Critical Research Issues in Early Childhood

                              Reform

                                     Abstract

The Peoples Republic of China has gone through major economic and social changes in the last 20 years, affecting major changes in early childhood education in China.  The paper, Critical Research Issues in Early Childhood Reform in China, focuses on three critical issues on the relationship between the early childhood curriculum and: (1) the Chinese political and cultural environment, (2) innovative early childhood programs and social problems (e.g., one child policy, gender and ethnic discrimination and child abuse), and (3) the concern for teachers’ professional development and the quality of early childhood programs.  Much of the research in early childhood education in China is related to the government’s social policy and the needs to improve both the curriculum and the preparation of early childhood teachers.