Educators all over the world seem to accept the idea that early childhood education has educational value for all pre-school children regardless of family circumstances. Students of the history and the sociology of education point out that the need to provide "day care centres" for children of the poor, who roamed the streets while their parents went to work, triggered interest in educational provision for the "deprived," "underprivileged" children in a community. Despite the fact that theories regarding the teaching of the young child have been emerging over the past 200 years, and that international constitutions include the concept of "equal opportunities for all", despite the legislations in many countries and the findings of psychologists favouring early childhood education, wellknown efforts to provide quaiity educational opportunities for the underprivileged are, however, under ten years old.