Early childhood education provisions, interventions, and child outcomes in Malaysia: A 25-year review

Early childhood education (ECE) is widely recognized as foundational to child development, yet evidence from low- and middle-income countries remains limited. This systematic review synthesizes research on ECE provisions, interventions and child developmental outcomes in Malaysia over the past 25 years. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched multiple databases and identified 28 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Three research questions guided the review: (1) What are the associations between aspects of ECE provision and child developmental outcomes? (2) What types of instructional interventions have been implemented, and what evidence exists for their effectiveness? (3) What methodological gaps exist in the current literature? Findings indicate consistent positive associations between ECE provision and child outcomes across literacy, numeracy, and socioemotional domains. Structural features such as preschool type, enrolment duration, and classroom environment showed meaningful but under-examined associations with developmental outcomes. Instructional interventions, particularly in literacy and mathematics, demonstrated promising effects. However, the evidence base is constrained by significant methodological limitations, including predominance of quasi-experimental designs, short intervention durations, lack of longitudinal follow-up, and limited control for confounding variables. Notably, no studies examined process quality, and few employed integrated assessments across multiple developmental domains. The review identifies critical directions for future research, including the need for rigorous longitudinal designs, measurement of process quality, holistic evaluation frameworks, and attention to ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. Implications for system-level policy and programme-level practice are discussed. These findings have the potential to inform evidence-based decision-making to enhance both ECE access and quality in Malaysia.