This book, first published in 1992, provides an overview of programs for young children in countries and territories of the Pacific Rim. It focuses on programs which precede the beginning of formal schooling and that are part of the institutional structure of the country. The term early childhood education is used in a broad sense, and refers to education and care. The contributors to this volume have extensive knowledge and experience of early education in the countries that they write about.

History of Early Childhood Education presents a thorough and elegant description of the history of early childhood education in the United States. This book of original research is a concise compendium of historical literature, combining history with the prominent and influential theoretical background of the time. Covering historical threads that reach from ancient Greece and Rome to the early childhood education programs of today, this in-depth and well-written volume captures the deep tradition and the creative knowledge base of early care and education. History of Early Childhood Education is an essential resource for every early childhood education scholar, student, and educator.

This book investigates the unique and dynamic approaches to key issues of changing images of child and childhood, by different countries in the Asia-Pacific. Key concepts considered are re-conceptualizing early childhood education and care, re-eaxming early learning standards and redefining professionalism. The Asia Pacific region includes countries belonging to both the Majority and Minority worlds and which vary widely in terms of their cultural geography, social-cultural beliefs, and levels of development, demographic profiles, political systems and government commitments to early childhood services. An international team of experienced researchers from different countries guarantees diverse perspectives. By examining different countries’ policy choices and evidence-based practices, the authors show how best to provide for young children based on their countries’ strategies.

The publication covers the 49 regional members of ADB. It discusses trends in development progress and the challenges to achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth across Asia and the Pacific. This 53rd edition finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has set back the fight against poverty in the region by at least 2 years. Drawing on data simulations, it concludes that people with less social mobility may experience longer-lasting difficulties in escaping poverty. Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2022 includes a special chapter on how data resilience can be achieved in the wake of pandemic disruptions to the operations of national statistical systems. The publication is complemented by a special supplement, Mapping the Public Voice for Development: Natural Language Processing of Social Media Text Data, which explores how social media text data can be harnessed to help policymakers understand the opinions, ideas, and expectations of the public.

The entire planet looks to Asian and other emerging markets to sustain growth momentum as traditional markets in the USA and Europe struggle with the slow and arduous processes of deleveraging after the global financial crisis. At the same time, there is growing recognition in Asia that the sources of growth must shift to sustain their own growth momentum in the years ahead. Heavy reliance on the region’s high savings rates and plentiful supplies of low-cost labour will have to shift towards increasing the human capital embodied in more educated and skilled labour forces capable of contributing to productivity growth and innovation as future drivers of growth. Human Capital Formation and Economic Growth in Asia and the Pacific focuses on why and how countries are making this shift. The demographic transition is shown to be a significant factor as ageing populations in Japan, South Korea and China manage declining growth in the labour force by stepping up investments in education, and by changing policies and institutions. Lessons to be learned from these experiences by more youthful populations in Southeast Asia are explored. In addition, attention is paid to the consequences of cross-border differentials in technical knowledge and the quantity and quality of human capital. Several implications for public policy and for international cooperation on human-capital issues in the Asian region are identified. The chapters in this volume are edited versions of papers presented at the 35th Pacific Trade and Development conference held in Vancouver, Canada, in June 2012. The conference goal was to better understand how governments and business in Asia and the Pacific can apply the key insight that one of the reasons economies grow is because of human-capital formation – the quality and diversity of the labour force are augmented – not just because the labour force grows in size. Students of Asia’s growth prospects will find several aspects of this volume of particular value. It includes chapters on the big-picture conceptual and measurement issues; on country experiences in meeting the imperatives of the demographic transition and investing in education and skills training; and on country experiences with attracting foreign knowledge and the supply and recruitment of skills across borders in Asia and the Pacific. Policymakers will also find useful the discussions of policy implications and the menu of issues requiring intergovernmental cooperation within the Asian region.

The 47th edition of this series, includes the latest available economic, financial, social, and environmental indicators for the 48 regional members of the Asian Development Bank. It presents the latest key statistics on development issues concerning the economies of Asia and the Pacific to a wide audience, including policy makers, development practitioners, government offi cials, researchers, students, and the general public. Part I of this issue presents the current status of economies of Asia and the Pacific with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals based on selected indicators from the global indicator framework. Part II comprises statistical indicators that capture economic, financial, social, and environmental developments. Part III presents key statistics and stylized facts on the phenomenon of global value chains.

Musical Childhoods of Asia and the Pacific agglomerates stories of young children’s music and musicking from around Southeast Asia and the Pacific. A collection of truly unique traditions are interrogated through a variety of contemporary methodologies. Readers are privileged to hear about children’s musical worlds from children, mothers’ musical worlds from mothers, a struggle to engage with music in a closed society, and new gender politics, among other stories. Researchers share experiences and insights gained from applying their chosen methodologies and add to the debate that shapes the continually transforming domain of music education research. Musical Childhoods builds on the diverse inquiry presented in the first three volumes in the series. This volume is an important addition to the libraries of colleges of education and schools of music, as well as music scholars and educators, researchers, and graduate students who are concerned with advancing both the scope and quality of research in the study of music teaching and learning.

The Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2013 (Key Indicators), the 44th edition of this series, includes the latest available economic, financial, social, and environmental indicators for the 48 regional members of the Asian Development Bank. This publication aims to present the latest key statistics on development issues concerning the economies of Asia and the Pacific to a wide audience, including policy makers, development practitioners, government officials, researchers, students, and the general public. Part I of this issue of the Key Indicators is a special chapter---Asia's Economic Transformation: Where to, How, and How Fast?. Parts II and III comprise of brief, non-technical analyses and statistical tables on the Millennium Development Goals and seven other themes. This year, the 2013 edition of the Framework of Inclusive Growth Indicators, a special supplement to Key Indicators is also included. The statistical tables in this issue of the Key Indicators may also be downloaded in MS Excel format from this website or in user-specified format at SDBS Online. The statistical tables are complemented by a visualization tool that is intended to provide users with an alternative way to look at some of the development issues concerning the economies of Asia and the Pacific.