ETIC and EMIC views of early childhood education in Singapore

Abstract

Well-qualified women in Singapore working in professional fields including banking and marketing have many views about early childhood education for their own children as well as in general. Our study examined the views and attitudes of a group of these women who were recently retrenched and had decided to retrain as child-care professionals. After a pre-treatment attitudinal survey, participants engaged in a five-day workshop exploring the SEARCH heuristic (Geoghegan, 2002). A post-treatment attitudinal survey was administered. Results indicated a consensus of what constitutes quality in Singaporean early childhood education. The consensus reflected humanistic perspectives that appear at odds with Singapore’s international reputation for formal, academically-structured early childhood education.