BANK OF ISRAEL
Office of the Spokesman and Economic Information
Press Release
19 February 2012
The use of teacher work hours in primary schools
Noam Zussman, Shay Tsur and Nachum Blass
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In the school years 2001–2009, primary schools utilized a weekly average of
about 53 teacher work hours per class. The figure was stable through the
period, in contrast with the widely held view that there was a marked cut in
teaching hours.
Ministry of Education teachers taught about 33 regular weekly classroom
hours in homeroom classes; about 6 hours in small group teaching; and
utilized about 6 hours of administrative tasks.
About 85 percent of total work input was provided by Ministry of Education
teachers, and the share was reduced slightly during the course of the period,
in parallel to an increase in work input of teaching staff who are not
employed by the Ministry.
The number of regular classroom hours in schools in which the long school
day program was instituted was considerably lower than required.
The number and distribution of actual study hours of the various subjects
were similar across the parts of the education system, with the exception of
increased studies in Judaism in State Religious schools at the expense of other
subjects.
In an international comparison, the allotment of required studies in Israel,
including core subjects (native language, English, and math) is much greater
than the OECD average, but the distribution of required study hours by
subject is similar.
An analysis of the uses of labor input of teachers in schools is important in many
aspects. For example, the composition of study subjects and the hours devoted to each
reflect a set of priorities, and can, over time, influence the ability of a student to
successfully integrate into society and the economy.
Research conducted by the Bank of Israel Research Department's Noam Zussman
and Shay Tsur, and Nachum Blass from the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies
in Israel, examined the uses of teacher work hours in regular primary schools 1
between school years 2000/2001 and 2008/2009, relying on a large sample maintained
on an ongoing basis in schools by the Ministry of Education ("the standard audit").
1
Ultra-Orthodox schools and special education schools are excluded from the database. Only schools
with grades 1–6 were included in the study.
In the period studied, schools utilized a weekly average of about 53 teacher work
hours per class (Figure 1). The figure was stable through the period, in contrast with
the widely held view that there was a marked cut in teaching hours. Ministry of
Education teachers taught about 33 regular weekly classroom hours in homeroom
classes, a bit more than mandated by the Ministry of Education; about 6 hours in
small group teaching; and the remainder were dedicated to administrative tasks, the
allocation of which does not indicate that they were granted for compensation and/or
for easing teachers' working conditions. About 85 percent of total work input was
provided by Ministry of Education teachers, and the share was reduced slightly during
the course of the period, in parallel to an increase in work input of teaching staff who
are not employed by the Ministry (such as high school graduates performing National
Service) – a phenomenon which is worth paying attention to.
Classes made up of students from a weaker socio-economic background benefited
during the period studied, on average, from more hours than those made up of
students from a stronger background. This addition was primarily Ministry of
Education teachers' hours (Figure 2). Regardless of the background of the students,
the total hours per class had the following ranking: State Religious education,
followed distantly by State Jewish, Bedouin, and Arab schools. Following the
implementation in school year 2003/2004 of the Shoshani Report, which
recommended expanding the affirmative action policy on behalf of students from
weaker backgrounds, there was a significant increase in the number of regular
classroom hours as well as in the number of small group teaching hours by Ministry
of Education teachers in the non-Jewish education systems (of which most of the
students are from weaker backgrounds), in parallel with a reduction in the number of
those hours in the State Religious school system. With that, the gap in favor of the
latter remains significant (despite the fact that on average the students in that system
are from much stronger backgrounds than in the non-Jewish education systems),
primarily due to a large number of working hours by teachers who are not employed
by the Ministry of Education. In addition, the average number of students per class in
the State Religious education system is considerably smaller than the average in the
other parts of the education system, and thus in terms of work hours per student, the
gap in their favor is even wider.
The actual number of classes was higher by four percent, on average, than the number
of classes required by the allocation rule of up to 40 students per normative class (and
on average was nine percent higher in the State Religious education system). When
the number of teacher work hours available per normative class was over 57, the
tendency to split classes increased substantially, as it did when the number of students
per normative class was over 37.
The number of regular classroom hours in schools in which the long school day
program was instituted was considerably lower than required, and indicates problems
of enforcement, as well as the preference by schools and parents to allocate more
hours to small group teaching, or even to split classes, over extending the school day
as required.
