phd early childhood education malaysia

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Not sure which course to Sudy?

Top colleges in malaysia.

Curtin University Malaysia

Monash university malaysia, brickfields asia college (bac) kuala lumpur, unimy - university malaysia of computer science & engineering, peninsula college, intec education college, mckl - methodist college kuala lumpur, british council - penang, segi university & colleges kota damansara, utp - universiti teknologi petronas, 15 phd in early childhood education courses offered by 12 unis/colleges in malaysia, early childhood education ×, phd ×.

IIUM - International Islamic University Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

SETARA ratings

Doctor of Philosophy in Education

24 Months | N/A | Full Time | N/A

AeU - Asia e University

Subang Jaya

PhD (Education)

36 Months | N/A | Full Time | N/A

UNISEL - Universiti Selangor

36 Months | RM 16200 | Full Time | N/A

UCSI University Malaysia

36 Months | RM 48,900 | Full Time | Jan, May & Sep

Taylor's University

Doctor of philosophy (education) (research).

36 Months | RM 42,800 | Full Time | N/A

Doctor of Philosophy (Education) (Research) Part-time

48 Months | RM 42,800 | Part Time | N/A

UNITAR International University

Petaling Jaya

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education

36 Months | RM 23,480 | Full Time | Jun & Oct

Lincoln University College (LUC)

New Era University College

Phd education.

36 Months | RM 19000 | Full Time | Sep

OUM - Open University Malaysia

Doctor of philosophy (education).

48 Months | N/A | OnLine | Jan, May & Sep

Doctor of Education (EdD)

SEGi University & Colleges

Phd in education by research.

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• POSTGRADUATE
• INTERNATIONAL

Admission  @Universiti Sains Malaysia

Postgraduate.

• Applied Arts Research

PhD (Education) - School of Educational Studies

The main aim of this Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree Programme is to enable graduates to continue their studies at a higher level by conducting research in a particular field related to education. This programme is offered on a full-time or part-time basis.

Research Fields:

Science & Mathematics Education

• Science Education
• Mathematics Education
• Vocational & Technical Education
• Science, Technology & Society
• Education for Sustainable Development

Curriculum & Instruction

• Curriculum Studies
• Primary Education
• Early Childhood Education
• Multicultural Education
• Distance Education 

Educational Psychology, Psychometric & Counseling 

• Education Psychology
• Guidance & Counseling
• Psycometric & Education Evaluation
• Statistics & Research Methodology
• Special Education for Diverse Needs 

Professional Educational, Leaderships & Policy Studies 

• Comparative Education
• Educational Management & Leadership
• Educational Planning & Policies Studies 
• Life-long Education
• International Education & Globalisation
• Higher Education
• Professional & Teacher Education
• Multimedia Education & IT
• Educational Technology
• Computer Assisted Instruction
• Virtual Learning & Internet

Social & Philosophy of Education

• History of Education & Development
• Sociology of Education
• Philosophy of Education

Language Education & Literacy

• English Language Education/TESOL
• Malay Language/Literature Education
• Second Language Learning

Social Studies Education

• Economy & Commerce Education
• Geography Education
• Physical & Sport Education
• History Education
• Ethics, Moral & Religious Educations

Expertise available in the following School:

School of Educational Studies

Applicants should possess the following:

• A Master degree in related field (minimum CGPA 3.00/4.00); or
• A Master degree in related field (research mode)
• Min. CGPA 3.00/4; or
• Obtain sponsorship; or
• Official request by employer

(Applicable for International Applicants Only)

The minimum score for each programme can be vary from the below list, candidates are required to check for each programme requirements.

• A minimum score of 40 for TOEFL (Internet-based); or
• A minimum of Band 7.5 for TOEFL Essentials (Online); or
• A minimum of Band 5 for IELTS; or
• A minimum score of 47 for PTE; or
• A minimum score of 154 for Cambridge English (CAE/CPE); or
• A minimum score of 154 for Linguaskill Online; or
• A minimum of Band 3.5 for MUET

Exemption is given to candidate if:

• English is the candidate’s mother tongue or National Language; or
• Candidate graduated from an Institution of Higher Learning in which the medium of instruction at Bachelor and/or Master degree level is English (statement of proof required)
• A minimum score of 80 in Internet- Based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) ;or
• A minimum score of Band 6.0 in IELTS (International English Language Testing System);or
• A minimum score of 169 in Cambridge English: Advance (CAE);or
• A minimum score of 169 in Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE);or
• A minimum score of 59 in Pearson Test of English (PTE);or
• A minimum score of Band 4 in Malaysian University English Test (MUET)
• Full-time :  Minimum 24 months / Maximum 60 months
• Part-time :  Minimum 36 months / Maximum 90 months

** Fees are subject to change

Institute of Postgraduate Studies Universiti Sains Malaysia 11800 Penang, Malaysia. Tel : +604 653 2606 Fax : +604 653 2940 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Undergraduate

Student Admission Unit Academic Management Division Registry, Level 2, Chancellory Building Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. Tel : 1 300 888 876 / +604-6533196 Fax : +604 653 3328 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Early childhood education.

The program aims to fulfill the needs of graduates who are interested in furthering their studies in Early Childhood Education. This programme of study is to promote the study of the child growth and development; curriculum and learning environment; administration and management; professional  development; families and community. The programmes provide an excellent atmosphere for students to conduct independent and original research, where excellent supervision and guidance are provided by academic staffs who are accomplished specialists in their disciplines.

Available : Research

Duration of Study

Intake for the course work mode and mixed mode programmes are open twice a year, which is every October until November (for the next year February intake) and every April until May (for the September intake). Application for research mode programmes can be made any time throughout the year.

POSTGRADUATE

Doctorate (phd).

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• RESEARCH INSTITUTE
• Environment & Development
• Malay World & Civilization
• Malaysian & International Studies
• Microengineering & Nanoelectronics
• Medical Molecular Biology
• Systems Biology
• Visual Informatics
• Islam Hadhari
• Ethnic Studies
• Solar Energy
• Climate Change
• Economic & Management
• Social Science & Humanities
• System Biology
• UKM Graduate School of Business

Postgraduate Diploma

Doctor of philosophy - education.

1. Candidates have to apply online via: http://www.ukm.my/join  

2. Intake for Coursework and mixed mode are open twice a year, which is every October until November (for the next February intake) and every April until May (for the September intake).

3. Application for research mode programmes can be made any time throughout the year.

4. Application fee of RM30.00 (for Malaysian application), USD30.00 or MYR100.00 (international applicants) have to pay online as instructed in online application system.

Registration Status : Full Time & Part Time

Learning Fees

International Students

Fully Research & Mixed Mode Programs –

Full Time (Min 6 Sem)

Marketing Officer

Mrs. Nurul Nadiah Atiqah Mohd Khair Tel: +603-89216237 Email: [email protected]

Faculty of Education (Office)

Tel: +603-8921 6238 @ +603-8921 6284 Fax: +603-8925 4372 Web:  http://www.ukm.my/fpendidikan/ jom-berlajar-disini-come-join- us/

STUDY OPTIONS There are several study options under postgraduate study programme:

1. Research 2. Coursework 3. Coursework and research 4. Coursework and practical or clinical with case study and/or research

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PhD (Education)

The education discipline is prevalent and contributes significantly to the education system in Malaysia from preschool to higher education. Advanced research in education has been known to penetrate the larger proximities of borderless edification including transnational education, seamless learning and character development.

In this interest, students in this PhD (Education) programme will be guided to acquire and utilise competencies relevant to the planning and execution of research in the various educational discipline.

These students are encouraged to participate in the discovery of new knowledge that feeds into the practice and policy-making in the Malaysian education system. The PhD (Education) programme also aims to engage students in active research collaboration between academia and industry, as well as with institutions abroad.

Your engagement in this programme will certainly shape you for a better future.

Academic Requirements

• A Master’s Degree, as accepted by the HEP’s Senate;
• Other qualifications equivalent to a Master’s Degree, as accepted by the HEP Senate.

Candidates with at least CGPA of 3.67 at Bachelor’s Degree level may apply to convert their candidacy to the PhD programmes subject to:

• having shown competency and capability in conducting research at PhD level
• rigorous internal evaluation by the HEP
• approval by the HEP’s Senate

English Language Requirements

For international students.

As the programme’s medium of instruction is English, students must possess one of the following qualifications:

Pearson Test of English

Cambridge english qualification and tests (cae), cambridge english qualification and tests (cpe).

• Research Method and Methodologies in Education
• Proposal and Thesis Writing
• PhD Research Project
• Research Seminar

The University may allow exemption for outstanding students to complete their studies within a shorter period.

• Educational Consultants
• Career Counsellors
• Curriculum developers
• Instructional Designers
• Educational Administrators (school, higher education, etc.)
• Other education related disciplines
• Philosophy of Education
• Sociology of Education

Note: Candidates without a master's degree  OR  qualification in the related education fields  OR  with a minimum of 5 years teaching experience must take these two bridging courses, as stipulated by the MQA.

