Jacqueline Sfeir (16 April 1956 – 5 April 2013) was a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

expert in early childhood education.

Education

Sfeir Sfeir () is a Maronite Christian clan surname from Lebanon, which appears with the highest density in the mountainous Keserwan District. As a result of the Lebanese diaspora, the name has flourished in North and South America, Western Europe, Austr ...

was a student in the first class when

Bethlehem University Bethlehem University () is a Catholic university located in the city of Bethlehem, in the West Bank, Palestine. History Established shortly before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the university traces its roots to 1893, when the ...

started taking students in 1973. Her doctoral work centered on pre-schooling and education.

Career

In 1985 Sfeir was a founder of the Early Childhood Resource Centre in Jerusalem; the goal of the group was to improve education for pre-school children. She worked with teachers and parents to change the conditions under which children were educated. In 1989 Sfeir spoke of how drawings by Palestinian children reflected their upbringing during times of regional conflict. In 2005, her presentation in British Columbia was questioned given her opposition to cooperation with Israel. In 2001, she was appointed to a five-year term as a member of the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their ...

. In 2005, she founded MaDad, an independent company that uses and develops the Holistic Integrated Approach, also referred to as

holistic education Holistic education is a movement in education that seeks to engage all aspects of the learner, including mind, body, and spirit. Its philosophy, which is also identified as holistic learning theory, is based on the premise that each person finds ...

, in its work with both local and regional actors who deal and interact daily with children. In 2007 Sfeir was elected to receive a fellowship from the non-profit organization Ashoka. She died of cancer on 5 April 2013, at the age of 56.http://www.alquds.com/obituary/20130406#.UWK__qKQWSo

Publications

* * * * * * Adults and children learning, 2001:Pilot study to validate a qualitative/quantitative method to gender analysis of the Palestinian system of basic education (GAPSBE) * النوع الاجتماعي والنظام التربوي الفلسطيني في المرحلة الأساسية : تقرير الدراسة التجريبية لفحص جدوى آلية بحث كمية نوعية للتحليل (Gender and the Palestinian educational system in the basic stage: Report of the pilot study to examine the feasibility of a qualitative and quantitative research mechanism for analysis)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sfeir, Jacqueline 1956 births 2013 deaths Palestinian educational theorists Place of birth missing Academic staff of Bethlehem University Social entrepreneurs Deaths from cancer