Serving as a vehicle for raising the profile of and thereby gaining recognition for the important research and development work being conducted in Canada in support of children and families, the "Research Connections Canada" series compiles research and/or development papers as well as background papers, analytical literature reviews, and essays. This issue of the series focuses on early childhood practitioner training and professionalism. The papers are as follows: (1) "Strengthening Identity: Training Program Accreditation, Practitioner Certification, and Their Application to Early Childhood Care and Education" (Don Ogston), looking at the accreditation and certification practices of other occupations to identify the purposes, processes, and consequences for early childhood care and education; (2) "Professionalism and Quality" (Marilynn Kuhn), examining "professionalism" in the early childhood field and outlining steps generally taken toward becoming a profession; (3) "Professionalism in a Post-Modern Era: Thoughts on Early Childhood Education" (Alan R. Pence), providing a broader context for the early childhood education community's discussion of professionalization; (4) "Mobility of Early Childhood Care and Education Credits and Credentials in Canada" (Jane Beach and Jane Bertrand), examining the transferability, articulation, and portability of early childhood care and education post-secondary education credentials and credits within and among Canada's provinces and territories; (5) "Sensitivities in Processes of Peer Assessment of Training Programs in Caring Professions" (Barbara Thomas), assessing a range of sensitivities or concerns affecting early childhood educational/training programs, and proposing a process of program review based on peer assessment; and (6) "Why Focus on Children? Environmental Contaminants and the Special Susceptibility of Children" (Sandra Schwartz and Graham Chance), discussing why children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental hazards, examining specific hazards, and stressing the need to affirm the Precautionary Principle in the development of Canadian environmental legislation. Each of the papers contains references. (HTH)