Early Childhood Education and Development in Singapore

Abstract

This chapter situates early childhood care and education (ECCE) provision in the context of culturally diverse and urbanised city state of Singapore. It provides an overview of state ideologies, the government’s position on maintaining a majority private and commercial sector, and outlines policy initiatives in the last two decades that aim to improve the accessibility, affordability and quality of services. Much of the chapter provides a brief discussion of prevailing issues in the areas of policy development, curriculum and pedagogy, teacher preparation and development, as well as research in ECCE.