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ERIC Number: EJ810064
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0020-7187
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Early Learning and Development Standards in East Asia and the Pacific: Experiences from Eight Countries
Miyahara, Junko; Meyers, Cliff
International Journal of Early Childhood, v40 n2 p17-31 2008
This paper analyses how countries in UNICEF's East Asia and Pacific Region (EAPR) have engaged in the Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) process. ELDS has been developed by the governments of Cambodia, China, Fiji, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam over the last 3 years with technical and financial support from UNICEF. The ELDS process allowed each country to define its own domain framework, using terminology and defining dimensions and domains in ways that reflected national perspectives and culture while ensuring holistic child development. No two national frameworks are exactly the same, yet they all include aspects of physical development, socio-emotional development, cognitive development and language development. Moral-spiritual and cultural development, creativity and approaches towards learning were also included by some countries. Regarding the purpose and objectives for undertaking the ELDS process, there were also commonalities and differences between countries. ELDS is being applied as the basis for curriculum revision, for instructional improvement and teacher training, for programme evaluation, for parenting education, for public advocacy and for national alignment of standards. Lessons learned in terms of factors for success include the need for conceptual clarity on holistic child development and ELDS processes amongst key stakeholders and decision makers from the outset, the necessity of national leadership and shared stakeholder responsibility, and the importance of technical assistance, follow-up and exchange between countries. Looking to the future, recommendations are made to use advanced countries to support countries just starting the process, to hold a follow-up regional workshop on application and use of ELDS, to develop publications, studies and reports on using ELDS in Asian countries, and to develop a more standardized Asian ELDS model based on validated indicators from the region, to allow countries to use Asian validated standards for specific purposes or research. (Contains 3 tables and 1 footnote.)
OMEP: Organisation Mondiale pour l'Education Prescolaire. Goteborg University, Department of Education, Box 300, Goteborg, SE-40530, Sweden. Tel: +46-317-732461; Fax: +46-317-732391; Web site: http://www.ped.gu.se/users/pramling/ijec/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Asia; Cambodia; China; Fiji; Mongolia; Philippines; Thailand; Vietnam
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A