Bridging Course - PhD (Education)

Total credit hour: 8

Tuition Fee (Local): RM53,300

Tuition Fee (International): RM56,600

Local Students

Approximate Total Fees:

• International Students

(without bridging course) RM 83,250

(with bridging course) rm 88,850.

Note: Please note that a proposal application fee will be imposed. The fee for local student is RM200 and international student is RM400.

Note: This is an estimated fee, as different countries have different visa processing charges and administrative fees. For more information, kindly refer to your region’s counselor for the detailed fee breakdown.

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Master of Early Childhood Education

• Programme Synopsis

(R/143/7/0097 (MQA/FA 4916) 12/24)

The MECHE programme has been designed to prepare working adults for higher level academic study in early childhood and to conduct research in the area of early childhood education. The research project conducted by students will enable them to learn basic research skills in early childhood education and prepare them for doctoral level study. Students wishing to progress into the academic world are exposed to academic journal writing where they are encouraged to publish their own research paper.

Students taking the programme will be provided with specific information on child care and preschool that includes innovative teaching pedagogies, quality early childhood environment, children with special needs and child development theories to enhance the practice of early childhood education. The prospects for graduates of MECHE are promising as they can embark on careers as early childhood teacher, subject matter expert, consultant, programme designer, author of children’s book, early childhood tutor, trainers and lecturer.

On top of that, students are also taught to design their own early childhood programme or curriculum and learn how to run their own early childhood centre based on the curriculum they have designed. They are also taught on how to expand their business using the franchise system so that their early childhood education centres can be replicated in other locations.

Dr Mahani Abdul Malik Programme Director

Tel (Office) : 603 78013908

Email : mahani_abdulmalik@ oum.edu.my

• Entry Requirements
• PEO & PLO
• Programme Structure

Discount for the Physically Challenged Learners (OKU) and Senior Citizens * Fees applicable to Malaysians and Permanent Residents only.

* The University reserves the right to revise the fees without prior notice.

The University offers 50% discount for: 1. Senior citizens aged 60 and above on registration date; and 2. Physically challenged learners – a valid Orang Kelainan Upaya (OKU) is required. The discounts are not valid for second time registration and repeating of subjects. Learners who receive this discount are not entitled to other discounts and promotions.

Note Processing fee: RM50 Re-registration fee of RM220 per semester is chargeable for extension of Masters Projects.

* The University reserves the right to revise the fees without prior notice. **LATEST UPDATE: 30 August 2022

This is a two (2) years or six (6) semester Master’s Degree by coursework and research programme. Candidates will be exposed to 11 core courses which included courses in theory, curriculum, counseling, special needs, academic writing and research methodology. Candidates can register for a maximum of three (3) courses per semester. At the end of the programme candidates are required to conduct a research project and produce a master project report within the word range of 12,000 to 15,000 words.

All classes are conducted online after working hours or on weekends. A face-to-face Google Meet class or etutorial will be conducted 10 times per semester per course online. Candidates will be provided with references, learning materials and elessons in MyINSPIRE system. Candidates are encouraged to be actively involved in online discussion forums for each course through the MyINSPIRE.

Assessment for every 11 core courses is based on 60% coursework and 40% final examination.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Question 1: What is MECHE? Answer: It is a Master of Early Childhood Programme and fully accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

Question 2: Who are those eligible to register for MECHE? Answer: MECHE programme is designed to prepare working adults for high level academic study in early childhood and to conduct research in the area of early childhood education.

Question 3: What is MECHE entry requirement? Answer:

Normal Entry

• Bachelor degree (MQF Level 6) with a minimum CGPA of 2.50 or its equivalent as accepted by Senate; or
• Bachelor degree (MQF Level 6) or its equivalent with CGPA below 2.50 is acceptable subject to a minimum of 5 years working experience in related field.
• Candidate must be 30 years old and above in the year of application being made
• Possess Diploma/A-Levels/STPM qualification or equivalent
• Have previous working experience/learning relevant to the field applied
• Pass APEL Assessment for Master Degree (conducted by OUM)

Question 4: How long is the MECHE study duration? Answer: Minimum 6 semester

Maximum 12 semester

• Students must fulfill the candidature of at least 6 semesters before they can graduate.
• Students may apply for a one-year extension after the 4th year, subject to approval by the faculty Chair of Faculty of Education and Social Sciences.

Question 5: When is MECHE intake? Answer: January or May or September intake.

Question 6: How much is MECHE fees? Answer: Refer to the OUM portal. The fees will subject to OUM policy. https://www.oum.edu.my/all-programmes/master-of-early-childhood-education/?portfolioCats=63

Question 7: How many courses students need to take? Answer: Students need to take all 12 courses from a list of required courses. Refer to OUM portal.

Question 8: How many MECHE credit hours? Answer: 40 credit hours

Question 9: What about MECHE course assessment? Answer: Students need to do coursework (60%) and final examination (40%) with the exemption of Master Project course which is 100% by course work.

Question 10: What is Master Project? Answer: Postgraduate research project written up in the form of a mini thesis. Students need to undertake a project that can be completed within the duration of their course (minimum 2 semester maximum 8 semester)

• Students are required to work on a research project under the guidance of a supervisor appointed by OUM
• The completed research project report of not exceed 15,000 words will be assessed by the supervisor (60%) and a reviewer (40%)

Question 11: What happen if I fail to submit my Master Project on 8 semesters? Answer If you fail to submit your Master’s Project on 8 semesters your grade for Master’s Project is F and on 9th semester you will charge for full payment (6 credits).

Question 12: How do the courses in MECHE conducted? Answer: It is a fully online (online face to face tutorials, e-forum and self-managed learning)

Question 13: How do I access learning materials and submit my assignments? Answer All learning materials and assignment questions can be downloaded from OUM MyINSPIRE system. Students are required to submit their assignment online through MyINSPIRE system.

Question 14: How many courses I have to take for one semester? Answer: The maximum workload allowed is 3 courses per semester.

Question 15: Is it compulsory to attend physical classes or online classes? Answer: MECHE programme is fully online. We only offer online classes and all online classes are not compulsory.

Question 16: What are benefits of having MECHE? Answer:

• Students will be provided with specific information on child care and preschool that includes innovative teaching pedagogies, quality early childhood environment, children with special needs and child development theories to enhance the practice of early childhood education.
• Students have opportunity to learn how to design their own early childhood programme or curriculum and learn how to run their own early childhood centre based on the curriculum they have designed.

Question 17: What are rewarding careers or opportunities that might have after completing MECHE programme? Answer:

• Early childhood / Preschool teacher
• Subject matter expert
• Programme designer
• Author of children’s book
• Early childhood tutor
• Early childhood lecturer
• Teachers trainer

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Study Early Childhood Education in Malaysia

Everything you need to know about studying Early Childhood Education in Malaysia.

Image source: SirapLimau

What is Early Childhood Education about?

Early Childhood Education is a branch of education that relates to the teaching of children. Early childhood education is described as an important period in a child’s development and it refers to the development of a child’s personality. 

Children’s development involves biological, psychological and emotional changes. An early childhood educator must be familiar with the process of development and take notice of the changes to make sure that the child obtains the essentials of their personal development.

In an Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) course, you will learn to aid children to help them to absorb knowledge through effective teaching processes.

This can be done by understanding the inner workings of children aged 0 - 8 years old. You will need to study subjects like child development, infant and toddler care, learning and play, communication skills, etc.

What are the major subjects in Early Childhood Education?

1. Child Development Child development refers to the sequence of physical, language, thought and emotional changes that occur in a child from birth to the beginning of adulthood. It includes various skills like cognition, social interaction, speech and language, sensory awareness, and more.

2. Learning and Play Learn and play is one of the cores of early childhood education. It’s all about designing activities that match each stage of a child’s development so that they can learn new skills and knowledge while having fun.

3. Children’s Safety Children’s safety is the basic element of a childcare facility and should be a top priority. Therefore, as an early childhood educator, you must learn this subject to create a safe environment to prevent mishaps.

4. Nutrition The relationship between nutrition, health and learning is undeniably strong as nutrition is a key part of every child’s development. Ensuring that children receive the right balance of nutrients for their growth and development is part of the job of an early childhood educator and is required to be learned.

What are the important skills do I need in this field?

1. Patience As children are energetic, they can be difficult to handle in class. They can be distracted and end up running around while classes are being conducted. Therefore, early childhood educators should bring a great deal of patience to keep children engaged in lessons. 

2. Creativity

It takes a lot of creativity to keep children focused in class. You must be creative in conducting lessons to keep them engaged and interested in learning.

3. Communication Communication skills are vital to early childhood educators because they need to be able to communicate with children at their level.

What are the entry requirements and qualifications?

