Preschool in the Wilderness: Traversing Joy Grief and Hope in Singapore's Early Childhood Landscape

But in 1997 I was completely naïve and oblivious to these tensions. I was instead overjoyed that I was now a business owner albeit one who cared very deeply about the education of young children.MEET DR DENISE LAI CHUA.THIS IS HER STORYBut this is more than just a story about Denises time at the helm of one of Singapores premier early childhood centres. This evocative autoethnography weaves her memories and subjectivities as a woman mother teacher and female leader with pedagogical and policy discussions about early childhood education in Singapore. Blending narrative poetry andaspects of her professional mind it depicts Denises journey through the barrenness of early childhood provisions in Singapore throughout the mid-1990s and 2000s.Written with a raw honesty and in a manner that instantly draws you into her world Denise relates how she navigated through this wilderness and emerged a stronger wiser person with a successful business. Experience her exhilaration and pain her joys and frustrations her challenges and achievements her struggles and triumphs as she provides a snapshot of the early childhood education landscape of that time.