Projects
Consortium for Research on Early Childhood Development and Education (CORE)
EAP-ECDS
Funding Source
UNICEF
Project Period
Team Members
Prof RAO, Nirmala
Dr RICHARDS, Ben
Dr LAU, Carrie
Dr BECHER, Yvonne
Prof IP, Patrick
Dr UMAYAHARA, Mami
Dr LEE, Diana
Prof BACON-SHONE, John
Dr CHEN, Eva
Dr SUN, Jin
Project Information
The East Asia-Pacific Early Childhood Development Scales (EAP-ECDS) may be used for direct assessment of children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years. They are the first regional child assessment tool developed based on the culture and values of countries of a world region. The EAP-ECDS were developed between 2010 and 2014 with support of UNICEF, the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF). Technical leadership and guidance for the development and validation of the EAP-ECDS were provided by the Early Childhood Development and Education Research Team, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong. The team won the HKU KE Award 2018 with a project entitled “Impacting Early Childhood Policy in East Asia and the Pacific through Contextually-appropriate Assessment of Early Child Development”.
The ambitious project to develop the EAP-ECDS was initiated in response to the concern, that existing Western assessment tools might not be valid in East Asia-Pacific (EAP) countries due to cultural and contextual differences, not only in assessment techniques, but also in the overarching constructs to be measured. Yet, culturally and contextually appropriate child development assessments are considered particularly important in developing regions to support evidence-based policy making, investment and programming for early childhood. Thus, the EAP-ECDS aimed to equip the key Early Child Development (ECD) stakeholders in EAP countries with a reliable measurement tool to assess the holistic developmental progress of children of pre-primary age.
Research reports
- Rao, N., Richards, B., Umayahara, M., Sun, J., Bacon-Shone, J., Ip, P., Lee, D., & Becher, Y. (2017). Myanmar East Asia- Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS) Project. UNICEF: Myanmar.
- Rao, N., Lee, D., Becher, Y., Taplin, M. (2016). Enhancing Early Child Development in Papua New Guinea: Findings from the Early Childhood Facility Survey. UNICEF: Papua New Guinea.
- Rao, N., Sun, J, Bacon-Shone, J., Ip, P. & Becher, Y. (2016). East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales -Short Form: Final Report. Singapore: Asia Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood.
- Rao, N., Sun, J., Ng, M., Becher, Y., Lee, D., Ip, P., & Bacon-Shone, J. (2014). Validation, Finalization and Adoption of the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS). UNICEF. http://www.arnec.net/ecd-scales
Winner of Best of UNICEF Research - UNICEF Office of Research (2015). Early Childhood Development in East Asia and Pacific: Culturally sensitive testing. In Best of UNICEF Research 2015 (p.19-23) Florence, Italy.
Published articles
- Rao, N., Su, Y., & Chan, S. W. Y. (2023). Reliability and validity of the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales: A longitudinal validation study in China. Child Psychiatry & Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-023-01526-9
- Rao., N., Chan, S. W. Y., Su, Y., Mirpuri, S., Richards, B., Sun, J., Zhang, L., & Ip, Patrick. (2022). Early motor development in China: Secular trends among 4-year-olds. Early Child Development and Care, 193(1), 95-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2022.2064460
- Rao, N., Richards, B., Lau, C., Weber, A. M., Sun, J., Darmstadt, G. L., Sincovich, A., Bacon-Shone, J., & Ip, P. (2020). Associations among early stimulation, stunting, and child development in four countries in the East Asia-Pacific. International Journal of Early Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-020-00270-8
- Richards, B., Umayahara, M., Maw, N., & Rao, N. (2020). Early childhood education, language of instruction, and child Development in Myanmar: Comparisons among ethnolinguistic groups. Early Education and Development, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1755179
- Rao, N., Richards, B., Sun, J., Weber, A., & Sincovich, A. (2019). Early childhood education and child development in four countries in East Asia and the Pacific. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 169-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.08.011https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.08.011
- Sun, J., Lau, C, Sincovich, A., & Rao, N. (2018). Socioeconomic status and early child development in East Asia and the Pacific: The protective role of parental engagement in learning activities. Children and Youth Services Review, 93, 321-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.08.010
- Zhang, L., Sun, J., Richards, B., Davidson, K.C., & Rao, N. (2018). Motor skills and executive function contribute to early achievement in East Asia and the Pacific Region. Early Education and Development 29(8), 1061-1080. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2018.1510204
- Sun, J., Zhang, L., Chen, E., Lau, C., & Rao, N. (2018). Preschool attendance and executive function mediate early academic achievement gaps in East Asia and the Pacific. Early Education and Development, 29(8), 1039-1060. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2018.1498999
- Richards, B., Bacon-Shone, J., & Rao, N. (2018). Socioeconomic correlates of early child development – Gradients from six countries in the East Asia-Pacific. International Journal of Behavioral Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025418785460
- Zhou, J., Zhang, L. & Rao, N. (2018). 我國早期兒童學習發展的現狀分析: 一項來自EAP-ECDS 的研究報告 (The early developmental status and differences of young children in China: A Report from the EAP-ECDS validation study. 全球教育展望(Global Education). 7(47), 114-128.
- Rao, N., Sun, J., Richards, B., Weber, A., Sincovich, A., Darmstadt, G.L., & Ip, P. (2018). Assessing diversity in early childhood development in the East Asia-Pacific. Child Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-018-9528-5
- Weber, A., Darmstadt, G.L., & Rao, N. (2017). Gender disparities in child development in the East Asia-Pacific. The Lancet: Child & Adolescent Health. 1(3), 213-224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(17)30073-1
Other publications
- Rao, N., Becher, Y., Lee, D., Richards, B., Sun, J., Bacon-Shone, J., Ip, P., Umayahara, M., & Chen, E. (2017). Assessing early development and learning: The East Asia-Pacific Early Childhood Development Scales (EAP-ECDS). EAP-ECDS Brief. ARNEC. UNICEF.
- Rao, N., Sun, J., & Becher, Y. (2015). Assessing early development and learning across cultures: The East Asia Pacific-Early Child Development Scales. Assessment and Development Matters, 7(2), 21-25.
Conference
- Rao, N., Sun, J., Ip, P. Bacon-Shone, J. Sincovich, A., Ho, F.K., & Gao, S. (2016). Early Child Development Scale in-depth Analysis. Final Report. UNICEF: Cambodia
Countries Brief