Generally, the requirements to study Early Childhood Education in Malaysia are:

Foundation/Diploma

• SPM/O-Level minimum 3 credits

Bachelor's Degree

• Diploma in Early Childhood Education or its equivalent, or
• STPM: min CGPA 2.0, or
• A-level: min 2 passes

Master's Degree

• A relevant degree qualification

How long will I be studying in this programme?

The duration of study in Early Childhood Education programmes is different depending on your level of study. Below is the duration of the programme listed according to their study levels:

Foundation/Diploma: 2 - 2.5 years

Bachelor'd Degree: 3 years

Master's Degree: 1 - 2 years

How much does it cost to study Early Childhood Education?

The cost of studying Early Childhood Education in Malaysia is different for every institution but the fees are estimated to be around the cost below:

Foundation/Diploma: RM 15,000 - RM 30,000

Bachelor'd Degree: RM 30,000 - RM 60,000

Master's Degree: RM 24,000 - RM 40,000

What are the job opportunities?

• ECCE Lecturer
• ECCE Curriculum Developer
• Pre-school Teacher
• Educational Toy Consultant
• Daycare Teacher
• School Teacher

Universities and colleges in Malaysia that offer Early Childhood Education course

Universiti tun abdul razak (unirazak), university of malaya, universiti sains malaysia (usm), segi university, monash university, help university, universiti tunku abdul rahman (utar), open university malaysia.

• Quest International University

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak , or UNIRAZAK was established on 18 December 1997 and is one of the first private universities in Malaysia. 

The university offers world-class educational programmes on early childhood education, accounting, business, arts and social science, English language etc. It enables students to develop as young professionals who can contribute either as teachers, providers and/or trainers in shaping the future of the younger generation.

The University of Malaya , or UM, Malaysia’s oldest university is situated on a 922-acre campus in the southwest of Kuala Lumpur. 

The University of Malaya is committed to conduct teaching and learning, carry out research and provide quality services on a global level, and generate and enhance knowledge through continuous improvement efforts for the benefit of all stakeholders, especially University of Malaya’s students.

Universiti Sains Malaysia is the first university in Malaysia to be selected by the Malaysian government to participate in the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (APEX), a fast-track programme that helps tertiary institutions achieve world-class status.

USM offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that are conducted in their three campuses: Main campus, engineering campus and health campus.

Known as one of the largest private higher education providers in Malaysia, SEGi University now serves more than 25,000 students in five major campuses located in Kota Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Subang Jaya, Penang and Sarawak. 

It has experienced significant growth by adapting to the increasing demand for tertiary education and professional qualifications in Malaysia by providing a wide range of programmes.

Monash University Malaysia is the third-largest campus of Monash University - a premier research-intensive Australian university ranked among the top 100 universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. 

Their campus offers a distinctly international and culturally rich environment and students are taught by highly qualified academic staff from across the world. 

HELP University was founded in 1986 to provide affordable educational opportunities for Malaysians and offers a wide range of programmes covering business, law, social sciences and humanities, communication, economics, IT and more at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) was established under the UTAR Education Foundation as a not-for-profit organisation and currently offers more than 100 academic programmes across nine faculties, three centres and three institutes.

To date, the university has established formal collaborations with over 180 institutions to facilitate international exchanges, research and training.

As a private university in Malaysia, Open University Malaysia leverages on their prestige and expertise to add value to their wide range of academic programmes.

OUM provides a study mode where face-to-face tutorials are not needed; students are required to attend live forums on their learning management system and this gives students options to learn depending on their preferences and learning styles. 

Quest International University Perak (QUIP)

Quest International University Perak (QUIP)  is a private and comprehensive research-led university that believes in blending theory and practice in education. The industry-relevant programmes utilise motivational teaching methods which are highly effective. To provide opportunities for Malaysians to pursue their studies, QUIP offers international standard programmes at affordable prices. 

Universities with courses in Early Childhood Edu

Management & Science University (MSU)

Taylor's College

Methodist College Kuala Lumpur

Lincoln University College

Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

SEGI College Subang Jaya

SEGi University Kota Damansara

SEGI College Penang

SEGI College Kuala Lumpur

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Master of Education (Early Childhood Education)

Language Requirement

Memenuhi mana-mana kelulusan seperti yang dinyatakan di atas / Fulfilled any qualification as mention above. DAN/AND Memperolehi keputusan yang berikut dalam salah satu (1) peperiksaan kecekapan Bahasa Inggeris yang dinyatakan di bawah: Obtained one (1) of the English proficiency examinations as specified below:

• Memperolehi skor minimum band 5.5 bagi International English Language Testing System (IELTS)(Academic).Obtain a minimum score of band 5.5 for the International English Language Testing Services (IELTS) (Academic). atau/or
• Memperolehi skor minimum sebanyak 550 untuk jumlah berasaskan kertas (PBT), skor sebanyak 213 bagi jumlah berasaskan komputer (CBT) atau skor sebanyak 80 bagi jumlah berasaskan internet (iBT) bagi Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Obtain a minimum score of 550 for paper-based total (PBT), a score of 213 for the computer-based total (CBT) or a score of 80 for the internet-based total (IBT) for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). atau/or
• Memperolehi skor minimum 42 Pearson Test of Academic English (PTE Academic). Obtain a minimum score of 42 Pearson Test of Academic English (PTE Academic) atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C bagi subjek Bahasa Inggeris General Certificate of Education (A-Level); Obtain a minimum Grade C for the English Language subject General Certificate of Education (A-Level)atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C Cambridge English: First (FCE). Obtain a minimum Grade C for the Cambridge English: First (FCE) atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C Cambridge English: Advance (CAE). Obtain a minimum Grade C for Cambridge English: Advance (CAE); atau/or
• ​​​​​Memperolehi minimum gred C Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE); atau. Obtain a minimum Grade C for Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE); or atau/or

Memperolehi minimum band 4 Malaysian University English Test (MUET). Obtain a minimum band 4 Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

Untuk calon yang berkeperluan khas, selain syarat yang dinyatakan, permohonan calon boleh dipertimbangkan tertakluk kepada tahap keperluan khas dan ketidakupayaan, serta kesesuaian dengan keperluan program. For candidates with special needs, in addition to the stated terms, the application may be considered subject to the level of special needs and disabilities, as well as suitability to program requirements.

Walau apapun syarat yang dinyatakan di dalam subperaturan di atas, dalam keadaan tertentu, kemasukan pelajar adalah tertakluk kepada keputusan Senat atas perakuan Jawatankuasa Pemilihan Kemasukan Fakulti yang berkenaan. Notwithstanding the conditions stated in the above subregulations, in certain circumstances, the admission of students is subject to the decision of the Senate on the recommendation of the relevant Faculty Admission Selection Committee

Entry Requirement

• Ijazah Sarjana Muda dalam bidang Pendidikan Awal Kanak-Kanak dengan PNGK 3.00 atau setaraf.  A Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education with CGPA of 3.00 or equivalent ATAU/OR
• Ijazah Sarjana Muda dengan Pendidikan dengan PNGK sekurang-kurangnya 3.00;  A Bachelor Degree with Education with a CGPA of at least 3.0; ATAU/O
• Ijazah Sarjana Muda dengan PNGK 3.00 atau setaraf. A Bachelor Degree with CGPA of 3.00 or equivalent DAN/AND

i. Diploma Pendidikan Pascasiswazah (Minimum PNGK 3.00) atau,  Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Minimum of CGPA 3.00) or, ii. Kelayakan Mengajar yang diiktiraf universiti atau,  Teaching qualification recognised by the university or, iii. Pengalaman mengajar dengan institusi yang diiktiraf Senat atau, Teaching experience in an institution recognised by the Senate or, iv. Kelayakan professional dari badan professional yang diikhtiraf atau  A professional qualification from recognised professional bodies or, v.  Kelayakan lain yang diluluskan Senat dari semasa ke semasa Qualifications that are approved by the Senate from time to time  ATAU/OR

      4. Ijazah Sarjana Muda dalam bidang Pendidikan Awal Kanak-Kanak dengan PNGK 2.70 hingga  2.99 atau setaraf           A Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education with CGPA of 2.70 to 2.99 or equivalent DAN/AND           Memenuhi sekurang-kurang satu (1) daripada kriteria berikut: / Fulfilled at least one (1) of the criteria as below:             i. Graduan UM, atau / UM Graduates, or            ii. Pengalaman kerja dalam bidang yang berkaitan sekurang-kurangnya satu (1) tahun, atau / At least one (1)                       year experience in related field, or           iii. Menghasilkan penerbitan dalam bidang yang berkaitan, atau Published in related field, or           iv. Merupakan penerima biasiswa, atau / A sponsorship holder, or            v. Merupakan kakitangan agensi kerajaan; atau  A government servant; or           vi. Lulus temuduga PTj, atau Passed an interview by RoC, or          vii. Lulus Penilaian Khas PTj. / Passed Special Assessment by RoC. ATAU/OR

