This volume is intended to address contemporary aspects of child rearing in the home and the school, as well as major dimensions of inter face between the home and the school. The authors of these chapters have used varying styles and approaches, and the range of perspectives is very broad and inclusive. An essential notion integrating all chapters is that child rearing is a human ecological concern of dominant importance for the home, the school, and the community during the 1980's and that this will continue to be true in the future. This volume is intended to be useful as a reference book, as a text, for researchers and for policy-makers. It is hoped that the volume also will be of use to parents, teachers, school administrators, child-care workers and others who are interested in child nurturance. The editors wish to extend appreciation to many individuals who made this effort possible. Our colleagues, Hiram Fitzgerald and Marjorie Kostelnik, have been most helpful and encouraging. We thank them for their patience, support, and invaluable editorial assistance during the production of the camera-ready copy of the volume. We also thank Barbara Taylor for her assistance in typing the chapters, and Carrie DeMyers for typing the camera-ready copy. Carrie's good-nature and posi tive outlook helped to smooth over the many frustrations inherent in the assembly and production of anthologies such as this one.