Introduction

Abstract

The Introduction chapter is designed to familiarize our readers with the context and the concept of the subject dealt with in the present book. It highlights the importance of early childhood education and care in a child's development and surveys the level of attention that highquality early childhood education services are attracting on the part of international institutes and organizations. It also indicates the scope and main objectives of the book, which include sharing the experience of a European-funded project that dealt with the professional development of early childhood teachers. More specifically, the book attempts to present an alternative approach to the professional development of early childhood teachers based on promoting self-evaluation skills and the use of observation rating scales toward that end. Follows brief descriptions of each of the nine included chapters.