Outcome evaluation of an advocacy program to promote early childhood education for Israeli Arabs

This article reports the results of an evaluation of the SHATIL early childhood education (ECE) project, a coalition-based advocacy initiative that aimed to achieve three main outcomes in Arab towns throughout Israel: growth in preschool enrollment rates, growth in number of preschool classes administered by local councils, and growth in number of certified preschool teachers working in the Arab sector. The study employed a quasi-experimental, repeated measures design. Outcomes were assessed via collection of archival data pertaining to each of the past 10 years in 45 Arab towns. This allowed for comparison of trends over time in the 5 years before project commencement with those in the 5 years since the project was launched. Findings indicated that the project was successful in recruiting its target population (the most needy towns) and that the desired changes in fact did occur, particularly in the target towns. Moreover, the authors were able to conclude, with a relatively high degree of confidence, that the project played a causal role in achieving these outcomes.