ERIC ED363432: Securing Our Future. Proceedings of the Conference on Children--Our Future (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 19-21, 1991).

314 Pages·1993·5.8 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 363 432
PS 021 874
AUTHOR
Chiam, Heng Keng, Ed.
Securing Our -7uture. Proceedings of the Conference on
TITLE
Children--Our Future (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
November 19-21, 1991).
Malaya Univ., Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
INSTITUTION
REPORT NO
ISBN-983-9705-40-7
PUB DATE
93
NOTE
314p.
Child Development Centre, Faculty of Education,
AVAILABLE FROM
University of Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 59100 Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia ($25, plus shipping).
Collected Works
PUB TYPE
Conference
Books (010)
Proceedings (021)
EDRS PRICE
MF01/PC13 Plus Postage.
Child Development; Child Health; *Cognitive
DESCRIPTORS
Development; Day Care Effects; Early Childhood
Education; *Emotional Development; Family
Environment; Foreign Countries; *Language
Acquisition; Nutrition; Parent Participation;
*Physical Development; Preschool Children; Research
Design; *Social Development; *Young Children
IDENTIFIERS
*Malaysia
ABSTRACT
These proceedings report the results of 10 years of
ongoing research by the Malaysian Child Development Project to
develop and implement measures to study the cognitive, language, and
socioemotional development of Malaysian preschool children. Part 1 of
the report contains opening speeches delivered by conference
organizers and dignitaries. Part 2 presents 16 papers delivered at
(1) "Physical Development: Present Status
the conference. They are:
(2) "Physical Growth" (Chen
and Future Objectives" (J. 0. Forfar);
(3) "Sanitation and Child Development" (K. Chandra
Siew Tin);
(4) "Nutrition and Child Development" (Ong Kah Guan and
Sekhar);
(5) "Cognitive Development of Preschool
Prabha Joginder Singh);
(6) "Language Development--A Process of
Children" (Chiam Heng Keng);
Children's Creative Construction" (Fatimah Haron);
(7)
"Socio-Emotional Development of Preschool Children" (Leonard Young);
(8) "Parental Involvement in Promoting Physical Growth and
Development of Children" (Wong Mee Lan);
(9) "Parental Involvement in
(10) "The
Children's Psychological Development" (Khoo Kim Choo);
Child, Health, and Child Care" (Khairuddin Yulcf); (11)
"Psychological Development In Child Care Centre" (Chiam Heng Keng);
(12) "Children in Plantations" (A. Navamukundan); (13) "Maternal
Employment and Child Care" (Tey Nai Peng); (14) "Physical Environment
(15) "Psychological
and Child Development" (Cheng Yin Mooi);
Environment and Child Development" (Chiam Heng Keng); and (16)
"Ecology of Young Child Nutrition in Malaysia" (Mirnalini Kandiah).
Part 3 contains the reports of five workshops on, respectively, child
care centers, maternal employment and child development, physical
environment and child development, psychological environment and
child development, and nutrition and child development. Two
appendixes list the organizing committee and the conference program.
(MDM)
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19 - 21, November
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BEST COPY AVAILABLE
2
,
,
,
SECURING OUR FUTURE
Proceedings of the Conference on
- Our Future
Children
Organised by Child Development Centre &
Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya
19-21, November 1991
Edited by:
Chiam Heng Keng
3
,
,
Published by
Child Development Centre
University of Malaya
With the Support of
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
All Rights Reserved.
0 Copyright 1993 Chiam Heng Keng.
ISB N 983-9705-40-7
Printed in Malaysia by
Percetakan Tenaga Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur.
