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Nowadays， preschool education has raised widespread concern worldwide. Large numbers of developed countries are taking active measures to give priority to the development of preschool education. Since the reform and opening up， early childhood education in China has made rapid progress and improvement along with the development of basic education in both quantity and quality of teaching and management， which reflects the characteristics and importance of elementary education and also lays foundation for the development of primary school.
当今，学前教育在世界范围内都受到普遍的关注。许多发达国家积极采取措施，优先发展学前教育。改革开放以来，中国幼儿教育事业随着基础教育的发展，无论在数量和教学质量及管理方面，都有快速的发展和提高，体现了启蒙教育的特点和重要性，也为小学的发展奠定了基础。
Preschool education is a kind of education through which to develop preschoolers’ intelligence and make them smarte by parents and kindergarten teachers. They make various stimuli on the brains of the preschoolers in a systematic， planned and scientific manner with a variety of methods and physical objects so as to progressively improve functions of each part of the brain. Preschool education is an integral component of education. Broadly defined， preschool education refers to all of the activities that have impacts on physical and mental development of preschoolers， which come from various aspects of communities， schools， families. Preschool education in a narrow sense means education carried out by special preschool education institutions， namely nurseries and kindergartens.
Both research and facts show that pre 6-year-old is a stage for human to basically form prototypes of behaviors， habits， emotions， attitudes and personality， and also serves as an important period for children to develop good social behaviors and personality traits such as politeness， friendliness， assistance， sharing， humility， cooperation， sense of responsibility， generosity， liveliness and cheerfulness. What’s more， development situation of children during this period have sustained impacts， which influences and determines the development direction， character and level of children's sociality and individual personality in the future. Meanwhile， the favorable traits of social and individual personality formed during their preschool period are conducive to their actively and successfully adapting to the environment and social life， thus contributing to their health and talents. In 1988， in a gathering of 75 Nobel laureates， they were asked by the reporter： which universities or laboratories taught you the most important thing you considered. A white-haired scholar replied after a moment of deep thought： "Kindergarten." And he said he learned the most important thing in his kindergarten…It can be seen that preschool education delivers a huge impact on a person's life. 学前教育是由家长及幼师利用各种方法、实物为开发学前儿童的智力，使他们更加聪明，有系统、有计划而且科学地对他们的大脑进行各种刺激，使大脑各部位的功能逐渐完善而进行的教育。学前教育是教育的组成部分。广义的学前教育是指所有对学龄前儿童身心发展有影响的活动，它来自社会、学校、家庭各个方面。狭义的学前教育是指专门的学前教育机构所实施的教育，即托儿所、幼儿园的教育。
研究和事实均表明，6岁前是人的行为习惯、情感、态度、性格雏形等基本形成的时期，是儿童养成礼貌、友爱、帮助、分享、谦让、合作、责任感、慷慨大方、活泼开朗等良好社会行为和人格品质的重要时期；并且，这一时期儿童的发展状况具有持续性影响，其影响并决定着儿童日后社会性、人格的发展方向、性质和水平；同时，儿童在学前期形成的良好的社会性、人格品质有助于儿童积极地适应环境，顺利地适应社会生活，从而有助于他们的健康成长、成才。1988年，当75名诺贝尔奖获得者聚集一堂时，记者问获奖者：您在哪所大学、哪个实验室学到了您认为最重要的东西时，一位白发苍苍的学者沉思片刻回答道：“在幼儿园。”并说自己在幼儿园学到了最重要的东西……可见学前教育对一个人的一生影响是巨大的。
Currently， as for the status quo of pre-school education in China， there’re mainly two arguments. One is that real education on children starts from primary school； before that children are just required to eat， sleep and entertain themselves well and keep healthy； they maintain that children don’t know how to behave themselves properly and therefore there’s no need to take so much pains to teach them and they’ll naturally do better as they grow older. The other one is treating preschoolers as primary students， imposing them curriculums of primary schools， such as piano， calligraphy， fine arts and computer science without taking into account of physical and psychological characteristics of the children. Both circumstances are undesirable and erroneous. The children learn how to speak， walk and behave themselves well； know all kinds of things， understand many reasons and acquire a lot of skills through continuous learning prior to 5-6 years old. The period is characterized by particularly strong thirst for knowledge， extremely good learning capability and particularly deep impression on the part of children. During this stage， their character， personality， habits， and hobbies are gradually built. It’s also in this time of period that they’re most likely to accept a broad range of ideas and concepts and take seriously what parents and teachers say. Therefore， it’s important and essential to carry out scientific education on children. While inappropriate educational methods are more harmful and psychological and physiological damage will affect their whole life. In general， after three years of development since birth， it goes to infancy and then to pre-school age （from 3 to 6 years old）， a so-called stage of early education which is also an important period of human physical and mental development.
