ABSTRACT
In Thailand the importance of preschool education has been recognized since the early part of the twentieth century. The first education law for private schools, passed in 1918, mentioned the preschool. It indicated that the goals of preschool or kindergarten were to take care of young children and to teach them to read, write and count, but its teachers were not required to have a teaching certificate. Since early childhood education has gained in recent recognition, the increasing need for quality preschool education has become obvious. Toward the end of the Fifth Development Plan, the Office of the National Primary Education Committee (ONPEC), under the Ministry of Education, adopted a policy to open rural kindergartens in provincial communities all over the nation. In Thailand there is clearly a trend toward viewing the first five years of life as an important time for learning and development rather than a time for mere custodial care.
