Practical, pedagogical, and theoretical aspects
This resource is the first “textbook” written in Israel for working edu-carers in the early years. Its goal is to make professional knowledge accessible for free in a clear and concise manner to tens of thousands of edu-carers of children ages birth to three years old in Israel, most of whom have not received any professional training in early childhood education.
The book was written as part of the mission of the Israeli Institute for Early Childhood Education at Oranim College to promote the professionalism and standing of the early childhood education sector in Israel, and was distributed at a particularly significant time:
From the establishment of the State of Israel, the area of education from birth to three was not under the full responsibility of the government, and the workforce developed as an occupation that is not considered a profession, without professional standards. Over the last few years, significant steps have been taken to advance the field of early childhood education in Israel, and the Ministry of Education has begun a process to include the daycare centers under their responsibility.
In 2022, the Ministry began funding professional training programs, wherein over 9,000 edu-carers received government-funded training, implemented by academic institutions. The textbook was completed as the training programs were launched and it was distributed to the edu-carers by the teaching colleges and the Early Childhood Education Department of the Ministry of Education, who gave its official recommendation and blessing to this important resource book.
The book was written by 37 women experts from different institutions. The chapters were organised in easy-to-read segments without hierarchical order so that every edu-carer can read the chapter she’s interested in at any given time from her mobile phone. Within the chapters, she may easily access other chapters and instructional videos.
The writing of this resource book was made possible through the Van Leer Foundation, and the Israel Director, Ms. Daniella Ben-Attar, who took an active part in the project’s steering committee.