American psychologist Bloom holds that if the level reached at 17 years old is counted as one's full intelligence development， then 50% of it has been acquired when one is 4 years old and gotten another 30% between 4 and 8 years old and 20% more is gained from 8 to 17 years old. It can be inferred that the period before 5 years old is the one of the most rapid development of intelligence and also the prime time to develop early-stage intelligence. Provided that early education is done well during this period， it will be crucial for developing children’s early intelligence. A great many parents highly value preschool education of their children. However， since most of children today are the only ones with a strong sense of self-awareness， lack of care for others and know little about how to share. Thus， parents should actively guide them to learn to care for and share with others， and be willing to do so. In this aspect， Chinese parents still have more misunderstanding for the children's preschool education than Western parents. Next we take a look at what western pre-school education is like and what its characteristics are？ 目前，中国的学前教育现状是：真正教育儿童是上小学以后的事，小学以前只是让孩子吃好、睡好、玩好、身体好就可以了，孩子现在还不懂事，不必费那么多心思去教他，树大自然直。还有一种观点就是幼儿教育小学化，让小孩子学小学课程、学钢琴、学书法、学美术、学电脑等等，而不顾幼儿的生理和心理特点，强行施教。这些都是不可取的、错误的。幼儿在5-6岁前通过不断的学习，学会了说话、走路；认识了各种事物；懂得了各种道理；还学会了不少技能。幼儿在这段时期，求知欲特别强，学习能力也特别好，而且印象特别深。在这段时期里，品德、性格、习惯、爱好在逐渐形成，是最容易接受各种思想观念的时候，家长老师说什么就是什么。所以对幼儿实施科学的教育非常重要，也非常必要。而不恰当的教育方法则更容易对孩子的心理和生理造成伤害，这将影响他的一生。一般来说，孩子出生后经过三年的发育，进入幼儿时期，从3岁到6岁是学龄前期，也就是人们常说的早期教育阶段，这是人的身心发展的重要时期。
美国心理学家布鲁姆认为一个人的智力发展如果把他本人17岁达到的水平算作100%，那么4岁时就达到了50%。4-8岁增加了30%，8-17岁又获得了20%。可见幼儿在5岁以前是智力发展最迅速的时期，也是进行早期智力开发的最佳时期，如果在这个时期所实施的早期教育良好，将是孩子早期智力发展的关键。对于幼儿的学前教育，很多家长都非常重视，但是由于现在的孩子很多都是独生子女，自我意识很强，缺乏对他人的关心，不懂得分享，因此，作为家长，应学会积极引导孩子学会关心他人、学会分享、乐于分享。针对此和西方家长相比，中国的家长对于孩子的学前教育还存在很多的误区。西方的学前教育是怎样？又具有什么特点？
Close interconnection between preschool education and compulsory education
幼儿教育与义务教育紧密相连
The United States conducts compulsory education on children and teenagers aged 6-18 years old， but in the majority of states， five-year-old entrants can have access to the kindergarten （classes） affiliated with primary schools free of charge， that is， compulsory education in these states actually include one year of pre-school education and the length of schooling of common schools there usually commences from kindergarten. American elementary schools， whether public or private， are all equipped with kindergartens （classes）. Kindergartens （classes） are naturally under the leadership of the schools， and its personnel， funding， faculties and facilities are also under their unified management. It is understood that more than 90% of 5-year-old children enter those kindergartens. This is advantageous to strengthen convergence between kindergartens and primary schools and make preparation for children’s going to primary schools. Now China is gradually expanding the building of kindergartens and developing the incentives and subsidy policies. Efforts are also made to run private kindergartens and enlarge preschool education resources through multi-channels and multi-forms like encouraging public participation.
美国对6-18岁儿童和青少年实行义务教育，但大部分州的5岁幼儿进入小学附设的幼儿园（班）是免费的，也就是说，这些州的义务教育实际上包括了学前一年，在那里，一般学校的学制是从幼儿园算起的。美国的小学，无论公立还是私立，均设有幼儿园（班）。幼儿园（班）顺理成章地由学校领导，其人事、经费、师资、设备等也均由学校统一管理。据了解，美国约有90%以上的5岁幼儿进入了这样的幼儿园。这对加强幼、小衔接，为儿童入小学作好准备是有利的。现在中国也在逐步扩大幼儿园建设数量，并制定奖励补助政策。鼓励社会参与、多渠道多形式举办非公有制幼儿园，扩大学前教育资源。
Operating kindergartens with multi-channels， multi-forms and at various levels
多渠道、多形式、
多层次地举办托幼机构
In light of channels， American kindergarten operating organizations range from government agencies， schools， research institutions， military， hospitals， religious charities， businesses and individuals. In forms， there are full-time or half-day kindergartens， nurseries， day care centers and preschools； there’re also child care stations with timing system or with functions of counseling or games； besides， there are also some children’s art schools focusing on art training. Seen from the proportion between educational factors and nursing factors， the former weighs more than the latter. Generally speaking， the kindergartens combining two factors are dominated. One direct benefit of diversified American kindergartens is the strong selection of parents. To make parents’ selection more targeted， some kindergartens have established consulting service agencies； local government bodies of some of the states have also designated counseling staff for children work to provide counseling for parents and nursery operators and groups. In addition， from the perspective of national investment， running kindergartens by diverse means enables the country to make focused investments in kindergarten running and gain significant benefits. This is because there’re only two parts （merely sources of funding） under the government control： infant classes in primary schools as well as various kindergartens where children from poor families can enjoy equal preschool educational opportunities. Since the entry of the new century， the issue of children left behind in rural China has aroused great concern from both the government and society. Given the impacts imposed on the left-behind children in family education， school education and personality development， preschool education has been given unprecedented attention since this year， which has become a strategic point to implement the spirit of National Education Conference and the National Plan on Long-and-medium Education Reform and Development （2010-2020） （hereinafter referred as the Plan. Smooth implementation of the preschool education is indispensible to fairness of preschool education， which is like educational fairness that includes three aspects， namely， fair opportunities， fair process and fair results. We should make more children enjoy pre-school education opportunity and treatment！ 