o-educational, differentiates the classes in several subjects.
In Belgium, France, Germany and Austria, co-education, though frequent
in elementary schools, is regarded as undesirable in secondary; but the
movement in its favour in many parts of Germany seems to be gathering
strength. All over Europe the Roman Catholic populations prefer the
older ideal of separate schools for boys and girls.

Co-education in colleges and universities, which began at Oberlin, Ohio,
in 1833, was adopted almost without exception by the state universities
throughout the west of America from 1862 onwards. Since that time the
idea has spread rapidly throughout Europe, and the presence of women
students at universities originally confined to men is one of the most
striking educational facts of the age.

_Co-education in the United Kingdom, (a) England and Wales._--The Board
of Education does not possess any summary showing the number of pupils
in mixed public elementary schools or in mixed departments of such
schools. In 1901, out of 31,502 departments of public elementary schools
in England and Wales, nearly half (15,504) were mixed departments, in
which boys and girls were educated together. But as the departments were
of unequal size, it must not be inferred from this that half the
children in public elementary schools in that year (5,883,762) were
receiving co-education. Of the total number of departments in public
elementary schools in England and Wales, the percentage of mixed schools
fell from 51.6 in 1881 to 49.4 in 1891 and 49.2 in 1901. But these
percentages must not be taken to prove an absolute decline in the number
of children in mixed departments.

In England, out of 492 public secondary schools which were recognized by
the Board of Education for the receipt of government grant for the
school year ending July 31, 1905, and which contained 85,358 pupils, 108
schools, with 21,720 pupils, were mixed; and 20 schools, with 8980
pupils, were dual schools.

Thus, of the total number of pupils in the secondary schools referred to
above, a little over 25% were in mixed schools, and about 10% were in
dual schools. It is not safe to assume, however, that all the mixed
schools were completely co-educational in their work, or that the dual
schools were not co-educational in respect of certain subjects or parts
of the course. It should also be remembered that, besides the secondary
schools recognized by the Board of Education for the recei