This paper presents findings from a review of 19 national curriculum policy frameworks (NCPFs) across the globe and discusses dominant and culturally specific discourses that shape early childhood education (ECE). We combine two frameworks of developmental universality and specificity and culturally contextualised pedagogy to explore whether and…

Early childhood curricula are constructed from what is deemed important for young children's development and learning nationally, while influenced by international policy developments. Following concerns surrounding international neo-liberal agendas in early childhood policy formation, this article examines the position of young children's…

The rapid spread of the coronavirus virus (COVID-19) has been responsible for massive global impacts on the lives of children, families and communities. It is important to document these effects for the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. This report focuses on the Asia-Pacific region and ECEC sector, given limited regional studies…

In a recent keynote speech Paul Standish noted "there is agreement in judgments. But how the response to those judgments is realised is always cultural" (paper presented to PESA Conference, Taiwan, 2012, p. 2). Making judgments about what constitutes "crisis" for children is not necessarily agreed universally, though clearly…

This study represents an initial effort to understand the advocacy journey of Chinese parents of children with dyslexia in Hong Kong. Qualitative methods involving individual and group interviews were used to solicit detailed recount and perceptions of the experiences of 25 parents. Findings revealed a largely sequenced three-stage journey of…

Every society has an obligation to provide quality education to children regardless of their socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The number of cross-boundary students (CBS) from Mainland China in Hong Kong schools is increasing. This article reviews educational policy and provision for educating CBS, presenting data from an empirical study.…

Younger (13 years) and older (17 years) adolescents (N = 160) from urban and rural China responded to written scenarios in which children's rights to self-determination and nurturance conflicted with the desires of authorities. They also evaluated scenarios in which children's desire to exercise self-determination was in conflict with their own…

This study explores two aspects of the privatization of childhood in contemporary urban China: the emergent discourse on children's privacy and children's growing seclusion within the home. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the author describes urban caregivers' engagement with the issue of children's privacy, and argues that we are now…

Purpose: By reviewing the related literature on the Jiaoshi Pinren Zhi (JPZ) system, this paper seeks to indicate that the implementation of JPZ not only has led to domestic brain drain and the imbalance of teachers' qualities between different areas and schools, but also has violated children's equal rights to education guaranteed by the…

Kindergarten children's perception of play is a reflection of their life and experiences, which can be used as an index of the quality of pre-school provision and the influence of kindergarten education reform that began in the 1980s in mainland China. Therefore, based on this hypothesis, the current authors argue that to examine young children's…

Examines the treatment and education of juvenile offenders in two of the four types of Chinese juvenile correctional institutions, the reformatory and the work-study factory class. Discusses living conditions and food, discipline and punishments, informal peer surveillance, academic and vocational instruction, language of instruction, family…

This document consists of articles 21-31 published in the electronic journal "Education Policy Analysis Archives" for the year 1999: (21) "Facing the Consequences: Identifying Limitations of How We Categorize People in Research and Policy" (Cynthia Wallat and Carolyn Steele); (22) "Teachers in Charter Schools and…

Presents findings from a comparative project in China, Korea, and Japan, exploring the views of preschool teachers on children's' right to play. Reviews three papers and one symposium presented on this theme. (JPB)

Attention is drawn to important themes thought likely to influence the continuing development of group care services for children and young people in the decade ahead. These include a poorly educated workforce, autonomous training, multi-disciplinary approaches, centres of excellence, diversified programs, new trends and issues shaping the future,…

This study explored judgments and reasoning of Chinese 13- to 18-year-olds regarding making decisions involving children in peer, family, and school contexts. Findings indicated that judgments and reasoning about decision-making varied by social context and by the decision under consideration. Evaluations of procedures became more differentiated…