从渠道看，美国办园单位有政府机关、学校、科研机构、军队、医院、宗教慈善团体、企业和私人。从形式看，有全日制或半日制的幼儿园、托儿所、日托中心、保育学校；也有计时制或咨询游戏性质的托儿站；还有一些以艺术训练为主的幼儿艺术学校。从教育因素与保育因素的比重关系看，幼儿园的教育因素就多些。一般来说，两者兼有的混合性质的园所较多。美国托幼机构这种多样化的特点带来的直接好处是，家长的选择性强。为使家长的选择更有针对性，一些托幼机构设立了咨询服务性质的组织，一些州的地方政府机构中也设立了儿童咨询人员，为家长和举办托幼机构的单位、团体提供咨询。此外，从国家投资的角度看，多样化的办园使国家办园投资重点突出，效益显著。因为纯属政府管的（仅指经费来源）只有两部分：小学幼儿班和贫困家庭儿童享受机会均等的早期教育各种园所。进入新世纪以来，中国农村留守儿童问题引起了政府和社会的高度关注，以及留守儿童在家庭教育、学校教育和个性发展方面受到的影响，今年以来，中国学前教育受到了空前重视，成为贯彻落实全国教育工作会议精神和《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要（2010—2020年）》（以下简称《规划纲要》的战略要点。学前教育的顺利实施，离不开学前教育公平。学前教育公平同教育公平一样，包括机会的公平、过程的公平和结果的公平三个方面。要让更多的孩子能享受到平等的学前教育机会和待遇。
Non-unified educational curricula， textbooks and standards
无统一的教育大纲、教材和标准
Regulations on early childhood education formulated by states also vary. Kindergartens are free to choose materials and participate in assessing organizations. State Departments of Education only lays down uniform standards on eligibility of preschool teachers in service； this is the only administrative provisions in preschool management. It remarkably differs from China. In China textbooks are uniform， which is difficult to keep pace with local conditions and times； it also lacks of flexibility. Thus， American practices are worth learning.
各州制定的幼儿教育的法规也不相同。园（所）有选择教材、选择参加评估组织的自由。各州教育厅只对任教的幼儿教师的资格规定统一标准，这是幼教管理上的唯一行政规定。这一点中国存在着很大的差异，中国的教材都是统一的，不宜因时因地制宜，而且缺乏灵活机动性，美国的做法值得借鉴和学习。
Intense socially competitive psychology penetrating in purposes of operating kindergartens
社会强烈的竞争心理渗透办园宗旨
A strong consciousness of making the kindergarten among the best ones in the region keeps founders persisting in characteristics. Kindergarten founders believe that loss of characteristics signifies disadvantage in getting close to the "best". Therefore， the founders often pursue the principle of avoiding over-reliance and blind imitation and non-compromise and maximize operating publicity to the maximum possible extent. In the United States， assessment on kindergartens gives priority to whether their characteristics are available and whether they are welcome with parents and communities. Only by adhering to characteristics in kindergarten running can the founders attract parents and stand out in the competition. If making a general survey of kindergartens’ introduction to their running concept， we can find they differ a great deal. Some are vague and general， such as "People-oriented and self-learning"； some are like ads， like "Do not lose at the starting line，" "Training little genius"； and some just copy from others， without their own characteristics， like "All for the children. " So how to establish the running concept on earth？ Currently there’re still quantities of small-scale private kindergartens which simply pander to utilitarian demands of parents， for instance conducting early childhood education oriented to primary school students， in order to stay in existence. This seriously violates basic development orientation of kindergartens as educational institutions and loses typical stance of education， which is worthy of our deep reflection and introspection！ Teachers serve as the most significant force in preschool education； they’re also the most important and direct creators of qualified early childhood education. At present， building kindergarten faculties in China are facing with many problems. This can find full expression in the following： low overall quality of teachers， badly-structured teams of teachers， a poor sense of professional identity and belonging， low ambition， instability and high liquidity. All of these will affect the development and expansion of pre-school education.
要使本园成为本地区最好的园（所），这种强烈意识使园所创办者坚持特色。创办者都认为，失去了特色，就失去了获得“最佳”的优势。所以，园所创办人常常奉行不依附、不妥协、不随便模仿的原则，在最大范围内尽可能地宣传本园的办园宗旨。在美国，对园所评估的重点是看其是否具有特色，是否受到家长和社区的欢迎。只有坚持办园有特色，才能吸引家长，才能在竞争中取胜。纵观中国许多园（所）对自身办园理念的介绍，可以发现有的大而空泛，如“以人为本，自主学习”；有的则如同广告，如“不要输在起跑线上”“培养小天才”；有的存在雷同，没有自己的特点，如“一切为了孩子”。那么究竟应如何确立办园理念呢？当前仍大量存在的民办小规模幼儿园为维持自身生存而一味迎合家长的功利化要求，实施具有小学化倾向的幼儿教育，这严重违背了幼儿园作为教育机构的基本发展定位，丧失了教育的基本立场，是值得深刻反思与反省的！
学前教育中最重要的基本力量是教师，教师也是做好高质量幼儿教育事业最主要、最直接的创造者。当前，中国幼儿园教师队伍建设存在着诸多问题，教师队伍的总体素质不高，教师队伍结构不合理，教师队伍的职业认同感、归宿感差，事业心不强。教师队伍不稳定，流动性强。这些都影响学前教育的发展和壮大。
In this regard， by sorting out teacher training systems of preschool education in major developed nations and by making comparison with situations in China， it reveals that the developed countries have built up an open， well-layered and multi-disciplined preschool teacher training system featuring with specific， practical and rigorous teacher qualification certification. Due to higher professional level， kindergarten teachers are in good quality of absorption， selection and re-creation of educational theory， educational programs and teaching organizing. Taking their kindergartens as bases， the vast majority of them work on their master and doctoral thesis， which not only improves their academic level， but enriches characteristics of the kindergartens. While research institutions view kindergartens as their practice bases for innovation and theory development. By drawing on rich foreign experience， such training system has offered lots of enlightenment and reference for Chinese preschool teacher training.
