Those involved in early childhood development must recognize that many of their most cherished beliefs about what is best for children are cultural constructions. This book focuses on quality in large-scale programs for disadvantaged young children in a variety of cultural settings. Chapter 1, "Changing Childhoods," discusses issues which need to be considered in discussions about quality, including changes in childhood in developing societies, the impact of universal child development frameworks, and the role of science and values in defining quality. The remainder of the book uses four studies of early childhood programs in Venezuela, Kenya, India, and France to examine quality development issues. Chapter 2, "Diversity in Quality," describes the four local studies and summarizes the main findings. Chapter 3, "A Framework for Quality Development," presents a three-dimensional model of quality, including stakeholders, quality indicators, and beneficiaries. Chapter 4, "Resources for Quality," proposes a contextual approach to identifying basic quality indicators rather than specifying basic international standards. Chapter 5, "Quality, Children's Needs and Children's Rights," differentiates fundamental and socially constructed children's needs and examines children's rights. Chapter 6, "Quality, Context and Developmental Appropriateness," argues that developmental appropriateness is a product of particular child-rearing contexts and proposes that it be combined with contextual appropriateness to produce practice appropriate to the context of early development (PACED). Chapter 7, "Extending the Principles of 'Contextual Appropriateness'," considers school systems as contributors to perspectives on early childhood program quality. Chapter 8, "Defining Quality through Research and Evaluation," highlights the promise and limitations of research and evaluation studies in identifying quality. Chapter 9, "Steps toward Quality," presents a model of the cycle of quality development in early childhood programs. (Contains 98 references.) (KDFB)