Early Childhood Education and Legacy of Neoliberalism in Southeast Asian Countries: Case Study of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to explore practices of early childhood education (ECE) in four Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar. For the past years, the attention toward ECE in these countries have arisen, partially as the result of the international development agenda such as Education for All, Millennium Development Goals and the latest Sustainable Development Goals. This chapter argues the extent to which the practices of ECE in these four countries are the result of their ongoing negotiation between the global and the local values. The chapter also elaborates the gap in the extent to which neoliberalism is very dominant in the ECE. Hence, despite the rhetorical that emphasize the importance of ECE, ECE is largely dominated by private sectors. This situation might create an obstacle for children’s access and participation to ECE sectors. Hence, this chapter serves as invitation for the government to spend more budget to ECE so that ECE can be accessible to all children in the regions.

Citation

Adriany, V., Gunawan, I. and Anggorowati, R. (2022), "Early Childhood Education and Legacy of Neoliberalism in Southeast Asian Countries: Case Study of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar", Wolhuter, C.C. and Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) World Education Patterns in the Global South: The Ebb of Global Forces and the Flow of Contextual Imperatives (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 43B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-36792022000043B005