Investment in early childhood education in a globalized world : policies, practices, and parental philosophies in China, India, and the United States

"This book is a comparative study of how early childhood educational policies and initiatives in three countries--China, India, and the United States--have been utilized as both direct and indirect strategies for responding to fierce global economic competition. Human capital theory and cultural ecology theory serve as the conceptual framework for discussing how this has played out in each of the three countries. In addition, this book presents a discussion and analysis of how the beliefs, parents' perspectives, and practices with regard to childrearing and the education of young children have both changed and remained the same in response to forces of globalization." -- prové de l'editor Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Globalization, Human Capital Development, and Cultural Ecology (Gay Wilgus, Amita Gupta, Guangyu Tan)....Pages 3-23 Front Matter ....Pages 25-25 Childhood Development and Education in China: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Improving Future Competitiveness (Guangyu Tan)....Pages 27-67 Early Childhood Education in India: Promises, Policies, and Pitfalls (Amita Gupta)....Pages 69-106 From A Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind to Race to the Top: The US Response to Global Competition (Gay Wilgus)....Pages 107-158 Front Matter ....Pages 159-159 One Child, Only Hope? No More: The Evolution of China’s Population Control Policy and Its Impact on Parenting and Childcare (Guangyu Tan)....Pages 161-213 Early Childhood Parental Philosophies and Practices in Urban India: Education, Care, and Well-Being of Young Children in a Society Shaped by Traditional and Global Forces (Amita Gupta)....Pages 215-250 Ethnicity, Class, and Gender Dimensions of Child-Rearing in America (Gay Wilgus)....Pages 251-299 Front Matter ....Pages 301-301 Educational Policy, Parents, and Investment That Matters (Gay Wilgus, Amita Gupta, Guangyu Tan)....Pages 303-327 Back Matter ....Pages 329-337