In the period of social transition today， China also presents many new features in its preschool education. It must strive to enhance the quality of preschool teacher training so as to cope with an array of new trends like diverse preschool education services， integration of kindergartens and nurseries and diversification of the running system.
对此，通过对主要发达国家学前教育师资培养体系的梳理及与中国情况的比较，可以看出发达国家已建立起具有开放、多系科、层次分明，以及具体实用而严格的教师资格认证等特征的学前教育师资培养体系。幼儿教师专业水平较高，他们在吸收、选择、再创造教育理论、教育方案和组织教学方面具有良好的素质。这些教师绝大多数都以本园所为基地，撰写硕士、博士论文，这既提高了教师的学术水平，也丰富了园（所）特色。科研机构则以园（所）为实践基地，不断创新、发展理论。借鉴外国的丰富经验，这一培养体系对中国学前教育师资培养很有启发和借鉴作用。 当今社会转型时期的学前教育也呈现出许多新特点，中国必须努力提高学前教育师资培养的质量，以应对学前教育服务多样化、托幼一体化及办园体制多元化等新趋势。
Parents play a vital role in the work of preschool education. Good efforts of parents can halve preschool work in kindergartens with double yields. So how should we do to parallel family education and kindergarten education so that parents’ work and preschool endeavors can complement each other？ However， some Chinese parents maintain that education is only the business of kindergartens， and what they need to do is to take care of children’s food， clothing and shelter； there’re also other parents holding they are not good enough in cultural quality to understand education ... In actuality， families and kindergartens act as two major environments influencing childhood development. Kindergarten education and family education are integrated as a whole. Both should be closely coordinated rather than separate from each other. Only in this way can excellent educational results be attained. As a famous Chinese educator Mr. Chen Heqin points out， early childhood education is a complex matter， neither the family nor the kindergarten can make it alone； only combined efforts can deliver full performance.
However， in the United States， parents are subjects to support characteristics of kindergartens. The Parents’ Committee of the kindergartens gets involved in consultations， discussions and decision-making concerning major issues of the kindergartens， conveys promptly other propositions and important information of the communities to the kindergartens， voluntarily assists the kindergartens in various activities and provides material help. Interests of parents and kindergartens are consistent with each other. The purposes pursued by the kindergartens also represent parents’ aspiration and reflect their interests. This also deserves pondering and learning on the part of parents.
学前教育，家长的工作起着至关重要的作用，家长工作开展得好，能使幼儿园的各项保教工作得到事半功倍的效果。因此，怎样才能做好家长工作，形成家庭和幼儿园同步教育，并且提高家长工作呢？中国有的家长认为，教育是幼儿园的事，自己只管孩子吃、穿、住；也有家长认为，自己文化素质不高，不懂教育……对学前教育来说，家庭和幼儿园是影响幼儿发展的两个主要环境，幼儿园教育和家庭教育是一个整体，两者不能脱节，必须密切配合才能取得良好的教育效果，中国著名教育家陈鹤琴先生指出：幼儿教育是一种复杂的事情，不是家庭一方面单独胜任的，也不是幼儿园一方面可以单独胜任的，必定要两方面结合取得充分的功效。
而在美国，家长是支持园（所）特色的主体。园所中的家长委员会参与园内重大问题的协商、讨论和决策，他们把社区中的其他主张和重要信息及时传递给园里，他们主动协助园里开展各种活动，并给予物质上的帮助。家长的利益和园所的利益是一致的，园所奉行的宗旨也代表家长的心愿、体现家长的利益。这一点也是值得中国家长深思和学习的。
At present， pre-school education has risen a widespread concern in the world. Many developed countries are taking active measures to give preferential development on preschool education and have injected a good deal in popularizing preschool education and upgrading its quality. The Chinese government is implementing the strategy of "National Revitalization through Science and Education" and vigorously driving forward quality education！
Preschool education is the beginning of lifelong learning， a fundamental stage of the school education system， an integral part of basic education and an important part of the national education system. It is also an important social public program. Running preschool education relates to the healthy growth of hundreds of millions of children， the vital interests of a considerable number of households and as well as the future of the nation！
目前，学前教育在世界范围内受到了普遍关注，许多发达国家积极采取措施，优先发展学前教育，在普及学前教育，提高学前教育的质量上作了很多的投入。中国政府正在实施“科教兴国”的战略、大力推进素质教育！
学前教育是终身学习的开端，是学校教育制度的基础阶段，是基础教育的有机组成部分，是国民教育体系的重要组成部分，是重要的社会公益事业。办好学前教育，关系亿万儿童的健康成长，关系千家万户的切身利益，关系国家和民族的未来！
当今，学前教育在世界范围内都受到普遍的关注。许多发达国家积极采取措施，优先发展学前教育。改革开放以来，中国幼儿教育事业随着基础教育的发展，无论在数量和教学质量及管理方面，都有快速的发展和提高，体现了启蒙教育的特点和重要性，也为小学的发展奠定了基础。
Preschool education is a kind of education through which to develop preschoolers’ intelligence and make them smarte by parents and kindergarten teachers. They make various stimuli on the brains of the preschoolers in a systematic， planned and scientific manner with a variety of methods and physical objects so as to progressively improve functions of each part of the brain. Preschool education is an integral component of education. Broadly defined， preschool education refers to all of the activities that have impacts on physical and mental development of preschoolers， which come from various aspects of communities， schools， families. Preschool education in a narrow sense means education carried out by special preschool education institutions， namely nurseries and kindergartens.
