Issues in early childhood teacher education are discussed in terms of six dilemmas that may explain the low levels of impact and satisfaction attributed to the field by practitioners. Dilemmas are defined as predicaments having two main features: a choice between two or more alternative courses of action, each of which is problematic; and the sacrifice of the advantages of one alternative as a consequence of choosing another. The six dilemmas discussed include: (1) coverage versus mastery of course content; (2) thematic versus eclectic course focus; (3) current versus future needs of students; (4) affective versus evaluative emphasis in the relationship of teachers and students; (5) current versus innovative educational practices; and (6) specific versus global assessment criteria. If the formulation of the dilemmas is correct, then teacher educators are faced with a series of choices of errors; no error-free alternatives exist. The next step in the consideration of the long-term development of the profession of teaching young children seems to be the identification of "least worst" errors. (RH)