This report provides a summary of the proceedings and recommendations of the Council of Europe symposium on preschool education held in Venice, Italy in 1971. The report is divided into three major areas: (1) historical background information; (2) summaries of general lectures, especially dealing with the functions, aims, methods, and problems of preschool education and relations between home and school; and (3) recommendations, which developed from group discussion sessions, primarily dealing with the need for preschool education, family-school relations, teachers, continuity with primary schools, and family assistance. Appendixes comprise one-half of the document and contain the full texts of the lectures and reports from which the summaries were written. (ED)