Objective:
Early childhood development (ECD) parenting programs improve parental well-being, resource access, and caregiving skills, enhancing child outcomes. Their success hinges on effective parent recruitment, sustained engagement, and high-quality, contextually relevant training programs. This research explored factors influencing parental engagement in ECD programs (Study 1) and research projects (Study 2) in the UAE, focusing on incentives and program elements that drive participation and retention.

Design:
Study 1: A bilingual (Arabic/English) online survey of 491 UAE parents (87% mothers, 13% fathers) with children under 8, informed by five focus groups with 30 residents, assessed incentives, program elements (e.g., scheduling, trainer qualities), and research participation factors. Data were analyzed using R (version 4.3.2) with psych and smacof packages for mean rankings, pairwise comparisons, marginal frequencies, and Unfolding Multidimensional Scaling (UMDS) to cluster 11 training incentives, with chi-square tests for preferences.
Study 2: A subset of 449 parents examined consent for children’s ECD research participation, focusing on 10 research incentives and 12 research elements (e.g., data confidentiality). UMDS, mean rankings, pairwise comparisons, and frequencies were calculated using R and IBM SPSS Statistics.

Results:
Study 1: Most parents (85%) had never attended an ECD program, indicating engagement barriers. Preferred formats included weekend morning sessions, hybrid learning, and four-week programs with weekly two-hour sessions. Incentives were critical: 32.17% favored developmental/community-focused rewards (e.g., ECD materials), and 28.19% preferred child-related tangible benefits (e.g., gift vouchers). Certificates and parent-focused tangible rewards were less popular. Most parents required incentives exceeding 300 AED (~£60) per session. Key engagement factors included relevant topics, clear objectives, and friendly, knowledgeable trainers.
Study 2: UMDS identified research incentive clusters: 50% favored developmental incentives (e.g., educational consultations), and 33.2% preferred child-focused tangible rewards. Transport or recognition-based incentives were irrelevant. Topic relevance, clear objectives, and data confidentiality were critical for research consent, while researcher gender was least important. Financial incentive preferences aligned with Study 1. No significant preference differences emerged by gender or child disability status, though the sample’s high education (78% bachelor’s or higher) and Abu Dhabi bias (76%) limit generalizability.

Significance and Implications:
This research addresses the ECD engagement gap in the MENA region. Robust analyses revealed parent preferences and underlying social constructs driving participation. Incentive packages should prioritize community-based, developmental opportunities. To boost recruitment and retention, programs and research studies should offer flexible scheduling, multiple venues, childcare, and trained facilitators with ongoing supervision. Topic relevance and clear objectives were paramount, suggesting parents prioritize time optimization. Hybrid learning and participation options can further reduce barriers. These insights can guide strategies to enhance engagement and support the UAE’s inclusive education goals.

Keywords: Early childhood development, parent training, research participation, incentives.