The number and distribution of actual study hours of the various subjects in the period
studied were similar across the parts of the education system, with the exception of
increased studies in Judaism in State Religious schools at the expense of secular
subjects (Figure 3). Students from a weaker socio-economic background in the Jewish
education system studied more hours, in most subjects, than students from stronger
backgrounds (of which there are nearly none in the non-Jewish education system) –
due to a policy of affirmative action in allocation of sources – but major differences
were not seen in the distribution of teacher work hours according to background. This
finding indicates that the preferences regarding subject are similar across all parts of
the educational system (except for bolstering Judaic studies for students from a strong
background in the State Religious education system, compared with students from a
weaker background).
During the entire course of the period studied, the total number of regular classroom
hours per class was on average more than required, and that was across all parts of the
system and socio-economic backgrounds, especially in core subject studies (native
language, English, and math), nature, and science.
The allotment of required studies in Israel is much greater than the OECD average (as
is the actual number of study hours), but the distribution of required study hours by
subject is similar.
In light of the large number of teacher work hours per class, the following alternatives
may be considered: a slight reduction in the number of hours per class and/or an
increase in the number of classroom work hours per teacher – these will allow a
reduction in the number of teachers and increased salaries, which may improve
teacher quality – and/or a reduction in class size. All these are steps which are likely
to increase teaching quality.
Finally, it is necessary to continue to conduct the "standard audit" each year, to
expand it to all primary and secondary schools (including the ultra-Orthodox ones), to
expand the issues examined (specifically those related to funding sources and uses
that are not from the Ministry of Education), to automate the audit in order to retrieve
from it all the data collected, and provide the database to researchers and the general
public.
Figure 1. Number of weekly hours per class in primary education
by education system parts and uses,
Average of 2000/2001 to 2008/2009 school years
70
Other teachers
Ministry of
Education
teachers
60
50
Administrative tasks
Small group
Classroom
40
30
20
10
0
All
State Jewish
State Religious
Arab (1)
Bedouin
Source: Based on EYDA Economic Management & Consulting Ltd.
1) Includes Druze (and Circassian). Excludes East Jerusalem.
Figure 2. Number of weekly hours per class in primary education
by education system part, socio-economic background1, and uses
Average of 2000/2001 to 2008/2009 school years
70
60
Other teachers
Ministry of Education teachers
16.6
7.7
6.8 8.4
50
14.2
7.6
8.5
12.3
3.2 3.0
2.2
42.2
44.8 45.2
46.6
7.7
40
30
48.0 46.1
20
50.6
40.6
45.7
51.6
40.1
46.8
10
Arab (2)
m
ng
St
ro
ed
iu
ea
k
M
W
ea
k
ed
iu
m
St
ro
ng
M
M
W
State Religious
W
ea
k
ed
iu
m
St
ro
ng
State Jewish
W
ea
k
ed
iu
m
St
ro
ng
All
M
M
W
ea
k
ed
iu
m
St
ro
ng
0
Bedouin
Source: Based on EYDA Economic Management & Consulting Ltd.
1) Weak background – Nurture deciles 8-10; Medium background – Nurture deciles 4-7; Strong
background – Nurture deciles 1-3. There are no schools with an overall student population from a
strong socio-economic background in the Arab education system, and there are no schools with an
overall student population from a strong or medium socio-economic background in the Bedouin
education system.
2) Includes Druze (and Circassian). Excludes East Jerusalem.
Figure 3. Number of classroom hours of Ministry of Education teachers per class,
Grades 5 and 6, by study subject and part of education system1
Average of 2003/2004 to 2008/2009 school years
A. Core subjects
8
All
State Jewish
7
State Religious
Arab
Bedouin
Mandatory classroom teaching hours
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Native language
English
Math
B. Other subjects
9.5
5.0
All
4.5
State Jewish
State Religious
Arab
Mandatory classroom teaching hours
Bedouin
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Nature/
science
Religion
Geography/ Arts/culture
history
Source: Based on EYDA Economic Management & Consulting Ltd.
1) Includes Druze (and Circassian). Excludes East Jerusalem.
Physical
education
Hebrew
(non-Jews)