Introductory article for Special issue: Conceptions of early childhood and institutions in a global context

Orsolya Endrődy,Bahbibi Rahmatullah,István Lénárt

doi:10.1556/063.2021.00092

Abstract

Abstract The recognition of the importance of early childhood education (ECE) has been growing continuously in recent years. Early childhood institutions are where professional pedagogy and child-rearing practices meet first in someones' life (Tobin et al., 2009), it has great significance in education. Acknowledgement of the existence of the needs of young children's education is evident, however, we have limited chances to compare different education systems outside of Europe and the United States. Realizing this situation, we came to the conclusion that it is highly necessary and required to publish such an analytical issue in the Hungarian Education Research Journal. Teacher's views and their narratives of childhood are relevant if we aim to understand the fundamental differences of ECE institutions in any region or country. In our present investigation we collected data from Hungary, Laos and Malaysia in order to acquire greater knowledge on the conceptions of early childhood in the three countries. We assumed however that the teachers' qualification and the early childcare system is diverse, yet we have found similarities among the teachers' perception.

Highlights

OF THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE SYSTEMEarly childhood care system in LaosThe Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a relatively small, landlocked country with a population of 7.2 million (World Bank, 2019)
Teacher’s views and their narratives of childhood are relevant if we aim to understand the fundamental differences of early childhood education (ECE) institutions in any region or country
Regarding the stimuli child Hungarian #1 flower, #4 clean paper while Malay answers #1 white cloth, #4 flowers are in the opposite order

Summary

Introduction

OF THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE SYSTEMEarly childhood care system in LaosThe Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a relatively small, landlocked country with a population of 7.2 million (World Bank, 2019). The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a relatively small, landlocked country with a population of 7.2 million (World Bank, 2019). The country which can be characterized by a one-party socialist system since the end of the Vietnam war in 1975, is situated on the Indochinese Peninsula and is bordered by Vietnam, China, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Laos is led by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and belongs to the group of least developed countries of the world. The GDP per capita reached 2,530 USD per annum in 2019 (World Bank, 2019). The country’s achievement in this regard is remarkable: the primary school enrolment rate increased from 58% in 1992 (World Bank, 2019) to 98% in 2015 (Lachanthaboun, 2015)

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion