Project

Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care in Palestine – CARE

  • Project Coordinator at IPB: Cristina Mesquita / Team Members: Catarina Vasques, Cristina Martins, Mário Cardoso, Luís Castanheira, Paulo Mafra, Maria José Rodrigues
  • FROM : 2021 - TO : 2024
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Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care in Palestine – CARE is an Erasmus + Program (EPLUS) that integrates a consortium made up of the following institutions: Al-Quds Open University - Ramallah (Palestine); University of Crete (GR); Universal Learning Systems (IRL); Al Quds Open University (Palestine); Al-Aqsa university (Palestine); Al-Ummah University College (Palestine); Alrawdah Technical Community College (Palestine); Palestinian Ministry of Education - MOE (Palestine); Palestinian Ministry of Social Development - MoSD (Palestine); Ramallah Women’s Training Center (Palestine); Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (PT); Royal Holloway University of London (UK); University of Palermo (IT); PIXEL - Associazione Culturale - Pixel Associazione (IT). The aim of the CARE project is to ensure sustainable delivery of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) through the government’s commitment and strengthened partnership with universities, families and local, regional and international institutions, under the customized EU standards to the Palestinian context. The project focus on placing the rights of the Palestinian child and Palestinian people to achieve the highest degree of equality and justice, in obtaining non-compulsory education in these areas where children did not have the opportunity to enroll in kindergarten, solve their problems and provide advice to all who interact with them at this stage (kindergarten teachers and parents). CARE project address three levels of target groups to enhance the ECD sector in Palestine: (i) HEH’s staff, curricula and students; (ii) pre-service KG teachers; and (iii) in-service Nursery teachers to assure cumulative enhancement to the sector. CARE project is expected to impact on the capacity of the educational system of planning and implementing effective interventions on the ECEC practices through: (i) a combination of bottom-up approaches, addressed to in-service nursery teachers, and enhance the social services provided to the children from 0 to 3, including learning strategies, instructing, social perceptiveness, critical thinking; (ii)  training for future teachers, and practical training part that will be conducted at the governmental four training center for the pre-service KG teachers; and (iii) top-down approaches providing higher education, ministry of education and ministry of social development managerial staff with the competences and skills to plan and implement effective improvement measures of ECEC system and enhance the ECD regulations in Palestine. The achievement of these specific objectives will be a key factor for ensuring the quality of the new courses (diploma certificate), trained staff and students, reinforce the networking of researchers, promote modernization and internationalization of Palestinian HEIs, build capacity in Early childhood care and education for university students and academics and professional development.

Project Coordinator at IPB: Cristina Mesquita / Team Members: Ana Raquel Russo Prada, Catarina Vasques, Maria Angelina Sanches, Maria Cristina do Espírito Santo Martins, Mário Cardoso, Manuel Luís Pinto Castanheira, Paulo Mafra, Rosa Novo

Coordinating Entity: Al-Quds Open University - Ramallah (Palestina)

  • REFERENCE : R4966-05; SP: A17-0249-S005
  • FUNDING : IPB: 24.459€ (Global funding: 961.244€)