Both research and facts show that pre 6-year-old is a stage for human to basically form prototypes of behaviors， habits， emotions， attitudes and personality， and also serves as an important period for children to develop good social behaviors and personality traits such as politeness， friendliness， assistance， sharing， humility， cooperation， sense of responsibility， generosity， liveliness and cheerfulness. What’s more， development situation of children during this period have sustained impacts， which influences and determines the development direction， character and level of children's sociality and individual personality in the future. Meanwhile， the favorable traits of social and individual personality formed during their preschool period are conducive to their actively and successfully adapting to the environment and social life， thus contributing to their health and talents. In 1988， in a gathering of 75 Nobel laureates， they were asked by the reporter： which universities or laboratories taught you the most important thing you considered. A white-haired scholar replied after a moment of deep thought： "Kindergarten." And he said he learned the most important thing in his kindergarten…It can be seen that preschool education delivers a huge impact on a person's life. 学前教育是由家长及幼师利用各种方法、实物为开发学前儿童的智力，使他们更加聪明，有系统、有计划而且科学地对他们的大脑进行各种刺激，使大脑各部位的功能逐渐完善而进行的教育。学前教育是教育的组成部分。广义的学前教育是指所有对学龄前儿童身心发展有影响的活动，它来自社会、学校、家庭各个方面。狭义的学前教育是指专门的学前教育机构所实施的教育，即托儿所、幼儿园的教育。
研究和事实均表明，6岁前是人的行为习惯、情感、态度、性格雏形等基本形成的时期，是儿童养成礼貌、友爱、帮助、分享、谦让、合作、责任感、慷慨大方、活泼开朗等良好社会行为和人格品质的重要时期；并且，这一时期儿童的发展状况具有持续性影响，其影响并决定着儿童日后社会性、人格的发展方向、性质和水平；同时，儿童在学前期形成的良好的社会性、人格品质有助于儿童积极地适应环境，顺利地适应社会生活，从而有助于他们的健康成长、成才。1988年，当75名诺贝尔奖获得者聚集一堂时，记者问获奖者：您在哪所大学、哪个实验室学到了您认为最重要的东西时，一位白发苍苍的学者沉思片刻回答道：“在幼儿园。”并说自己在幼儿园学到了最重要的东西……可见学前教育对一个人的一生影响是巨大的。
Currently， as for the status quo of pre-school education in China， there’re mainly two arguments. One is that real education on children starts from primary school； before that children are just required to eat， sleep and entertain themselves well and keep healthy； they maintain that children don’t know how to behave themselves properly and therefore there’s no need to take so much pains to teach them and they’ll naturally do better as they grow older. The other one is treating preschoolers as primary students， imposing them curriculums of primary schools， such as piano， calligraphy， fine arts and computer science without taking into account of physical and psychological characteristics of the children. Both circumstances are undesirable and erroneous. The children learn how to speak， walk and behave themselves well； know all kinds of things， understand many reasons and acquire a lot of skills through continuous learning prior to 5-6 years old. The period is characterized by particularly strong thirst for knowledge， extremely good learning capability and particularly deep impression on the part of children. During this stage， their character， personality， habits， and hobbies are gradually built. It’s also in this time of period that they’re most likely to accept a broad range of ideas and concepts and take seriously what parents and teachers say. Therefore， it’s important and essential to carry out scientific education on children. While inappropriate educational methods are more harmful and psychological and physiological damage will affect their whole life. In general， after three years of development since birth， it goes to infancy and then to pre-school age （from 3 to 6 years old）， a so-called stage of early education which is also an important period of human physical and mental development.
