Abstract
This chapter takes a policy lens to illustrate how early childhood education in Macao has been shaped by policies enacted during the Portuguese colonial period and those adopted after the Macao Special Administrative Region was established in 1999. First, it portrays the educational landscape in Macao. Second, it reviews policies that have impacted on early childhood education of Macao. Third, challenges for the development of early childhood education in Macao are considered. This includes education and training for teachers and caretakers and developing a contextually appropriate curriculum and pedagogy. It concludes with observations and recommendations for the future.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Institutions for children 3 months to 5 years old, with special authorization for children aged up to 7 years.
- 2.
Institutions for children around 3 years to 6 years old.
References
Bray, M., & Kai, J. (2007). Comparing systems. In M. Bray, B. Adamson, & M. Mason (Eds.), Comparative education research (pp. 123–144). Hong Kong, China: University of Hong Kong.
Direcção dos Serviços de Educação e Juventude (Education and Youth Bureau). (2016). 2014/2015 Basic Information of Schools. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://202.175.82.54/dsej/stati/2014/e/edu_num14_part4.pdf
Direcção dos Serviços de Educação e Juventude (Education and Youth Bureau), Curriculum Reform Working Group. (1999). Outlines for Early Childhood Education and Pre-primary Education. June [In Chinese].
Direcção dos Serviços de EstatÃstica e Census. (2009). Year of Statistics 2009. Retrieved from http://www.dsec.gov.mo/Statistic.aspx
Faculty of Education. (2016). Bachelor’s Degree Program. Faculty of Education, University of Macau. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://www.umac.mo/fed/program_bachelor_preprimary.html
Furlong, J., Barton, L., Miles, S., Whiting, C., & Whitty, G. (2000). Teacher education in transition – Reforming professionalism? London: Open University Press.
Giroux, H. (2000). Stealing innocence: Corporate culture’s war on children. New York: Palgrave.
Governo de Macau (Macao Government). (1999). Decreto-Lei n°24/99/M de 21 de Junho de 1999 [Decree-Law n°24/99/M, 21 June 1999]. Macao, China: The Author.
Kelen, C., & Vong, K. I. (2006). Creativity and social harmony in early childhood curriculum for Macao-SAR. Paper presented at The 2nd Cross-Strait Conference on Public Administration: Policy challenges in the 21st Century. 12th May. University of Macau, Macao SAR, China.
Loizou, E. (2009). In-service early childhood teachers reflect on their teacher training program: Re-conceptualizing the case of Cyprus. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 30, 195–209.
Macau Social Welfare Bureau. (2004). Children and Youth Services Development Scheme for Initiating Nursery Young Children’s Potentials. Retrieved from http://www.ias.gov.mo.
Macao Daily News. (2016). http://www.macaodaily.com/html/2015-11/25/content_1047328.htm. 24th April, Sunday, A03 [In Chinese].
Macao Special Administrative Region. (2012). System Framework for Private School Teaching Staff of Non-tertiary [Law no. 3/2012, 15th March 2012]. Macao: The Author. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://images.io.gov.mo/bo/i/2012/12/lei-3-2012.pdf
Macao Special Administrative Region. (2014). Formal Curriculum Framework for Local Schools [Administrative Regulation no. 15/2014, 25th June 2014]. Macao, China: The Author. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://images.io.gov.mo/bo/i/2014/26/rega-15-2014.pdf
Macao Special Administrative Region. (2015). The Requirements of Basic Academic Attainments for Early Childhood Education [Dispatch of the Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs no. 118/2015, 27th July 2015]. Macao, China: The Author. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://images.io.gov.mo/bo/i/2015/30/despsasc-118-2015.pdf
Oda, Y., & Mori, M. (2006). Current challenges of kindergarten (Yochien) Education in Japan – toward balancing children’s autonomy and teachers’ intention. International Focus, 6, 369–373.
Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2010). A turning point or a backward slide: the challenge facing the Swedish preschool today. Early Years, 30(3), 219–227.
Portal do Governo da RAE de Macau. (2001). Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2001. Retrieved from http://portal.gov.mo/web/guest/govinfo/policy-address
Portal do Governo da RAE de Macau. (2003). Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2003. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://portal.gov.mo/web/guest/govinfo/policy-address
Portal do Governo da RAE de Macau. (2004). Policy Address for the Fiscal Year 2004. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://portal.gov.mo/web/guest/govinfo/policy-address
Vong, S. K., & Wong, M. W. (2010). Made in Macao: How history, politics and teachers frame curriculum practice. Curriculum & Instruction Quarterly, 13(4), 61–109.
Winther-Jensen, T. (1990). Problems of teacher training – illustrated by Danish examples. In T. R. Bone & J. McCall (Eds.), Teacher Education in Europe: the challenges ahead. Proceedings of a conference held at Jordanhill College, Glasgow, 9th–13th September, 1990.
Yuen, A. L. (2009). The current state and characteristics of early childhood education of Macao. The site for national history [in Chinese]. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from http://www.hprc.org.cn/gsyj/dfsz/amdds/200909/t20090915_31348.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vong, Ki.P., Vong, S.K. (2017). Early Childhood Education in Macao: Recent Policies, Developments, and Trends. In: Rao, N., Zhou, J., Sun, J. (eds) Early Childhood Education in Chinese Societies. International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1004-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1004-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1003-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1004-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)