Early childhood education in less developed countries has a significance that is particular to the context of the country. This paper focuses on Malaysia where early childhood education is implemented and expanded as a means to achieve 100% enrollment in primary school (Universal Primary Education). Furthermore, from the perspective of human resource formation in a global society, its early childhood education also functions to educate children in the Malay and English languages from an early age. This paper examines the background of the introduction of early childhood education in Malaysia and its overall framework.
Furthermore, this paper raises issues that are also pertinent to early childhood education in Japan and thus indicates possibilities for comparative study of Malaysia and Japan. Some important points of comparison with Japan are tuition-free early childhood education or subsidized education for low-income or poor families, early childhood education as a bridge that aids the transition to primary school, and early childhood education that considers diversity.
Keywords: Transition to primary school, tuition-free early childhood education, women's labor, Universal Primary Education (UPE), social welfare measures for low-income households, multicultural society, teacher education