ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the sociocultural contexts and recent revisions in national policies for early childhood education (ECE) in the countries such as India, China, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and the Maldives. It begins with some demographic information and a brief overview of recent educational policies in each country. The chapter also highlights the impact of globalization on early childhood educational policies and classroom practices in some urban schools found in these five countries. In order to get a deeper understanding of the cultural contexts of each of the countries, the chapter highlights the core principles underlying the dominant spiritual philosophies of Confucianism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism encountered in the countries. In conclusion, it provides a basic idea of the social-cultural-political-spiritual context as the background against which current early childhood education policies and pedagogies have been shaped in India, China, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and the Maldives.
