The Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) initiated the development of the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS) to equip stakeholders across East Asia and Pacific with a common measurement tool that could assess the holistic developmental progress of children ranging in age from three to five years. This multi-country project was managed by ARNEC with support from UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (UNICEF-EAPRO) and the Open Society Foundation, and was implemented by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in collaboration with several participating countries in the region. The Scales are based on the most common indicators from the Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS) from seven countries in this region (Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam). Given the wide range of countries whose standards were used, the scales can most likely be adapted to other countries in the East Asian Pacific region.
