The introductory chapter in this book provides a historical overview of the family and schools in the premodern, modern, and postmodern eras in the United States. The introduction also reviews the contributions of several important figures in early childhood education and suggests that the battle in early childhood education in the postmodern world will be between the need to be economically competitive and humanitarian needs. The other 24 chapters in the book address this issue, and reiterate the underlying theme that the social need for adequate funding, training, and staffing for early childhood education must be given high priority by government and industry. Specific topics include: (1) physical and health education; (2) counseling; (3) teacher education; (4) family education and family support; (5) school readiness; (6) literacy education; (7) art education; (8) the national education goals; (9) migrant children; (10) child care for black children; (11) mathematics learning; and (12) science education. Twenty-three of the articles were written by representatives of various organizations concerned about early childhood education. Bibliographies or reference lists are appended to individual chapters. (BC)