American psychologist Bloom holds that if the level reached at 17 years old is counted as one's full intelligence development， then 50% of it has been acquired when one is 4 years old and gotten another 30% between 4 and 8 years old and 20% more is gained from 8 to 17 years old. It can be inferred that the period before 5 years old is the one of the most rapid development of intelligence and also the prime time to develop early-stage intelligence. Provided that early education is done well during this period， it will be crucial for developing children’s early intelligence. A great many parents highly value preschool education of their children. However， since most of children today are the only ones with a strong sense of self-awareness， lack of care for others and know little about how to share. Thus， parents should actively guide them to learn to care for and share with others， and be willing to do so. In this aspect， Chinese parents still have more misunderstanding for the children's preschool education than Western parents. Next we take a look at what western pre-school education is like and what its characteristics are？ 目前，中国的学前教育现状是：真正教育儿童是上小学以后的事，小学以前只是让孩子吃好、睡好、玩好、身体好就可以了，孩子现在还不懂事，不必费那么多心思去教他，树大自然直。还有一种观点就是幼儿教育小学化，让小孩子学小学课程、学钢琴、学书法、学美术、学电脑等等，而不顾幼儿的生理和心理特点，强行施教。这些都是不可取的、错误的。幼儿在5-6岁前通过不断的学习，学会了说话、走路；认识了各种事物；懂得了各种道理；还学会了不少技能。幼儿在这段时期，求知欲特别强，学习能力也特别好，而且印象特别深。在这段时期里，品德、性格、习惯、爱好在逐渐形成，是最容易接受各种思想观念的时候，家长老师说什么就是什么。所以对幼儿实施科学的教育非常重要，也非常必要。而不恰当的教育方法则更容易对孩子的心理和生理造成伤害，这将影响他的一生。一般来说，孩子出生后经过三年的发育，进入幼儿时期，从3岁到6岁是学龄前期，也就是人们常说的早期教育阶段，这是人的身心发展的重要时期。
美国心理学家布鲁姆认为一个人的智力发展如果把他本人17岁达到的水平算作100%，那么4岁时就达到了50%。4-8岁增加了30%，8-17岁又获得了20%。可见幼儿在5岁以前是智力发展最迅速的时期，也是进行早期智力开发的最佳时期，如果在这个时期所实施的早期教育良好，将是孩子早期智力发展的关键。对于幼儿的学前教育，很多家长都非常重视，但是由于现在的孩子很多都是独生子女，自我意识很强，缺乏对他人的关心，不懂得分享，因此，作为家长，应学会积极引导孩子学会关心他人、学会分享、乐于分享。针对此和西方家长相比，中国的家长对于孩子的学前教育还存在很多的误区。西方的学前教育是怎样？又具有什么特点？
Close interconnection between preschool education and compulsory education
幼儿教育与义务教育紧密相连
The United States conducts compulsory education on children and teenagers aged 6-18 years old， but in the majority of states， five-year-old entrants can have access to the kindergarten （classes） affiliated with primary schools free of charge， that is， compulsory education in these states actually include one year of pre-school education and the length of schooling of common schools there usually commences from kindergarten. American elementary schools， whether public or private， are all equipped with kindergartens （classes）. Kindergartens （classes） are naturally under the leadership of the schools， and its personnel， funding， faculties and facilities are also under their unified management. It is understood that more than 90% of 5-year-old children enter those kindergartens. This is advantageous to strengthen convergence between kindergartens and primary schools and make preparation for children’s going to primary schools. Now China is gradually expanding the building of kindergartens and developing the incentives and subsidy policies. Efforts are also made to run private kindergartens and enlarge preschool education resources through multi-channels and multi-forms like encouraging public participation.
美国对6-18岁儿童和青少年实行义务教育，但大部分州的5岁幼儿进入小学附设的幼儿园（班）是免费的，也就是说，这些州的义务教育实际上包括了学前一年，在那里，一般学校的学制是从幼儿园算起的。美国的小学，无论公立还是私立，均设有幼儿园（班）。幼儿园（班）顺理成章地由学校领导，其人事、经费、师资、设备等也均由学校统一管理。据了解，美国约有90%以上的5岁幼儿进入了这样的幼儿园。这对加强幼、小衔接，为儿童入小学作好准备是有利的。现在中国也在逐步扩大幼儿园建设数量，并制定奖励补助政策。鼓励社会参与、多渠道多形式举办非公有制幼儿园，扩大学前教育资源。
Operating kindergartens with multi-channels， multi-forms and at various levels
多渠道、多形式、
多层次地举办托幼机构
In light of channels， American kindergarten operating organizations range from government agencies， schools， research institutions， military， hospitals， religious charities， businesses and individuals. In forms， there are full-time or half-day kindergartens， nurseries， day care centers and preschools； there’re also child care stations with timing system or with functions of counseling or games； besides， there are also some children’s art schools focusing on art training. Seen from the proportion between educational factors and nursing factors， the former weighs more than the latter. Generally speaking， the kindergartens combining two factors are dominated. One direct benefit of diversified American kindergartens is the strong selection of parents. To make parents’ selection more targeted， some kindergartens have established consulting service agencies； local government bodies of some of the states have also designated counseling staff for children work to provide counseling for parents and nursery operators and groups. In addition， from the perspective of national investment， running kindergartens by diverse means enables the country to make focused investments in kindergarten running and gain significant benefits. This is because there’re only two parts （merely sources of funding） under the government control： infant classes in primary schools as well as various kindergartens where children from poor families can enjoy equal preschool educational opportunities. Since the entry of the new century， the issue of children left behind in rural China has aroused great concern from both the government and society. Given the impacts imposed on the left-behind children in family education， school education and personality development， preschool education has been given unprecedented attention since this year， which has become a strategic point to implement the spirit of National Education Conference and the National Plan on Long-and-medium Education Reform and Development （2010-2020） （hereinafter referred as the Plan. Smooth implementation of the preschool education is indispensible to fairness of preschool education， which is like educational fairness that includes three aspects， namely， fair opportunities， fair process and fair results. We should make more children enjoy pre-school education opportunity and treatment！ 