Faculty of Education at IUG, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, held the first Early Childhood Forum titled “Promoting the Early Childhood Sector in Palestine”. The forum was attended by Prof. Ibrahim Alastal, Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Khetam Alsahhar, Head of Basic Education Department, Dr. Mahmoud Matar, Director-General of Educational Supervision Department at the Ministry of Education, a group of individuals interested in early childhood from the Ministry of Education, a number of supervisors and principals of kindergartens, kindergarten owners syndicate, a group of donors’ representatives in early childhood field, and staff members of the Faculty of Education.
Prof. Alastal welcomed the attendees and emphasized the university’s role in establishing partnerships with various universities and institutions within and outside the country, especially the joint work with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. He clarified that the Faculty of Education at IUG, has a wide range of specialists and professionals in various fields, including early childhood.
Dr. Alsahhar praised the qualitative participation in the first early childhood forum and hoped that it would result in considerably important decisions that contribute in promoting the childhood sector in Palestine.
Dr. Matar spoke of the importance and care attached by the Ministry to this important sector, as they are making unremitting efforts to include this sector in the educational stages, with priority being given to supervisory personnel and relevant departments specializing in the field of childhood.
During the forum, three scientific papers were presented, the first paper by Mr. Hasan Alaila discussed “The Ministry of Education orientation in promoting early childhood in Palestine”, and the second paper by Prof. Ibrahim Alastal discussed “The academic programs at the Faculty of Education that provide the educational field with early childhood specialists”. Prof. Alastal underlined that the Faculty of Education designs its academic programs according to the educational field needs and requirements. For instance, the master program in Early Childhood is an outcome of the project: Developing early childhood teachers in Palestine, in partnership with the University of South-Eastern Norway, and the Hebron University, and administrated by IUG.
The final paper presented by Dr. Ingrid R. Christensen, tackled the significance of early childhood, and Norway’s experience in early childhood as a model for global trends.
