Assessing Diversity in Early Childhood Development in the East Asia-Pacific

Abstract

The East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales represent the first effort to create a developmental assessment tool on the basis of the diverse cultures and values of a range of countries within a world region. The Scales were administered to a representative sample of 7757 children (3869 girls), ranging in age from 36 to 71 months, from Cambodia, China, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. In all six countries, child development scores increased with age and urban children consistently performed better than rural children. The gap between urban and rural children widened with age in Cambodia. There were significant gender differences in total scores, favouring girls in four countries. Results illustrate commonalities and variations in trajectories of children’s early development across contexts. Reasons for the findings and their implications are discussed.