Early Childhood in Israel: Selected Research Findings 2022

The Taub Center Initiative on Early Childhood Development and Inequality is tasked with examining the effects of the young child’s environment on future achievements and disseminating the latest research on this subject to relevant individuals and agencies.

With the establishment of a new government and the debate over whether to leave the responsibility for early childhood with the Ministry of Education or to return it to the Ministry of Economy and Industry, this unique booklet of data paints a complicated picture of early childhood in Israel.

The data indicate major differences between Jews and Arabs in enrolment rates in ECEC frameworks from birth to age 3, and more than anything else, the much higher rates of poverty among children in Israel, primarily among young Arab and Haredi children. The Taub Center researchers have also proposed policy options to deal with this complex situation.

The booklet was produced as part of the Taub Center Initiative on Early Childhood Development and Inequality, which is supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, the Beracha Foundation, and Yad Hanadiv.