jewish education is continuing into the college years, with more Jews taking college-level Jewish studies courses than ever before. Among current Jewish college and graduate students, 41% report that they have taken a Jewish studies class as part of their coursework to date. This continues a sharp and steady increase relative to older Jews who went to college or graduate school and have finished their higher education. Just 11% of Jews 55 and older who attended college or graduate school enrolled in a Jewish studies course, rising to 28% of those age 35-54 and 37% among those under 35.

[7] Jewish education data are available for all adults in the larger 5.2 million population, but most Jewish education data for children are limited to children in the Jewish population of 4.3 million people. To compare Jewish education of adults to children, this section is restricted to the 4.3 million population for adults as well.

[8] More than 13% of adult Jews received multiple forms of formal Jewish education as children. As a result, the sum of percentages for types of schooling (83%) exceeds the total percentage (73%).

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