This ongoing study is designed to examine the quality of early childhood education in England and Wales, identifying key aspects of professional ability crucial to the quality of children's learning. It also seeks to generate criteria for promoting the development of these aspects of professional ability and to develop consequent criteria for improving professional practice in early years education. Activities undertaken during the first year of this project include: (1) development of a survey questionnaire to examine the provision of early childhood education; (2) use of this questionnaire to assess early years education in England and Wales; (3) interviews of administrators of early childhood programs; and (4) case studies of several programs in the London area. Preliminary results of the survey, interviews, and case studies include the following findings: (1) less than 20% of practitioners for children under 8 years held a bachelor's degree in education; (2) only a quarter were initially trained for working specifically with 3- to 8-year-olds; (3) the quality of staff, effective partnerships with parents, and effective environment for learning were cited as the most significant factors supporting development of an age-appropriate curriculum; and (4) knowledge of child development was cited as the most influential factor in professional development of practitioners who work with children under 8 years. (Six appendixes include copies of the pilot and evaluation questionnaires, a summary of feedback from evaluation questionnaires, the final survey questionnaire, and standard guidelines for structured interviews.) (MDM).