This collection of eight essays examines the current and future status of early childhood education and care (educare), focusing on Europe but also addressing issues applicable to the wider world. The essays are: (1) "Early Childhood Intervention: An Overview of Practice North and South" (John Bennett); (2) "Developing the Child's Conception of Learning" (Ingrid Pramling); (3) Do Early Childhood Services Need a Coherent and Comprehensive Approach?" (Peter Moss); (4) "Children's Living Conditions, Secular Changes, and Childhood Mythology" (Dion Sommer); (5) "The Key to Quality is Qualifying the Teachers" (Mogens Nielsen); (6) "Appropriate Developmental Early Childhood Education" (David Weikart); (7) "The Experience of Reggio Emilia, a Place Where Adults and Children Learn Together" (Tiziana Filippini); and (8) "Epilogue" (Steen Larsen), a look at the importance of children's informal learning, which begins at birth. (MDM)