4
Contents
Acknowledgement
iii
Editor's Note
COVERING SPEECHES
PART ONE
3
Opening Address of the Organising Chairman
7
Ucapan Timbalan Naib-Canselor
9
Ucapan YB Timbalan Menteri Pendidil an
Closing Address of the Chairman of the University Hospital Board ....13
PAPERS PRESENTED
PART TWO
Physical Development:
19
Present Status and Future Objectives
J. 0. Forfar
33
Physical Growth
Chen Siew Tin
73
Sanitation and Child Development
K. Chandra Sekhar
103
Nutrition and Child Development
Ong Kah Guan & Prabha Joginder Singh
141
Cognitive Development of Preschool Children
Chiam Heng Keng
Language Development -
165
A Process of Children's Creative Construction
Fatirnah Haron
179
Socio-emotional Development of Preschool Childrui
Leonard Yong
Parental Involvement in Promoting
193
Physical Growth and Development of Children
Wong Mee Lan
5
Parental Involvement in Children's
Psychological Development
201
Khoo Kim Chop
The Child, Health and Child Care
213
Khairuddin Yusof
Psychological Development in Child Care Centre
225
Chiam Heng Keng
Children in Plantations
247
A. Navamukundan
Maternal Employment and Child Care
251
Tey Nai Peng
Physical Environment and Child Development
257
Cheng Yin Mooi
Psychological Environment and Child Development
267
Chiarn Heng Keng
Ecology of Young Child Nutrition in Malaysia
275
Mirnalini Kandiah
WORKSHOP REPORTS
PART THREE
Workshop I:
Child Care Centres in Estates
289
Workshop II:
Maternal Employment and Child Development
291
Workshop III:
Physical Environment and Child Development
293
Workshop IV:
Psychological Environment and Child Development
295
Workshop V:
Nutrition and Child Development
303
6
,
SA
APPENDIX
309
Organising Committee
t
311
Programme
Acknowledgements
The Organising Committee would like to express their deep gratitude to the
make
many individuals, institutions and organizations who have helped to
this Conference possible.
We wish to thank Yang Berhormat Dr Fong Chan Onn for officiating the
Opening Ceremony of the Conference on behalf of his Minister, Yang
Berhormat Datuk Amar Dr Sulaiman Daud and launching the book, Child
Development: Preschool Children.
Our grateful thanks to Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Datin Hajjah Dr
Aishah Ong for closing the Conference and chairing the final session.
We are indebted to the Bernard van Leer Foundation for sponsoring the
Malaysian Child Development Project and being the main sponsor of the
Conference. We are also indebted to our other sponsors, Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung, Nestle (M) Sdn. Bhd., The British Council, Malaysian Airline System
and MBE Education Group Sdn. Bhd. Our special thanks to Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung for sponsoring the publication of this Proceeding.
Our thanks to the Vice-Chancellor, Yang Berbahagia Dr Mohd Taib Osman,
for his encouragement and moral support and to Associate Professor Othman
bin Mohd Noor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for representing the Vice-Chancellor
at the opening ceremony.
Our gratitude to the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Faculty of Medi-
cine for their encouragement and support. Our thanks to the Heads of De-
partment of Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Paediatrics, Parasitology,
and Social and Preventive Medicine for their support and encouragement.
8
ii
Securing Our luture
We are also grateful to all the Speakers, Resource Persons and Chairper-
sons; without their contribution the Conference would not have been possible.
Our thanks are also due to Mr Michael Tang for his advice On the poster
design and other creative matters as well as to Ms Yap Yee Men of Ogilvy &
Mather (M'sia) Sdn. Bhd. for the design of the poster, souvenir programme
and logo.
We owe much to the University of Malaya and individuals from the vari-
ous faculties and departments for their co-operation and support. The Organ-
ising Committee is unable to name each and every individual who has con-
tributed to the Conference. We thank them all.
9
Editor's Note
This Conference, Children - Our Future, is, as one of the leading newspapers
in Malaysia so rightly puts it, the grand finale to a 10-year study. The re-
searchers of the Malaysian Child Development Project (MCDS) spent five
years in designing, constructing, testing and validating the instruments for
measuring children's cognitive, language and socioemotional deve:opment,
and five years in studying the development of preschool children. Many hu-
man hours had been put into this study as, every year for the last four years,
at least seven lecturers from the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of
Medicine at the University of Malaya and fifty research assistants, not count-
ing the technicians, were out on the fields to measure the physical, intellectual,
language and socioemotional development of children of three to six years of
age. This study looks at children's development from the psychological, medi-
cal and educational perspectives and it is both a longitudinal and a cross-
sectional study. Even in developed countries, a study of this scope and
magnitude is rare. Hence, it is not unexpected that the researchers of MCDS
are eager to share the wealth of information which they have collected with
other Maiaysians and their Asean neighbours.
The Conference was organised with the following objectives:
To examine the status of physical and psychological development of cul-
1.
turally advantaged and deprived children;
To examine the contribution of heredity and environment to children's de-
2.
velopment;
To propose strategies for the development of children.
,3.