Research and documentation sponsored by the Bernard Van Leer Foundation disclosed that Ezer Mizion's groundbreaking Active Nurturing Playground project has had major impact in two areas:  producing a profound change in the image of the challenged child in the eyes of early childhood educators, and bringing about a process of professional empowerment in kindergarten teachers participating in the project.

The project, which was started as a pilot in 2002 in conjunction with Ashalim, and now includes 80 preschool classes throughout Israel, teaches early childhood educators how to use standard playground equipment to identify and remedy mild developmental challenges in pre-school children before they snowball into serious problems. 

Research results showed that the image of the challenged child in the eyes of the educator changed from problematical before the intervention process to a child coping with difficulties, and from a child defined by his difficulty to a youngster in whom the challenge is marginal.

The educators' self-image as professionals also changed, from a perception of negligible ability to one of empowerment as they witnessed the significant improvements in the children as a result of their input in techniques learned through the Active Nurturing Playground project.    

Documentation on the Active Nurturing Playground project has been published by Ezer Mizion. Click below to view:
Qualitative Research       
Quantitative Research