Public awareness of the value of a high quality early childhood education has never been stronger with Nobel-prize winning economist James J. Heckman declaring that it is the key to the nation's future. Higher education's role in preparing teachers to deliver on that promise is significant and continues to grow. A special issue of the "Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education" addresses this critically important question: For whom and in what ways does early childhood teacher education (ECTE) matter? The authors explore this issue by focusing on three domains of ECTE: (1) addressing the needs of young children with disabilities and their families; (2) understanding and working effectively with infants and toddlers; and, (3) building young children's competence and interest in mathematics. Each domain is critically important in the preparation of tomorrow's early childhood teachers; each has often been under-emphasized in ECTE programs; and, research in each has been inadequate. (Contains 1 resource.)