从渠道看，美国办园单位有政府机关、学校、科研机构、军队、医院、宗教慈善团体、企业和私人。从形式看，有全日制或半日制的幼儿园、托儿所、日托中心、保育学校；也有计时制或咨询游戏性质的托儿站；还有一些以艺术训练为主的幼儿艺术学校。从教育因素与保育因素的比重关系看，幼儿园的教育因素就多些。一般来说，两者兼有的混合性质的园所较多。美国托幼机构这种多样化的特点带来的直接好处是，家长的选择性强。为使家长的选择更有针对性，一些托幼机构设立了咨询服务性质的组织，一些州的地方政府机构中也设立了儿童咨询人员，为家长和举办托幼机构的单位、团体提供咨询。此外，从国家投资的角度看，多样化的办园使国家办园投资重点突出，效益显著。因为纯属政府管的（仅指经费来源）只有两部分：小学幼儿班和贫困家庭儿童享受机会均等的早期教育各种园所。进入新世纪以来，中国农村留守儿童问题引起了政府和社会的高度关注，以及留守儿童在家庭教育、学校教育和个性发展方面受到的影响，今年以来，中国学前教育受到了空前重视，成为贯彻落实全国教育工作会议精神和《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要（2010—2020年）》（以下简称《规划纲要》的战略要点。学前教育的顺利实施，离不开学前教育公平。学前教育公平同教育公平一样，包括机会的公平、过程的公平和结果的公平三个方面。要让更多的孩子能享受到平等的学前教育机会和待遇。
Non-unified educational curricula， textbooks and standards
无统一的教育大纲、教材和标准
Regulations on early childhood education formulated by states also vary. Kindergartens are free to choose materials and participate in assessing organizations. State Departments of Education only lays down uniform standards on eligibility of preschool teachers in service； this is the only administrative provisions in preschool management. It remarkably differs from China. In China textbooks are uniform， which is difficult to keep pace with local conditions and times； it also lacks of flexibility. Thus， American practices are worth learning.
各州制定的幼儿教育的法规也不相同。园（所）有选择教材、选择参加评估组织的自由。各州教育厅只对任教的幼儿教师的资格规定统一标准，这是幼教管理上的唯一行政规定。这一点中国存在着很大的差异，中国的教材都是统一的，不宜因时因地制宜，而且缺乏灵活机动性，美国的做法值得借鉴和学习。
Intense socially competitive psychology penetrating in purposes of operating kindergartens
社会强烈的竞争心理渗透办园宗旨
A strong consciousness of making the kindergarten among the best ones in the region keeps founders persisting in characteristics. Kindergarten founders believe that loss of characteristics signifies disadvantage in getting close to the "best". Therefore， the founders often pursue the principle of avoiding over-reliance and blind imitation and non-compromise and maximize operating publicity to the maximum possible extent. In the United States， assessment on kindergartens gives priority to whether their characteristics are available and whether they are welcome with parents and communities. Only by adhering to characteristics in kindergarten running can the founders attract parents and stand out in the competition. If making a general survey of kindergartens’ introduction to their running concept， we can find they differ a great deal. Some are vague and general， such as "People-oriented and self-learning"； some are like ads， like "Do not lose at the starting line，" "Training little genius"； and some just copy from others， without their own characteristics， like "All for the children. " So how to establish the running concept on earth？ Currently there’re still quantities of small-scale private kindergartens which simply pander to utilitarian demands of parents， for instance conducting early childhood education oriented to primary school students， in order to stay in existence. This seriously violates basic development orientation of kindergartens as educational institutions and loses typical stance of education， which is worthy of our deep reflection and introspection！ Teachers serve as the most significant force in preschool education； they’re also the most important and direct creators of qualified early childhood education. At present， building kindergarten faculties in China are facing with many problems. This can find full expression in the following： low overall quality of teachers， badly-structured teams of teachers， a poor sense of professional identity and belonging， low ambition， instability and high liquidity. All of these will affect the development and expansion of pre-school education.
要使本园成为本地区最好的园（所），这种强烈意识使园所创办者坚持特色。创办者都认为，失去了特色，就失去了获得“最佳”的优势。所以，园所创办人常常奉行不依附、不妥协、不随便模仿的原则，在最大范围内尽可能地宣传本园的办园宗旨。在美国，对园所评估的重点是看其是否具有特色，是否受到家长和社区的欢迎。只有坚持办园有特色，才能吸引家长，才能在竞争中取胜。纵观中国许多园（所）对自身办园理念的介绍，可以发现有的大而空泛，如“以人为本，自主学习”；有的则如同广告，如“不要输在起跑线上”“培养小天才”；有的存在雷同，没有自己的特点，如“一切为了孩子”。那么究竟应如何确立办园理念呢？当前仍大量存在的民办小规模幼儿园为维持自身生存而一味迎合家长的功利化要求，实施具有小学化倾向的幼儿教育，这严重违背了幼儿园作为教育机构的基本发展定位，丧失了教育的基本立场，是值得深刻反思与反省的！
学前教育中最重要的基本力量是教师，教师也是做好高质量幼儿教育事业最主要、最直接的创造者。当前，中国幼儿园教师队伍建设存在着诸多问题，教师队伍的总体素质不高，教师队伍结构不合理，教师队伍的职业认同感、归宿感差，事业心不强。教师队伍不稳定，流动性强。这些都影响学前教育的发展和壮大。
In this regard， by sorting out teacher training systems of preschool education in major developed nations and by making comparison with situations in China， it reveals that the developed countries have built up an open， well-layered and multi-disciplined preschool teacher training system featuring with specific， practical and rigorous teacher qualification certification. Due to higher professional level， kindergarten teachers are in good quality of absorption， selection and re-creation of educational theory， educational programs and teaching organizing. Taking their kindergartens as bases， the vast majority of them work on their master and doctoral thesis， which not only improves their academic level， but enriches characteristics of the kindergartens. While research institutions view kindergartens as their practice bases for innovation and theory development. By drawing on rich foreign experience， such training system has offered lots of enlightenment and reference for Chinese preschool teacher training.
