Evaluates project to provide preschool education to Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza. Special evaluation covers the period 1979-9/84 and is based on classroom visits and interviews with Holy Land Christian Mission International (HLCMI) personnel, teachers, and mothers of children enrolled. Demand for HLCMI’s two programs, the 35-week Preschool Education Program (PEP) for 5-year-olds and the complementary 26-week Mothers In-Home Program (MIHP) for 4-year-olds, greatly exceeds current capacity; since 1979, 2,115 children have attended PEP classes and 1,840 mother-child units have completed the MIHP. Conducted in six West Bank refugee camps and at an HLCMI school in Bethlehem, both programs have been well received by parents and teachers, and participating children have shown a significant head start in elementary school. One concern is the impact these programs will have on the elementary school curriculum; first grade teachers have noted the need to provide PEP graduates with more advanced materials. The kindergarten curriculum, which has been developed and field tested with project support, will be finalized and printed in 1984-5 and disseminated to all interested potential users. HLCMI’s highly structured, developmental approach to kindergarten is successful despite teachers’ lack of formal training in preschool education (some inservice training has been provided). Teachers and aides have been rated adequate to excellent, although further refinement is needed in test administration. Classroom facilities are adequate. In addition to the West Bank program, the project has provided support (through HLCMI) to the United Nations Relief Workers’ Agency (UNWRA) for similar preschool activities in Gaza (the MIHP is in fact based on an earlier Gaza program). Recommendations are that HLCMI: (1) initiate workshops with other West Bank and Gaza preschool programs prior to finalizing the PEP/MIHP curriculum, particularly to increase its relevance to the Palestinian setting; (2) examine the potential benefits of enrolling teachers in training programs available in the region; (3) develop MIHP enrollment criteria, according priority to the socially and economically disadvantaged; and (4) seek help from UNWRA to arrange inservice training for MIHP teachers.
