Abstract
It can be said that it is common knowledge that kindergarten education plays a vital role in our life. However, in recent years, the Japanese central government has set great store in kindergarten education from a national strategic perspective, suggesting that Early Childhood Education and Care can narrow the poverty gap. James Heckman, professor from University of Chicago, published a paper entitled “Skill Formation and the Economics of Investing in Disadvantaged Children” (Heckman 2006), which pointed out that “kindergarten education is, after all, important in enhancing the economic status and life quality of the families where they have the disadvantaged children.” This argument has had a strong impact on Japanese kindergarten education in recent years.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to express the deepest appreciation to Yoshihide Kaneko at Hiroshima University for his valuable comments and suggestions.
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Kimata, A., Kaneko, Y. (2015). Latest Development of Japanese Kindergarten Education Policy. In: HUO, L., B. NEUMAN, S., NANAKIDA, A. (eds) Early Childhood Education in Three Cultures. New Frontiers of Educational Research. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44986-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44986-8_5
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