In the period of social transition today， China also presents many new features in its preschool education. It must strive to enhance the quality of preschool teacher training so as to cope with an array of new trends like diverse preschool education services， integration of kindergartens and nurseries and diversification of the running system.
对此，通过对主要发达国家学前教育师资培养体系的梳理及与中国情况的比较，可以看出发达国家已建立起具有开放、多系科、层次分明，以及具体实用而严格的教师资格认证等特征的学前教育师资培养体系。幼儿教师专业水平较高，他们在吸收、选择、再创造教育理论、教育方案和组织教学方面具有良好的素质。这些教师绝大多数都以本园所为基地，撰写硕士、博士论文，这既提高了教师的学术水平，也丰富了园（所）特色。科研机构则以园（所）为实践基地，不断创新、发展理论。借鉴外国的丰富经验，这一培养体系对中国学前教育师资培养很有启发和借鉴作用。 当今社会转型时期的学前教育也呈现出许多新特点，中国必须努力提高学前教育师资培养的质量，以应对学前教育服务多样化、托幼一体化及办园体制多元化等新趋势。
Parents play a vital role in the work of preschool education. Good efforts of parents can halve preschool work in kindergartens with double yields. So how should we do to parallel family education and kindergarten education so that parents’ work and preschool endeavors can complement each other？ However， some Chinese parents maintain that education is only the business of kindergartens， and what they need to do is to take care of children’s food， clothing and shelter； there’re also other parents holding they are not good enough in cultural quality to understand education ... In actuality， families and kindergartens act as two major environments influencing childhood development. Kindergarten education and family education are integrated as a whole. Both should be closely coordinated rather than separate from each other. Only in this way can excellent educational results be attained. As a famous Chinese educator Mr. Chen Heqin points out， early childhood education is a complex matter， neither the family nor the kindergarten can make it alone； only combined efforts can deliver full performance.
However， in the United States， parents are subjects to support characteristics of kindergartens. The Parents’ Committee of the kindergartens gets involved in consultations， discussions and decision-making concerning major issues of the kindergartens， conveys promptly other propositions and important information of the communities to the kindergartens， voluntarily assists the kindergartens in various activities and provides material help. Interests of parents and kindergartens are consistent with each other. The purposes pursued by the kindergartens also represent parents’ aspiration and reflect their interests. This also deserves pondering and learning on the part of parents.
学前教育，家长的工作起着至关重要的作用，家长工作开展得好，能使幼儿园的各项保教工作得到事半功倍的效果。因此，怎样才能做好家长工作，形成家庭和幼儿园同步教育，并且提高家长工作呢？中国有的家长认为，教育是幼儿园的事，自己只管孩子吃、穿、住；也有家长认为，自己文化素质不高，不懂教育……对学前教育来说，家庭和幼儿园是影响幼儿发展的两个主要环境，幼儿园教育和家庭教育是一个整体，两者不能脱节，必须密切配合才能取得良好的教育效果，中国著名教育家陈鹤琴先生指出：幼儿教育是一种复杂的事情，不是家庭一方面单独胜任的，也不是幼儿园一方面可以单独胜任的，必定要两方面结合取得充分的功效。
而在美国，家长是支持园（所）特色的主体。园所中的家长委员会参与园内重大问题的协商、讨论和决策，他们把社区中的其他主张和重要信息及时传递给园里，他们主动协助园里开展各种活动，并给予物质上的帮助。家长的利益和园所的利益是一致的，园所奉行的宗旨也代表家长的心愿、体现家长的利益。这一点也是值得中国家长深思和学习的。
At present， pre-school education has risen a widespread concern in the world. Many developed countries are taking active measures to give preferential development on preschool education and have injected a good deal in popularizing preschool education and upgrading its quality. The Chinese government is implementing the strategy of "National Revitalization through Science and Education" and vigorously driving forward quality education！
Preschool education is the beginning of lifelong learning， a fundamental stage of the school education system， an integral part of basic education and an important part of the national education system. It is also an important social public program. Running preschool education relates to the healthy growth of hundreds of millions of children， the vital interests of a considerable number of households and as well as the future of the nation！
目前，学前教育在世界范围内受到了普遍关注，许多发达国家积极采取措施，优先发展学前教育，在普及学前教育，提高学前教育的质量上作了很多的投入。中国政府正在实施“科教兴国”的战略、大力推进素质教育！
学前教育是终身学习的开端，是学校教育制度的基础阶段，是基础教育的有机组成部分，是国民教育体系的重要组成部分，是重要的社会公益事业。办好学前教育，关系亿万儿童的健康成长，关系千家万户的切身利益，关系国家和民族的未来！