In the past few years, the care and education dimensions of day care have occupied a prominent place in scientific and political debate in Brazil and internationally. This study used an ecological perspective to examine the interconnections surrounding the dimensions of early care and childhood education and the forces that promote or restrain their integration. Information was gathered through interviews with early childhood and child care professionals on study trips to and internships in Western European countries. An ecological model of day care was traced and enlarged through an examination of child care in European, especially Scandinavian, countries. The model was further extended to the context of present-day Brazil to place Brazil in a transition context of common conflicts and challenges. The major findings of the study suggest that when primary socialization of children remains as a family task or is delegated to market forces, the development of integrated child care policies are restrained. When socialization is considered a public task, a more comprehensive approach is pursued. The integration of care and education is directly associated to the interconnectedness of early childhood services and family life. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Holland were identified as countries with an extreme tendency to consider child socialization as a private issue. Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, and Portugal compose the middle block and have strengthened the educational dimension of early childhood services. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland express a shared model of responsibility between family and public power, with early childhood services integrated in a more comprehensive social policy. (Contains 112 references.) (KB)