       5.  Ijazah Sarjana Muda dengan PNGK 2.70 hingga 2.99 atau setaraf / A Bachelor Degree with CGPA of 2.70 to            2.99 or equivalent   DAN/AND        i. Diploma Pendidikan Pascasiswazah (Minimum PNGK 3.00) atau, Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Minimum            of CGPA 3.00) or,        ii. Kelayakan Mengajar yang diiktiraf universiti atau, Teaching qualification recognised by the university or,       iii.  Pengalaman mengajar dengan institusi yang diiktiraf Senat atau, Teaching experience in an institution                              recognised by the Senate or,       iv.  Kelayakan professional dari badan professional yang diikhtiraf atau A professional qualification from recognised            professional bodies or,        v.  Kelayakan lain yang diluluskan Senat dari semasa ke semasa. Qualifications that are approved by the Senate            from time to time DAN/AND Memenuhi satu (1) daripada kriteria berikut: Fulfilled at least one (1) of the criteria as below

Graduan UM, atau UM Graduates, or

• Pengalaman kerja dalam bidang yang berkaitan sekurang-kurangnya satu (1) tahun, atau At least one (1) year experience in related field, or
• Menghasilkan penerbitan dalam bidang yang berkaitan, atau Published in related field, or
• Merupakan penerima biasiswa, atau A sponsorship holder, or
• Merupakan kakitangan agensi kerajaan; atau   A government servant; or
• Lulus temuduga PTj, atau Passed an interview by RoC, or
• Lulus Penilaian Khas PTj. Passed Special Assessment by RoC.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT (INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT)

Memenuhi mana-mana kelulusan seperti yang dinyatakan di atas Fulfilled any qualification as mention above. DAN/AND Memperolehi keputusan yang berikut dalam salah satu (1) peperiksaan kecekapan Bahasa Inggeris yang dinyatakan di bawah: Obtained one (1) of the English proficiency examinations as specified below:

• Memperolehi skor minimum band 5.5 bagi International English Language Testing System (IELTS)(Academic). Obtain a minimum score of band 5.5 for the International English Language Testing Services (IELTS) (Academic). atau/or
• Memperolehi skor minimum sebanyak 550 untuk jumlah berasaskan kertas (PBT), skor sebanyak 213 bagi jumlah berasaskan komputer (CBT) atau skor sebanyak 80 bagi jumlah berasaskan internet (iBT) bagi Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Obtain a minimum score of 550 for paper-based total (PBT), a score of 213 for the computer-based total (CBT) or a score of 80 for the internet-based total (IBT) for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  atau/or
• Memperolehi skor minimum 42 Pearson Test of Academic English (PTE Academic) Obtain a minimum score of 42 Pearson Test of Academic English (PTE Academic)  atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C bagi subjek Bahasa Inggeris General Certificate of Education (A-Level); Obtain a minimum Grade C for the English Language subject General Certificate of Education (A-Level)  atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C Cambridge English: First (FCE) Obtain a minimum Grade C for the Cambridge English: First (FCE)  atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C Cambridge English: Advance (CAE) Obtain a minimum Grade C for Cambridge English: Advance (CAE)  atau/or
• Memperolehi minimum gred C Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE); atau Obtain a minimum Grade C for Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE); or  atau/or

Memperolehi minimum band 4 Malaysian University English Test (MUET) Obtain a minimum band 4 Malaysian University English Test (MUET)

Untuk calon yang berkeperluan khas, selain syarat yang dinyatakan, permohonan calon boleh dipertimbangkan tertakluk kepada tahap keperluan khas dan ketidakupayaan, serta kesesuaian dengan keperluan program.

For candidates with special needs, in addition to the stated terms, the application may be considered subject to the level of special needs and disabilities, as well as suitability to program requirements.

Walau apapun syarat yang dinyatakan di dalam subperaturan di atas, dalam keadaan tertentu, kemasukan pelajar adalah tertakluk kepada keputusan Senat atas perakuan Jawatankuasa Pemilihan Kemasukan Fakulti yang berkenaan.

Notwithstanding the conditions stated in the above subregulations, in certain circumstances, the admission of students is subject to the decision of the Senate on the recommendation of the relevant Faculty Admission Selection Committee

Intake Schedule

Semester I – September/October Semester II – March/April

Course Structure

The program covers Forty Two (42) credit hours which includes Sixteen (21) credit hours for core courses, Nine (9) credit hours for elective courses and 12 credit hours for research.

Kursus Teras (Wajib) / Core Courses (Compulsory)

Kursus Elektif (Pilih 3 / Elective Courses (Select 3)

Last Update: 08/05/2023

International Handbook on Education in South East Asia pp 1–32 Cite as

Early Childhood Education in Malaysia

• Kimberley Kong 3  
• Latest version View entry history
• First Online: 03 May 2023

58 Accesses

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

In Malaysia, early childhood education (ECE) provision is divided into two age groups. Children under the age of 4 attend nurseries or childcare centers known as “TASKA,” while children aged 5–6 attend preschools. The Department of Social Welfare oversees TASKA, and the Ministry of Education oversees preschools. ECE in Malaysia is provided through the public and private sectors. The private sector makes up 71% of the TASKA enrolment, while the public sector dominates 60% of the preschool sector. The gross enrolment rate of preschool children in Malaysia is about 86%. Most of the public preschools cater to low-income and disadvantaged children. Several policies and domestic legislations govern the regulation of ECE in Malaysia. A national curriculum and quality standards have been put in place to ensure the quality of ECE and teacher certification. However, the fidelity of implementation remains a challenge for policymakers. Preschool teachers in Malaysia need to have a minimum qualification of Diploma in ECE (DECE). There is currently an exercise to professionalize and upskill all preschool teachers without the minimum qualification. The lack of minimum qualification among ECE workers, poor career prospects, remuneration, and status are among the main challenges faced in the ECE sector in Malaysia. Remote learning due to school closures has created new challenges in access and equitability in ECE for Malaysian preschool children.

• Malaysia early childhood education
• Kindergarten

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College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Lorraine Pe Symaco

School of education, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia

Martin Hayden

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Kong, K. (2022). Early Childhood Education in Malaysia. In: Symaco, L.P., Hayden, M. (eds) International Handbook on Education in South East Asia. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8136-3_13-2

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• PMC9535327.1 ; 2022 Aug 16
• ➤ PMC9535327.2; 2022 Sep 29

Parents’ perceptions on policies of early childhood care and education programmes in selected states of Malaysia

Dandan tang.

1 Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Fong Peng Chew

Mohdnazri abdul rahman, mogana dhamotharan.

2 Faculty of Education, SEGI University Kota Damansara, Selangor, Malaysia

Associated Data

Underlying data.

figshare: data spss11.22.sav. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19848607.v1 ( Abdul Rahman, 2022a )

This project contains the following file:

• - data spss11.22.sav (raw SPSS data set)

Focus group data is not available without the relevant government department’s permission because this study is based on a government project. Because of this, and the detailed nature of the data, it is only available on request. To access the focus group transcript data, please contact the corresponding author ym.ude.mu@ra_irzandhom . Any researcher affiliated with a university must show affiliation proof. Interview data is currently in Malay language and will be translated to English on request.

Extended data

figshare: questionnaire.pdf. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19848604.v1 ( Abdul Rahman, 2022b )

• - questionnaire.pdf: (Questionnaire for the research and the focus group schedule)

figshare: excel spreadsheet SPSS Coding.xlsx. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.20141057.v1 ( Abdul Rahman, 2022c )

• - excell spreadshet SPSS Coding (1).xlsx (data key for qualitative data file)

Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0).

Version Changes

Revised. amendments from version 1.

We have addressed the insightful comments given by the two reviewers. Study contribution is added in the ending section of the introduction, references were cited for the reviewer's second question, and grammatical spelling errors were removed. Regarding the placement of study aims, we also believe publisher has no objection and right after the literature part suited the aims and questions, Taska early childcare is less survey than tadika reason is explained and answered, tadika is proper early childcare education schooling center while taska is home based child care center moving on to the second reviewer comments we have concluded parents should play more role their lack of interest in early childcare and education is the reason why may not blame the government since they are doing good for drafting policies and ensuring implementation. Last but not the least parents’ awareness and education few possible suggestions were given by parents are mass media awareness program or clinic or hospital where parents visit before child delivery so they will have more awareness of early child careand education policies and awareness and importance. “The key finding of the study is that stressing the importance of the government early child care education polices implementation should create awareness among the parents where most of the parents reported to have no idea about the government policy documents. Therefore, this study strongly recommends the government take on board the parents’ reports, and that polices regarding early child careeduation should engage the public via directly involving them or through media.” The study finding is limited to the early child care education policy only and does not deal with high school or other educational subjects.

Peer Review Summary

Background:

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development proposed global equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all children . The quality of early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs helps shape children’s minds, attitudes and behaviors, and has short and long-term effects on a child, a family and a country. In Malaysia, the government has formulated some policies and laws to protect children’s rights. However, ECCE is facing some challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate parents’ perceptions of the quality of ECCE programs implemented by Malaysian government.

