Abstract:
This report identifies the opportunities, challenges and implications for our Asian under-five population – and what that means for their families, their communities, and early childhood education when it comes to language and cultural maintenance and development. These children have many advantages and opportunities if they can grow up with high proficiency in both English and their heritage language, and if they can deploy their valuable intercultural skills. There are potential benefits to New Zealand if we can leverage this cultural and linguistic capital present among our population – our Asian under-fives are a potentially significant resource to improve and enhance our future engagement with Asia.