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 STORY

But this is more than just a story about Denise's time at the helm of one of Singapore's 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, and

aspects of her professional mind, it depicts Denise's 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.