Methods: A mixed method was used to collect data on parents’ perceptions of ECCE policies in selected states in Malaysia. The questionnaires, (P1/POL) from the research project “Development of a Comprehensive and Integrated Model of Quality Malaysian ECCE”, were distributed among 629 respondents who have a child in a preschool, and 22 participants were randomly selected to take part in five focus group interviews

Results: The key findings of the study revealed 68% parents were not familiar with ECCE Malaysian government policy, however 84.3% stressed it is important for the government to educate them about ECCE. Thus findings indicated that the majority of parents lack awareness of the ECCE policies and quality of early childhood care and education programs related to the policies remain the issue. While interviewing the focus group ,most of them were not aware of ECCE and pointed out parents are stressing children’s academic learning in particular preschools.

Conclusions: It is concluded that parents’ awareness regarding the ECCE program must be part of the policies and needs to improve. It is recommended that the government of Malaysia should supply more information on ECCE policies to parents and focus on policy implementation. Moreover, the quality of ECCE programs should be improved based on the parents’ perceptions.

Introduction

The definition of early childhood care and education (ECCE) is the “holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.” ( UNESCO, 2005 ). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development meeting proposed that all countries should ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and facilitate lifelong learning opportunities for all ( UNESCO, 2015 , p.21). In addition, the State of the World’s Children reported that efforts to protect and expand an individual’s right to education should begin in early childhood. Moreover, it is the right of every child to receive a quality education ( UNICEF, 2016 ). ECCE programs are places that enable children to shape their minds, attitudes and often behaviors ( Ortiz, 2015 ).

On the other hand, parents’ engagement and education in early childhood is the foundation of all the education and has significant implications for a child’s well-being and success in later life ( Alameda-Lawson, 2014 ; Barnes, et al. , 2016 ). The influence of parents on children's growth process has basic, enlightening, subtle and natural characteristics ( Goodall, 2017 ). Early childhood programs and parents share the responsibility to make contributions to the partnership for the benefit of the child. The relationship between parent and school is evolving to pay attention to partnerships and two-way communication ( Epstein, 2010 ; Barnes et al. , 2016 ). Therefore, parents have important implications for the ongoing process of evaluating, monitoring and improving the quality of ECCE programs.

Moreover, early childhood care and education have the policies and procedures on a whole range of practice issues ( Fitzgerald & Kay, 2016 , p.6). Fitzgerald and Kay (2016) stress the importance of early years policy for practitioners, children, and parents. Early years policies are aimed at children and families, they impact practitioners significantly to have appropriate qualifications and skills to work with children. Moreover, the policy changes and implementations have implications for children’s diverse developmental needs. Parents can make contributions to the work of providers. Leonidas Kyriakides (2005) found that the implementation of an active partnership policy can provide parents with the opportunity to be involved in the development of school policy. Parents have an active response concerning the impact of school policy. It is suggested that working effectively with parents demands policies that meet the parents’ requirements ( Fitzgerald & Kay, 2016 , p.138).

Currently, countries around the world have recognized the importance of early childhood development and its impacts on the countries’ long-term economic and social developments ( Hardin et al. , 2017 ; Foong et al. , 2018 ). The quality of early childhood education has been improved across the world since the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All targets were proclaimed ( UNESCO, 2014 ; Engdahl, 2015 ; Shaeffer, 2016 ). Considerable progress has been achieved in promoting the well-being and development of young children, especially in European countries and the United States, where they account for the best practices of their early childhood education. The improved quality and equality of early childhood education in European countries and the United States have put much focus on the development and establishment of effective policies and practices ( Hägglund, & Johansson, 2014 ; Shaeffer, 2016 ).

According to UNESCO (2021) globally early child education enrolment rate in school has increased by 27% from 34% in 2001 to 61% in 2019. Although there is significant progress of early child education enrollment in 2019, globally however about 175 million children 3-6 years old are out of the school and have not received quality education.

Abudu and Fuseini (2013) have also stressed that the increasing income gap has slowly enlarged the gap in early childhood education (ECE) quality in Asian countries, especially the quality of early childhood education between rural and urban areas. It is necessary for the government to establish and set effective policies to protect children’s rights to acquire high-quality early childhood care and education ( Shaeffer, 2016 ; Samuelsson & Park, 2017 ; Shakeel, & Aslam, 2019 ).

In Malaysia, various approaches have been taken by the government to ensure and enhance the high quality of ECCE. ECCE is treated as a precondition to quality education as it is the primary factor for developing and improving young children’s knowledge, social skills, and attitudes toward life during one’s early childhood years ( Myers, 2004 ; Eleventh Plan Malaysia 2016-2020: Anchoring Growth on People, 2015 ). ECCE consists of preschools for children aged 4 to 6 years old, and childcare centers for younger children aged 0 to 4 years old. The enrollment in preschool has increased from 46.24% in 2000 to 83.2% in 2013 ( McCool, 2013 ). In 2016, there were 200,684 pupils enrolled in preschool programs ( Malaysia National Education for All Review Report, 2015 ; Samuel & Tee, 2017 ). However, the Education Blueprint of Malaysia acknowledges that serious problems remain with the quality of education and the investment in education is not as high as expected ( Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 , 2013 ). In addition, parents’ awareness of the positive impact of preschool and their expectations for preschool programs has increased in Malaysia ( Siti Naziera, Jati Kasuma, & Irwan Shahrinaz, 2017 ; Tang et al. , 2021 ).

Parental perspectives related to the quality of early childhood care and education programs are critical because parental perceptions reflect parental involvement and directly influence the quality of education ( Ortiz, 2015 ). However, parents are rarely included as participants in research in the field of early education ( Vuorinen, 2018 ). According to the Malaysia National Education for All Review Report (2015) , the majority of parents were not satisfied with the quality of education in preschool and they argue that ECCE is mostly like a playground for their children. Thus, this study will assist parents in Malaysia to understand the measurement taken by the government of Malaysia for the child education and better development especially present and future policies.

The history of ECCE in Malaysia

The history of early childhood care and education started in the 1950s. From 1950 to 1960, kindergartens in Malaysia were opened by socialist Christians as part of church activities. Almost all kindergartens were owned by individual or private agencies in town areas ( Hutchins, 1995 ; Heng, 2008 ). The fees were expensive to serve the children who were from rich families. Around 1969, the Asia Foundation contributed financial assistance to the Worker Society of Malaysia to develop a model of kindergarten called Taman Didikan Kanak-Kanak (TADIKA) in the Malay language similar to a project in the United States ( Hutchins, 1995 ). In 1970, the launching of the New Economic Policy which focused on the eradication of illiteracy by the Department of Community Development (KEMAS) was established. The department of Neighbourhood and National Unity and the Ministry of Federal Territory made a decision to establish Taman Didikan Kanak-Kanak (TADIKA) or Taman Bimbingan Kanak-Kanak (TABIKA) for children aged 4 to 6 years. In 1972, the Ministry of Education enacted a special parliamentary act for early childhood education called Education Act 1961 ( Ministry of Education, 2020 ).

From 1972 to 1976, Maktab Perguruan Ilmu Khas (MPIK) (Special Education Teaching College) offered a course to train teachers in early childhood education. After that, the same programs were developed by the teaching colleges and government universities in Malaysia. In 1984, the Children Centre Act was established and in 1986 the Preschool Teachers Guide Book was published. This book was published for the purpose of enhancing the skills and creativity of preschool teachers.

From 1990, government departments were actively developing early childhood education, and the number of early childhood education institutions continued to increase, broadening the education of children. In 1993, the Malaysian Preschool Education Guidelines were introduced and adopted by preschools under the Ministry of Education ( Heng, 2008 ; Suseela Malakolunthu, & Nagappan. Rengasamy, 2012 ). According to the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2012-2025), clear targets were set in terms of quality early childhood education. One of the first stage targets is that the enrollment rate reaches 92% in preschools. All the preschools must be registered and abide by the regulations of the Ministry of Education. The National Early Childcare & Education Curriculum (PERMATA, 0-4 years) and National Preschool Curriculum Standards (KSPK, 4-6 years) are the main references for early childhood curriculum in a preschool. In accordance with the guidelines of the preschool education curriculum, teachers inspire children's intelligence and creativity by playing games and playing with teaching. The education bureaus in the states supervise whether the kindergartens comply with educational guidelines (UPSI National Education Museum, Tanjung Malim, Malaysia; Shaeffer, 2016 ).

