International Research Projects in Early Childhood Development in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore: Pertinent Issues from Three Studies

Abstract

The field of early childhood education has been the focus of increased research and public concern in recent years. This paper highlights three research projects funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation in the eighties in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. It focuses on four research issues raised from these three studies which span three diverse communities and cultures. In particular, the question of a single integrative approach towards early childhood development programmes, the intersecting needs of children and women, the range of training and dissemination systems to be made available, the role of the different forms of fundamental partnerships in early childhood research and the strengthening of the research-to-policy link will be discussed.

Descriptors::

• Early childhood care/education/development
• international research projects
• cross-cultural studies
• issues in early childhood education