Early Childhood Education Policies in Asia Pacific: Advances in Theory and Practice (Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects (35))

This book evaluates recent early childhood education policies on the basis of a '3A2S' framework, which refers to accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability, and social justice. It systematically and empirically reviews early childhood education policies in specific countries and areas in the Asia-Pacific Region, such as Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, and so on. As the first English-language collection of large-scale reviews of early childhood education policies in Asia Pacific, this book will be of great value to early childhood educators, policymakers, researchers, and postgraduate students in the Region and beyond. "As one of the most comprehensive volumes about early childhood education (ECE) in the Asia-Pacific region, this book examines and discusses ECE policies and implementations in countries that are more familiar to readers (e.g., China, Australia, Korea and Singapore) as well as those that are rarely discussed in existing literature such as Vietnam, Nepal and the Pacific Island Countries. It is also the first collection of studies applying 3A2S framework, which provides a common language to understand and discuss policies and implementation at national level. Overall, this book provides a great reference and insights for ECE policy researchers and makers." Prof. Christine Wang, Fisher-Price Endowed Early Childhood Research Center, State University of New York at Buffalo Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Early Childhood Education Policies in Australia....Pages 1-30 A Critical Analysis of the Changing Landscape of Early Childhood Education in Mainland China: History, Policies, Progress, and Future Development....Pages 31-50 Achieving a Balance Between Affordability, Accessibility, Accountability, Sustainability and Social Justice: The Early Childhood Education Policies in Hong Kong....Pages 51-71 Japanese ECE: Four Abilities (Accessibility, Affordability, Accountability, and Sustainability) that Result in Social Justice....Pages 73-86 Early Childhood Education Policies in Korea: Advances in Theory and Practice....Pages 87-107 A Postcolonial Analysis of the Free Kindergarten Education Policy in Macau....Pages 109-133 Early Childhood Development Policies in Nepal: Achievements, Learning, and Implications....Pages 135-161 A Story of Changing State Priorities: Early Childhood Care and Education Policies in Aotearoa New Zealand....Pages 163-186 Understanding the Early Childhood Education Policies in Pacific Islands....Pages 187-219 The ECE Landscape Being Shaped by Cosmopolitanism: An Examination and Evaluation of Policies in Singapore....Pages 221-244 An Examination and Evaluation of Postmillennial Early Childhood Education Policies in Taiwan....Pages 245-262 Early Childhood Education in Vietnam: History and Evaluation of Its Policies....Pages 263-283 Different Problems, Same Themes: A Summary of This Book....Pages 285-289