Policies of ECCE in Malaysia

The Malaysian government has put forth various laws and guidelines in the field of ECCE. There are educational policies and practices to address cultural diversity in Malaysia including issues and challenges ( Malakolunthu & Rengasamy, 2012 ; Phoon et al. , 2013 ). The Education Development Master Plan 2001-2010, the Education Blueprint 2006-2010, and the Education Blueprint 2013-2015 have become the main guidelines for the education sector and securing funding for this sector. The 1984 Child Care Act, amended in 2007, refers to all early childhood care and education programmes for children under the age of 4 ( Child Care Centre Act 1984, 1984 ). Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 and Child Act 2001 (amendment in 2016) emphasized a child’s right to gain an education. The Education Act (1996) has included preschool education as part of the national school system. The National Education Act and Childcare Centre Regulation 1972 (revised draft 2012) formally integrated pre-primary education into the education system. In addition, some guiding policies which are related to early education were formulated such as Malaysian Education Blueprint (2012-2025), Eleventh Malaysian Plan (2016-2020), Country Health Plan 2015, and National Early Childcare and Education Policy 2008. However, the implementation of these policies is less than satisfactory ( Ng, 2010 ; Phoon et al. , 2013 ).

Policies of ECCE programmes in Malaysia

According to the policy, ECCE in Malaysia is broadly divided into two age groups including 0-4 years old and 4-6 years old ( Early Childhood Care and Education Policy Implementation Review , 2008 ). Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development takes over responsibility for child care and coordinates national programs on the growth and development of children ages zero to four years old in childcare centers (also known as Taman Asuhan Kanak-Kanak). Preschool education (also known as Taman Didikan Kanak-Kanak) for the children who are four to six years old comes under three ministries, namely the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, as well as the National Unity Department. Moreover, to ensure quality teaching, the National Preschool Curriculum Standards and National Early Childcare and Education Curriculum used in preschools are standardised to ensure that all pupils are able to become literate and calculate before beginning formal education at the primary level ( Mid-term Review Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010 , 2010 ).

A significant change was made in preschool education in Malaysia in 2001. “The Council of Ministers gave its approval for the expansion of Preschool Programmes in education and also articulated in the National Preschool Curriculum that learning and teaching would be enacted in a more holistic, interesting and more orderly way” (Abdul Halim Masnan, 2010, p.3). To guarantee children’s health and safety, National Child Policy and Action Plan, National Family Policy and Action Plan, National Nutrition Policy as well as Child Health Services Policy were carried out. The National Preschool Quality Standard (SKPK) and National Quality Assurance System (PERMATA Q) are important policies implemented for the assessment of quality standards for preschools in Malaysia ( Raman & Sua, 2010 ; Jelas & Ali, 2014 ; Cheong, Hill & Leong, 2016 ).

Quality ECCE programmes and parents’ perspectives on ECCE Policies

Lassalle and Nektarios (2018) stated that several conditions contribute to the quality ECCE programs such as the learning environment, professional teachers and caregivers, the relationships among families and teachers as well as communities. Moreover, ECCE policy implementation is important in preschools. Bennett and Neuman (2004) argued that one of the main means of ensuring high-quality education for children is to formulate national education frameworks and policies and provide teachers and parents with intensive in-service training so that they can understand and comply with relevant laws and regulations. It is necessary to pay attention to parents’ perspectives and the interaction between parents and teachers. However, parents are rarely included as participants in research ( Vuorinen, 2018 ) and therefore parents are not aware of the policies. Lack of correct parenting perspectives involving cultural, ethnic or personal values, or lack of interest in acquiring early childhood knowledge that could benefits parents to understand children rights for the education, can result in the the short and long term lack of educational awarness. ( Vargas-barón, 2016 ). Some ECCE policies are brief “policy statements”, formally establishing the country’s intention on young child development. Inadequate attention of parents’ and children’s rights organzations is the reason ECCE polices are not sucessfully implemented ( Vargas-barón, 2016 ). Haddad (2002) concluded an overview of the current situation and recent changes in ECCE policy in developed and developing countries and reported that new government policies have brought about a wide range of reforms addressing the family influence on children’s development in a developed country.

In Malaysia, many comprehensive policies are in place. However, the implementation of the policies is less than satisfactory ( Ng, 2010 ). Although inclusive education was implemented at the policy level for more than ten years, Malaysia is far from reaching the goal of providing a responsive education path for every child ( Jelas & Ali, 2014 , p.997). On the other hand, parents lack “political will” which is linked to political interests; cultural, national, or personal values, and they are concerned about the information and resources of early education ( Kunagaratnam, & Loh, 2010 ; Vargas-barón, 2016 ). This paper focuses on the perspectives of parents on the policy implementation of ECCE programs.

Aims of the study and research design

The general aim of the study is to investigate parents’ perspectives of quality ECCE programs related to policies. The study aims to answer the following questions:

• 1. Do parents know the policies of early childhood care and education?
• 2. In what way do parents know the policies of ECCE?
• 3. What are the main challenges of quality early childhood care and education programs related to policies from parents’ perspectives?

An explanatory mixed research design was employed in this study to investigate parents’ perceptions on the policy of the ECCE, and the main challenges faced in the implementation of ECCE. The first intent of the research was to collect and analyze quantitative data to find out parents’ views of existing ECCE policies. For this purpose, a questionnaire was distributed to parents in the selected states of Malaysia and provided the general outcomes of the study. Then the researcher engaged in a qualitative phase by doing focus group interviews to help explain the quantitative research results. The triangulation of the data helps to capture the overall picture of ECCE policy implementation of quality ECCE programs in Malaysia and evaluate the policy implementation in preschools based on parents’ perceptions which is beneficial for preschools to improve the quality of education and promote the further implementation of the ECCE policy in Malaysia.

Ethics and consent

This study examined government policies for the early childcare education in Malaysia under the national research project titled “Development of a Comprehensive and Integrated Model of Quality Malaysian ECCE”. This study is approved by the Institutional Review Board from the SEGI University with the approval number: SEGi/LRGS/2015-0024-106-04 on 6 September 2017. Informed written (questionnaires) and oral (focus groups) consent was taken from participants who wished to take part in this study.

30 participants were approached for the focus group interviews. 22 gave consent to participate and 8 refused and were not included further. The COREQ guidelines were followed in reporting this research.

Reflexivity

The researchers are familiar with the study location and did not face any problems reaching out to the participants. Researchers first established a good rapport with participants and explained the purpose of the study. This way we developed the trust of the participants in the researchers. The researchers and participants did not have a relationship prior to the study.

Three authors hold PhDs, and one author is in the final year of their PhD. All authors have prior experience with ECCE research and practice.

Participants

The participants are parents who have children in an ECCE programme in the selected states of Malaysia: Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Sarawak, and Sabah. Tadika and Taska schools for the ECCE in the urban and rural areas among the 12 states were selected using a systematic sampling method to cover maximum number of parents. While picking up or dropping off their children to the schools, parents were approached by the research team to take part in the study. The study purpose was explained to them and questionnaires distributed in-person to those who consented to take part.

Questionnaires

The questionnaire (P1/POL for parents) from the national research project entitled “Development of a Comprehensive and Integrated Model of Quality Malaysian ECCE” which is used to examine current government policies, regulations and legislation pertaining to Malaysian ECCE in the context of integration between policy and practice was used in this study. The questionnaire consisted of demographics, parents’ views of policy including nine items, and parents’ views of ECCE programs including 62 items. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were measured and considered excellent (Cronbach’s alpha= 0.932). A total of 629 questionnaires were distributed to participants and 543 usable valid questionnaires were used in this research study. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS.20) was used to conduct the analysis of the quantitative data to answer the research questions “do parents know the policies of early childhood care and education, and in what way do parents know the policies of ECCE”. Table 1 shows the demographics of the respondents.

Focus groups

30 participants were randomly selected to take part in the focus group interviews. 8 refused to participate without giving a reason and were not included further. A total of 22 participants took part in focus group interviews. The interviews were conducted in a private meeting room in a nearby school. There was no one present beside the participants and researchers. Field notes were taken in all interviews, and the groups who consented to it were audio recorded (groups 1-3). Interviews lasted approximately 20 minutes.

There were five participants from Selangor, six participants from Kuala Lumpur, six participants from Sarawak, two participants from Melaka, two participants from Pahang, and one participant from Sabah, and they were in five interview groups. The audio recordings were transcribed and the transcriptions and field notes were analyzed by using Nvivo V.10 software. The portion of data was coded during the first and second cycle coding process. Codes were established for key concepts related to the research and based on what outcomes from the parents’ perceptions. The themes were derived from the codings, categorization and analytic reflection based on parents’ perceptions on the policies and challenges of quality ECCE programmes.

Quantitative data demographic analysis

Table 1 indicates the demographic information of the participants and shows most of the respondents (N=330) are female. Half (N=271) of the respondents are aged 31-40 years old, and the highest qualifications are SPM (Malaysian Certificate of Education; N=247) followed by a degree (N=184). Half of the respondents are Chines (N=269) followed by Malay race (N=174), and among 12 states of the Malaysia most of the respondents are from the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. In Malaysia, two major early child care education programs approved by the government are called Taska and Tidka; Taska mainly deals with early child care for ages 0-4 years and a nursing program, while Tidka accepts children age 4. In this study most of the parents were registered with Tidka schools.

