Da-Gan Center – The National Center for Promoting STEM Education in Early Childhood

The Da-Gan Center is a national teacher center for training early childhood educational staff (in preschools for ages 3–6) in STEM fields—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Established in 2007 as one of 11 national teacher centers focusing on these disciplines, it is the only center dedicated specifically to early childhood educators.

The uniqueness of the Da-Gan Center lies in its comprehensive specialization across all STEM fields, as well as the scope of its target audience—approximately 22,000 preschool teachers from all sectors and population groups in Israel, across both mainstream and special education.

The center is funded and supervised by the Ministry of Education (Innovation and Technology Administration, STEM Division A) and operates under the academic auspices of Bar-Ilan University. The center works in full cooperation with the Department of Early Childhood Education.

Primary Mission: Promoting and cultivating educational leadership in STEM within early childhood education.

Center Vision

• Accessibility and Equity: High-quality, developmental STEM education accessible to every child in Israel, breaking the gender glass ceiling from early childhood.
• Leadership in Preschools: Preschools led by educational and pedagogical leadership possessing high self-efficacy in STEM disciplines.
• Pedagogical Innovation: Transforming preschools into environments that cultivate scientific and technological thinking through active learning spaces and updated, developmentally appropriate instructional materials.
• Academic Affiliation: Educational practice closely aligned with current academic research.

Center Objectives

• Leadership Training and Professional Development: Promoting, cultivating, and training STEM educational leadership in early childhood education.
• Development and Dissemination of Evidence-Based Knowledge: Developing and disseminating research-based pedagogical knowledge, instructional materials, assessment tools, and up-to-date pedagogical strategies (for in-person and remote teaching and learning) in STEM fields.
• Integration of STEM Learning Environments: Developing conceptual frameworks, providing guidance, and training staff to establish and operate STEM-promoting learning environments (inquiry and laboratory centers, construction and maker spaces).
• Strengthening Ties with Field Practitioners: Supporting and deepening connections with the community of educators across the country.
• Consolidating the Professional Community: Empowering and consolidating the professional community involved in early childhood STEM education.

Center Activities

• Leadership and Specialization Courses: Conducting courses for training leading STEM educational leadership alongside specialization courses in these disciplines for early childhood staff.
• Symposia and Conferences: Organizing professional symposia and convening the annual conference.
• Development of Instructional Materials and Resource Repository: Developing tailored educational content and operating a comprehensive resource repository for early childhood STEM education.
• Knowledge Dissemination and Communication Channels: Making instructional materials accessible to field practitioners via the Center's website, approximately 23 WhatsApp groups (comprising about 5,000 participants), Facebook page, and YouTube channel.
• "Da-Gan Journal": Publishing and issuing the professional journal addressing innovation and practice in early childhood STEM education.
• Research and Knowledge Accessibility: Advancing research addressing STEM teaching and learning in early childhood and disseminating its findings to educators in the field.

The Center Team

• Center Director: Dr. Tali Schechter Maimon
• Academic Head: Dr. Ornit Spektor-Levy
• Content Director: Dr. Netta Perry
• Editor-in-Chief, "Da-Gan Journal": Dr. Vered Bernholtz Paniri
• Lead Team: Dr. Netta Perry, Dr. Ronit Friedman, Ayelet Schlosser

Click here for the Da-Gan Center website