East African maternity care and child rearing practices are discussed from a cross-cultural perspective. A brief background section is followed by discussion of: (1) health and nutrition as preconditions for educational achievement; (2) care of mothers and children and child rearing in East Africa--by far the longest section; (3) the roles of mother and child care as a precondition for educational achievement; (4) parental education and educated siblings; (5) the role of the elderly in informal education; and (6) childhood in the 21st century. It is concluded that increased attention must be given to the programming of services that are in the interest of the child from conception through the preschool years, particularly with regard to maternal health conditions and educational status. That mothers are the initial teachers and creators of their children's cognitive maps is an important fact, and one that must be recognized by those who are programming for the educational development of all children. (RH)