To investigate whether parents know the policies of ECCE, the frequency and percent of policy documents were analyzed. For the answers to the item “It is important for parents to know the policy documents”, 457 (84.2%) chose “Yes” and 86 (15.8%) chose “No”. It is obviouhs that the majority of parents thought they should know the policy about early education.

Table 2 presents the results of item “In your search for a quality ECCE setting/center for your child, which of the following policy documents have you referred or consulted?”. 21% (n=116) of parents refer to policy documents Malaysian Education Blueprint (2012-2025) 17) and National Preschool Curriculum Standards (KSPK) (n=116, 21.4%). 20% of parents would like to refer to the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) (n=110, 20.3%) and National Preschool Quality Standard (SKPK) (n=109, 20.1%).

Like other policy documents, a minority of parents refer to them. The number of respondents (parents) who refer to the policy documents was below 30%. That means more than 70% of parents do not refer to the policy documents about ECCE in Malaysia.

Table 3 shows the analysis results of the item “In your view, which of these policy documents are important for parents to know?”. 33% (n=177) of parents reported that the policy about the curriculum of “ National Preschool Curriculum Standards (KSPK) ” (n=177, 32.6%) is the most important. Parents also cared more about Childcare Centre Regulation 1972 (revised draft 2012) (n=172, 31.7%), the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2012-2025) (n=170, 31.3%), the Childcare Centre Act 1984 (revised 2012) (n=167, 30.8%) , Education Act 1996 (Act 550) (n=145, 26.7%) as well as National Preschool Quality Standard (SKPK) (n=142, 26.2%) and Child Health Services Policy (n=140, 25.8%). This indicates that parents consider the importance of policies that are directly related to their children’s ECCE center.

For the answers to the item ‘Information about the policy documents can be disseminated to parents through’, most of the parents (N=392) stated school can disseminate policy documents for them. However, N=111 parents stated policy documents can be propagated through the channel of social medial and N=40 parents chose option for community disseminating, hospital conducting awareness program.

40% (n=249) of parents reported that policy documents can be propagated through the channel of social media. 16% (n=16) of parents chose others such as community disseminating, hospital conducting propaganda and government.

Interview: qualitative data analysis

Demographic information of the parents involved in the interview process are given in Table 4 below. A total of 22 respondents volunteered for the interview program.

To investigate in-depth information on parents’ perceptions of ECCE policy in Malaysia, the researchers conducted focus group interview with 22 parents. Three themes regarding parents’ perceptions on ECCE policy were obtained from qualitative data, and the results are presented in Table 5 .

Themes are policy awareness, policy implementation, and challenges of policy implementation. Two categories are under the theme of policy awareness: lack ECCE policy awareness and knowing little ECCE policy. During the focus group interviews, when the interviewer asked the questions ‘what are some of the policies that you are familiar with?’, 15 (68%) parents stated that they were not familiar with the policies of ECCE. Moreover, when the interviewer asked that ‘ how did you know about the policy and legislative documents ?’ 12 parents (54%) reported they do not know the policy and legislative documents.

“Something [inaudible segment] but not I don’t know how they (policies) apply this in education.” (P1.4)

“We don’t know the about this policy. We heard about this is a strategy.” (P3.2)

“Err I don’t know about locally la because I also hardly get the opportunity to know err most of the time …” (P5.5)

(Focus group interview)

For the theme of policy implementation, two categories including good practice and expectations were obtained. 16 parents have shown satisfaction on the early child care education center registration and reported good environment in urban areas compared to rural location, moreover, they reported that centers provide healthy food while schooling and ECCE centers are more safe for the children in urban areas because of the policy implementation in ECCE. Moreover, parents expected the quality of teachers to be improved. Some parents pointed out that there were teachers screaming in a particular preschool. Parents thought teachers should be trained to be able to go beyond teaching children through books but also to understand the children who have issues such autism or dyslexia. Parents described that teachers and principals need to be sent for training. A good teacher must acquire some knowledge about psychology. If the teachers understand psychology, they can get the children out of a bad situation. It is better for children to learn how to cope with life problems from teachers. The lessons need to be related to real experiences and teachers should explore suitable teaching methods based on parents’ perceptions. At the same time, parents thought the principals and teachers need to stay relevant, they have to upgrade their facilities constantly and also their own qualifications.

“Some teachers they scream, even in kindergartens in preschools. Even the quality of the teachers should be improved.” (P5.1)

“I think that’s why teachers need to be sent out for training coz I understand now a lot of children also have issues like they get autistic and dyslexia like maybe 10% 20% children … I think teachers have to be trained to be able to go beyond teaching them through books but have to understand the child. You know teaching them how to cope with life measures, I don’t know. You know all sorts of things go beyond that because teachers are the only person who can go up from the situation so the teacher must be quick enough to notice them and to help them at this age. Do you get what I mean ahh? (P3.6)

“So you know teacher should know a bit about psychology, coz it’s very important as they don’t get to, they have to get out, and school is the place where they have to explore, and the teacher is the one who should be sharp enough that they are able to get the children out of that situation.” (P1.2)

“I think the principal and the teacher need to stay relevant, they have to upgrade their facility constantly and also their own qualification. Maybe you are teaching only using paper, but now need to use a computer and videos for teaching but now you may want to explore with other materials. Lessons need to be very relevant to today’s world as children are very clever nowadays.” (P2.2)

The theme of challenges of policy implementation combines three categories: issues, quality standard and assessment of preschool, and parental involvement. When parents talked about the issues raised by centers, they expressed some views on developing quality ECCE programs. They stressed the importance of children’s health and safety. Based on their opinions, centers should provide children with nutrition and a balanced diet. However, parents lamented that there is a poor hygienic environment, particularly in some preschools and no clear action has been taken by the welfare department.

“There’re more erm mosquito. [inaudible segment] they can’t really take care of their hygiene. Sometimes, other than no. I think I will always complain of the mosquito bringing in all that …” (P5.3)

“It also depends on the place right and who runs the place … some teachers in preschool think that the setting in their preschools is fine. The children have safeguarded regards to hygiene. However, we do not think so. It is common if anything falls on the floor. But for our children, we are so particular about. If children’s bottle falls on the ground, they (the teacher or caregiver) just pick it up and brush it and put it in the children’s month. We think it is serious not good for children.” (P4.2)

Moreover, six parents emphasized that the quality of kindergartens in rural areas was poor and some preschools did not register at all or registrations were not renewed. Five parents pointed the disparity in preschools between rich and poor areas.

“Urban schools are still ok, but I am very worried about, concerned about rural. Even in, within KL there are so many other schools like she said “dirty, unsafe … (cross talk).” (P3.2)

“But those are government schools, but not all lah, there was one in PJ that I went to, WOW! Its posh, really cool, air conditioned all over, beautiful! Compared to the other one I went to, there is a vast difference, it’s like you walk out in Singapore and then back to Johor.” (P1.6)

“But I have seen so many childcare around my house you know, those are run down, dirty, I don’t know how to help those, those are super dirty, especially the unregistered child cares so the government needs to work towards that.” (P5.3)

In addition, to the quality standard and assessment of preschool, five parents mentioned that cultural diversity remains an issue. Three parents stated that discrimination still happens in particular preschools. Furthermore, seven parents complained that nobody checks the quality of the center.

“Says she was ahh being discriminated upon because of the color. She got a very dark- quite a dark complexion and ahh all-all the other children keep teasing her and all that and all that… So my wife ask her whether you talk to the teacher, she said she doesn’t tell the teacher, afraid that ahh that the children will [inaudible segment] on this type of thing.” (P5.2)

“Actually we have the Malaysian standard which is very good already, if you go through the whole document, all the kindergartens do very good things (inaudible segment), it’s just that nobody check what should I follow and I think that is the issue.” (P3.5)

On the other hand, four parents commented that they are putting too much emphasis on academic success for children in their early years’ education. They described that they hope their children could learn more and have good preparation in kindergarten for transitioning to primary school. Some parents suggested that preschools should slowly improve their academic skills by using suitable approaches.

“I guess Malaysia parents will give more importance to academic based curriculum instead of play based because they don’t believe that children learn just through play. Now you see when they go to school they care about the skills of writing and reading. However, it needs to consider when children study in a primary school. Some parents often ask teachers why they are playing all the time. So it’s different.” (P3.1)

“What I heard even the year 1 and year 2 schools, government school is pretty much … umm academic oriented so I think we should ummm slow down specially at the kindergarten level. I mean you can have academic but probably slow the approach and not too much classroom oriented.” (P3.6)

Discussions

Based on the findings, 84.2% of parents agree on the importance of knowing ECCE policy documents. However, the fact is that 70% of parents did not refer to the ECCE policy documents because 68% of parents were not familiar with ECCE policy documents. This revealed that some parents lacked awareness of the ECCE policies. Some parents even complained that they knew nothing about the policies of early childhood care and education because they do not have the opportunities to learn. This indicates that the policy implementation should be enhanced by the Malaysian government which should supply more information of ECCE policy to parents and follow the National Child Policy and Action Plan, National Family Policy and Action Plan, National Nutrition Policy as well as Child Health Services Policy to guarantee children’s health and safety. Abide the National Preschool Quality Standard (SKPK) and National Quality Assurance System (PERMATA Q) to do the assessment of quality standards of preschools ( Abdul Halim, 2010 ; Raman & Sua, 2010 ; Jelas & Ali, 2014 ; Cheong, Hill & Leong, 2016 ).

