Paste your essay in here… There is no compelling reason to argue parents in the 50s to 80s considered early childhood education (ECE) was irrelevant in Malaysia (Lydia, Palanisamy K., Mogana & Carynne, 2018). However, it is a different story for the present day. In fact, parents are more concerned about the topic of children’s development theories and stages. Study after study had lend support to claim that there is a significant increase on the parent’s involvement in children early education and development (Ansari & Gershoff, 2015). As a result, this has led to greater emphasis on ECE in Malaysia. As ECE is a positive development in Malaysia, it is interesting to discuss the history of ECE in Malaysia and understand the development of ECE industry from the past to the modern days.
The history of the ECE in Malaysia is originated in the early 1950s during the British Colonial ("Malaysia Education for All", 2008). ECE is provided by two institutions which are childcare centre and preschools. Yet, the style of education at that time was mostly influenced by British education ("Malaysia Education for All", 2008). The first preschools to appear in Malaysia in the 1950s and 1960s were organised by church groups and private individuals (UNESCO, 2004). To illustrate this point, Garden International School is believed to be the very first British international school in Malaysia in 1951 (Garden International School, 2018). As part of the member of Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), Garden International School is believed the first school provides early years centre for the children in peninsular Malaysia ("British International School of Kuala Lumpur", 2018). Also, Villamaria Good Shepherd was established in 1957 by 3 Good Shepherd Sisters who came to Malaysia to serve the local community (Villamaria, 2018). They provide kindergarten and nursery services for the local children (Ang, 2008). Madeleine Kindergarten is also believed the pioneer Kindergarten in Petaling Jaya which established in 1955. This kindergarten is worth highlighting as it has a noteworthy history of achievements as one of the first child development centres born in the nation of Malaysia (Madeleine, 2018). The preschool provides opportunities to learn while learning by having traditional game, role play and drama (Madeleine, 2018). The available evidences suggest the high fees associated with these organisations made preschool education a privilege of the wealthy ("Malaysia Education for All", 2008). Thus, only a few children received the opportunity to attend preschools. Children living in suburban areas and villages therefore never had the opportunity to learn. As the matter of fact, Malaysia early childhood education began to start off during the 1960s. Data gathered in many studies support that there is a significant increase on private kindergartens in 1960s (UNESCO, 2004). Likewise, education was to become an effective policy surrogate for issues of high strategy concerning the direction of national development ("World Data on Education", 2011). The government has taken necessary steps to enhance the education system in Malaysia. For instance, Tadika Fatima is one of the kindergarten officially registered under the Ministry of Education in 1962 (Fernandez, 2007). Furthermore, various government agencies such as Community Development Division (KEMAS) of the Ministry of Rural Development and Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) were established with the objective of providing the minimal fees for the underprivileged children in the rural area to pursue ECE (Anip, 2007). In the early 1970s, the first publicly provided preschools were initiated by KEMAS (Anip, 2007). In 1972, MOE also drafter the first legal document in relation to the registration of early childhood education – Kaedah-kaedah Kindergarten dan Sekolah Asuhan (Pendaftaran) 1972 Warta Kerajaan P.U. (A) 414 which included the procedures to register a kindergarten, its teachers and its board of governors (Anip, 2007). This has shown that the authorities are paying more concern of the ECE industry in the country. By the 1980s, there were reported to have an immense increase of preschools from private and government sector (Ismail, 2013). Certainly, it is a very crucial period for the development of ECE during the 1980s. In addition to this statement, several Government entities such as the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), the Rubber Institute Smallholder Development Authority (RISDA), religious bodies, and the education wing of the Police and Armed Forces were providing preschools while the number of private preschools continued to expand (Ismail, 2013). Also, the Ministry of Social Welfare announced to collaborate with UNICEF as to study the quality of childcare centres across the country. The study is mainly focusing on the health, food, child development and learning environment provided by the childcare services (UNESCO, 2004). In result, these studies had pushed to the formulation of the Childcare Centres Act in 1984 with the objective of ensuring the service quality of the childcare centre which include on the issue of licensing, monitoring, registration and inspection of the children centres. The formulation of act has certainly brought an immense effect on enhancing the quality of childcare centres in Malaysia (Aini & Laily, 2010). During the 1990s, Malaysia ECE industry has come to a more mature stage as several regulations has been set and modified by the authorities with the purpose of improving the standard of childcare and preschool. To illustrate this point, MOE had enforced preschools in the form of a pilot project (test) as an annex (extra) to the existing preschool called prasekolah in 1992 (Badiei & Sulaiman, 2014). Moreover, 1986 Preschool Guide Book was replaced by 1993 Nation Preschool Curriculum Guidelines (NPCG). Government implemented the NPCG guidelines based on the National Educational Philosophy in which all the preschools are enforced to adhere to these guidelines (Badiei & Sulaiman, 2014). In 2008, study after study had lent the government to revise the NPCG as to bring a more holistic education system for the children which include basic communication skills, socialising skills and other positive skills. Undoubtedly, the foundation of the revising of the guidelines were to emphasise on the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains in ECE industry (UNESCO, 2004). Then, NPCG was replaced by National Preschool Curriculum Standard (NPCS) in 2010 as further emphasise in the preschool curriculum which are enriching, engaging, safe and fun (Mok, 2006). Under Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 to 2025, the Government has established a council which called Early Childhood Care and Education Council as to increase the level of professionalism in the private ECE sector (The Star Online, 2016). The Ministry will implement a quality standard and inspection mechanism for ECE centres, as to harmonize qualification requirements across the sector (The Star Online, 2016). In fact, all preschools are required to adhere to the National Preschool Curriculum. The Ministry will cooperate with the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), and other government bodies to ensure that teachers have access to the appropriate educational and training opportunities (Aroff, 2014). The Ministry will also provide subsidies to existing private preschool teachers for teachers who lack a Diploma in Early Childhood Education to upgrade their qualifications to meet standards (Ministry of Education, 2018). According to an article published by SAYS MOE announced that Finland is sending education experts to improve our education system recently (Lim, 2018). Therefore, the evolution of ECE in Malaysia has shown that ECE is a very important period for the children to enhance emotional, social and physical development.