Findings show parents focus on the policies which directly related to children’s ECCE center. This is similar to the study of Nagasangari Kunagaratnam and Loh (2010) who found that parents emphasize the importance of the information and resources of the preschool. According to findings, 72.2% (n=392) of parents hold the view that preschool can provide them with information about ECCE policy documents. A total of 20% (n=111) of parents preferred using digital, social and newspaper meda for the awareness of early child care education policy while 73% (n=40) thought other channels can disseminate policy documents such as community channels, hospitals conducting propaganda and government. This indicates that the government should improve the implementation of policy documents in preschools and parents can learn the policies from the workshops conducted by preschools. Beside, social media such as the internet, public news and TV can spread the policies of ECCE to parents. Bennett and Neuman (2004) claim that the principal means of ensuring the quality of provision of policies is to provide intensive in-service training of teachers and parents. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to offer training opportunities for parents to learn and understand the policies of ECCE and know how to apply and follow the principles.

According to the findings from focus group interviews with 22 parents, themes that were derived are policy awareness and policy implementation as well as challenges of policy implementation. A total of 15 parents were not familiar with ECCE policies and 12 parents were unaware of the ECCE policies. This reveals that some parents lack awareness of policy in Malaysia. Parents proposed some issues of policy implementation in preschool from their perspectives such as poor hygiene and lack of direction by the welfare department in particular centres, and the situation of different policy implementation in preschools between rich and poor areas. However, the National Nutrition Policy, as well as the Child health Services Policy, were carried out to guarantee children’s health and safety ( Early Childhood Care and Education Policy Implementation Review, 2008 ). As the quality standard and assessment of policy implementation, the issue is that nobody checks the quality of ECCE centers from parents’ perceptions. Moreover, some parents point out there is the phenomenon of stressing children’s academic learning in particular preschool.

The key finding of the study is that stressing the importance of the government early child care education polices implementation should create awareness among the parents where most of the parents reported to have no idea about the government policy documents. Therefore, this study strongly recommends the government take on board the parents’ reports, and that polices regarding early child care eduation should engage the public via directly involving them or through media. The study finding is limited to the early child care education policy only and does not deal with high school or other educational subjects.

Conclusions

Based on parents’ perceptions, ECCE policy is important. However, the majority of parents lack awareness towards the ECCE policies in Malaysia. The government of Malaysia should supply more information of ECCE policies to parents and focus on policy implementation. There are good practices of policy implementation from parents’ views. They expected quality early childhood care and education programs. The challenges of policy implementation of quality early childhood care and education programs remain. Without any doubt, the policy regarding parents’ awareness and implementation should be improved. There was the phenomenon of discrimination in some particular preschools. Also, there were gaps in quality in different preschools in the rich and poor areas. The government still faces problems as to how to standardise the policy implementation and assessment of the preschools’ practice. Therefore, the government should provide professional training for the teachers as well as provide training and learning opportunities to parents. Furthermore, the government should enforce the laws of the National Quality Assurance System and develop new policies that strongly support parent-preschool relationships to ensure the quality of preschool education.

In order to promote the quality of ECCE in public and private preschools, it is suggested that the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, as well as the National Unity Department and other related departments should enforce the implementation of the minimum standards and operational guidelines such as National Preschool Quality Standard (SKPK). The standards should outline essential components for preschools. National and District ECCE departments should be responsible for the integration of early childhood care and education and specific activities such as supervision of preschools. The government should provide professional training for the current and new teachers as well as provide training and learning opportunities to parents.

Besides that, the Ministry of Education and other educational departments should enforce the laws of the National Quality Assurance System and develop new policies that strongly support parent-preschool relationships to ensure the quality of preschool education such as the formulation of policy statements that clearly outline the roles of parents, teachers, and principals in children’s early education. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Office should constantly assess the existing quality of ECCE of preschools in rural and urban areas in order to ensure that the licensed preschools meet the required minimum quality standards which should be developed and evaluated regularly to ascertain preschools owners adhere to and implement. Lastly adding the study limitation, this study were main focusing on the early childcare education and government inducted policies for the Tadika and Taska schooling in Malaysia, the finding does not reflect in other countries and also not applicable in the primary or high schooling.

Authors’ contributions

Dandan Tang; original draft and methodology, Fong Peng Chew; original draft and software, MohdNazri A.R; original draft and validation, Mogana Dhamotharan; Original draft, supervision, formal analysis. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data availability

Author information.

Dandan Tang is a final year doctorate student at the Faculty of Education, University of Malay (UM), Malaysia and about to submit her PhD Thesis. She is the author of a few research papers on the role of early child education and sustainable education polices published in Scopus and SSCI indexed journals.

Fong Peng Chew is a senior lecturer at Faculty of Education, University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia, teaching Malay language education and early childhood education program, and has presented approximately 160 working papers international and international seminars and conferences in Malaysia and foreign.

Mohd Nazri Abdul Rahman is senior lecturer at Faculty of Education, University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia. Teaching Malay language education and early childhood education, the author has been actively involved in the academic administrative duties with current active position Deputy of Dean and involved in more than 70 research projects on the education subjects, presented and attended multiple local and international conferences.

Mogana Dhamotharan is a full professor at the Faculty of Education, Segi University, Malaysia. She is the author of several research papers published in the Scopus and WOS indexed journals.

[version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Funding Statement

The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work.

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Reviewer response for version 2

Abdul halim masnan.

1 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim, Malaysia

Approved 

Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?

If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?

Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?

Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?

Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?

Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?

Reviewer Expertise:

Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.

Reviewer response for version 1

Hannah ajayi.

1 Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Johnson Okewole

2 Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Nigeria

The author(s) clearly pointed out the main problem of the study as the poor implementation of ECCE policies in Malaysia and lack of parental engagement. It is imperative to consider parents’ perception because it is a variable that can influence their engagement in the ECCE policies implementation and can boost the quality of ECCE. The author(s) therefore presented a succinct background on the policies on early childhood care and education in Malaysia in connections to the global agenda.

However, the author(s) did not provide occasions that made them arrive at the conclusion that ‘the implementation is less than being satisfactory’. Is it that the quality is below standard? Who lacked ‘political will’? Parents or the government?

To make the paper better, the author(s) can suggest the advantages of parents’ awareness of ECCE Policy. Of what benefits will it be to children, families and the nation at large. The author(s) should provide adequate information about the variables in Research Questions 2 and 3 in the Background – What are the ways that parents may know about the policies and of what benefits will it be if those ways are made available? What challenges surround quality ECCE that parents need to be aware of and what part can the parents play if they are aware?

The mixed-methods adopted for the study is appropriate in that the focus group discussion helps to get an in-depth perception of parents beyond the surface level of using questionnaire only which may be subjective in nature. The results and findings were well presented, but the author(s) could take a step further to determine the factors that are responsible for a lack of awareness using the available data in the study. The findings are well presented. The study was well concluded however, the study’s limitation is that the experience in other countries have not been brought to bear. What obtains in other countries as regards parents' perception of ECCE policies implementation and quality may serve as future research.

Early Childhood Education

We confirm that we have read this submission and believe that we have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard.

After careful reading of the manuscript, I concluded that the paper has the potential to be 'Approved'. Authors have covered the Malaysian parents’ perception of government established policies for early child care education in the country. Parents' involvement in the educational policies is a remarkable step and it is parents’ right to know and understand what governments have planned and how schools are practically implementing them. This study is comprehensively drafted and well written, however, I have a few protentional but minor questions and directions for the authors to improve the paper more before it can be 'Approved':

Review comments: 

• Mention key contributions of the study in the ending section of the introduction.
• Provide a reference for “ The history of early childhood care and education started in the 1950s. From 1950 to 1960, kindergartens in Malaysia were opened by socialist Christians as part of church activities. Almost all kindergartens were owned by individual or private agencies in town areas ”. 
• In my opinion, research aims and questions should be part of the introduction, however, it's also dependent on the publisher's policies if they do accept as a part of the literature review, authors are free to decide or refer to the publisher's policies. 
• Section Method “ Reflexivity ”, “ did not face any problems e reaching out to the participants ” remove or rewrite the sentence.
• Why Tadika schools are more than Taska? Table 1 shows the difference is very high – any reason please explain?
• Results presented very well along with constructive discussion, however, if there is any study limitation, can explain it.  

I confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.

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